2. Insert the title of your presentation here Presented by Name Here Job Title - Date Spotting the signs: situation awareness at level crossings Presented by Stephanie Cynk

3. Level crossings in Britain are very safe Page  2 …but incidents still occur

4. Level crossing signs Page  3

5. T756 – Signs and signals at level crossings  Commissioned by RSSB in 2009  A root and branch review of signing requirements -Without the influence of previous requirements and constraints, -What would be most effective in reducing road user errors at level crossings?

6. Page  5 Situation awareness Perception Comprehension Projection Take in information through senses (Endsley, 1995; Endsley, 2000) Use information to forecast future events Assign meaning to information

7. Page  6 Situation awareness Perception Comprehension Projection I see a triangular warning sign and light signals ahead An example I must brake because the barrier will come down and a train will pass through the crossing. I expect other traffic to stop too. The light signals are flashing which means stop

8. Blocking back Page  7  When vehicle drivers enter the level crossing at a time when the crossing exit is blocked (eg by queuing traffic)

9. Blocking Back  The cause of approximately 7% of the risk associated with vehicles at level crossings  ‘Never drive onto a crossing until the road is clear on the other side.’ Page  8

10. Another train coming  About 10% of the risk associated with pedestrians at level crossings  The primary indications -signals provided continue to flash red, -the barriers, if provided, stay down  Additional measures -The tone of the audible alarm changes -A sign -A signal Page  9

11. Another train coming  Sound 1 – alarm for first train  Sound 2 – starts immediately as first train passes, to indicate that another train will pass Page  10

12. Research questions Page  11  Does participants’ awareness of the potential for more than one train to pass through the crossing vary by type of level crossing?  Do current second train warning signs and sounds affect awareness of the potential for second trains?  Are participants aware that they should not enter the level crossing before the crossing exit is clear?  Is awareness of blocking back dependent on level crossing type if a lorry is parked at the level crossing exit?

13. Page  12 Open Crossing

14. Page  13 Automatic Open Crossing

15. Page  14 Automatic Half Barrier Crossing

16. Page  15 Automatic Half Barrier Crossing (Max)

17. Page  16 Manually Controlled Barrier

18. Page  17 MCG

19. Another train coming Page  18

20. Page  19 Were any road signs present in the video? If so, which ones? Level 1 & 2 situation awareness Another train coming  Only shown in one scenario  30 presentations in total  4 recalled its presence

21. Did the level crossing have a barrier?  Generally high awareness  One participant viewing the AHB Max said there was no barrier  Three who viewed the AOCL said there was a barrier Page  20 Level 1 situation awareness

22. Page  21 Barrier position ScenarioNAssumed barrier would rise AHB2927 MCG3029 MCB3129 AHB Max2922 Level 2&3 situation awareness  Generally high awareness that where barrier was present, it was blocking the road

23. Page  22 Did the level crossing have light signals? Level 1 situation awareness  Generally high awareness  Four participants viewing the MCG said there were signals (and a further two were unsure)

24. Page  23 Signal aspect Level 2&3 situation awareness  Generally high awareness  One participant thought steady amber instead of red  Responses for MCG scenario varied ScenarioNAssumed wig-wags would change MCB3027 AHB Max2926 AHB2926

25. Page  24 Would you expect another train to pass through the crossing after the first one? ExpectationNumber Yes, a further train could pass17 No, a further train could not pass2 Unsure11 Level 3 situation awareness *with significant prompting

26. Blocking back Page  25

27. Page  26 Were any road signs present? If so, which ones? ‘Keep Crossing Clear’ sign Keep Crossing Clear Generally only one or two participants in each scenario recalled it (when it was presented) Almost a quarter recalled the sign in the Open Crossing scenario

28. Page  27 Were there any other road users in the scene? Level 1 situation awareness  Generally high awareness of other road users  One participant in AHB Max and MCB scenarios said there were no other road users present  15 out of 21 drivers in the MCG scenario said there were no other road users

29. Page  28 Progress through the scene ScenarioN Number who saw other road users Number who saw the lorry Number who would proceed AHB18 173 AHB Max1918 3 AOCL18 173 MCB2221 3 MCG21151011 OC22 6 Level 2&3 situation awareness

30. Discussion  Participants’ recall of signs was low -The Open Crossing was the notably different scenario  Expectation may play an important role in recollection -Recalling light signals where there werenone -Recalling barriers where there were none  Awareness for the potential of more than one train passing through the crossing was generally low -Existing measures make a difference (but a very small difference)

31. Discussion  In most scenarios, participants were aware of other road users -MCG scenario produced different results  Participants mostly said that they would not proceed onto the crossing -But almost a quarter of participants said they would Page  30

32. Conclusions  ‘Another train coming’ measures do have an effect -But only a small effect  There is some awareness of the need to ‘Keep crossing clear’ -But there is room for improvement

33. Page  32 Do You Have Any Questions?

34. Page  33 Thank you Presented by Dan Basacik Senior Human Factors Researcher Email: dbasacik@trl.co.uk