Facts

Statistics and Trends

There have been 244 collisions between cars and trains at public road level crossings in New Zealand in the past ten years.

Road level crossing collisions

On average there are around 24 collisions per year between trains and motor vehicles on public road crossings.

In the past ten years about 12 percent of road level crossing collisions occurred where half-arm barriers plus flashing lights and bells were installed.  37 percent happened where flashing lights and bells were installed.  The remaining collisions occurred at crossings protected by signs alone.

In any 10 year period over 80 percent of road level crossings are collision free.  A small group of "collision black spot" level crossings (those with more than one collision within ten years) are responsible for around 36 percent of all collisions.

Half arm barriers are considered to eliminate around 90 percent of collisions and flashing lights and bells are considered to eliminate about 65 percent of colliisions that would have occurred at a crossing if it had been protected by signs alone.

Pedestrian level crossing collisions

Over the past ten years there were 33 collisions between pedestrians and trains at 30 different locations.  This is around 3 collisions per year. 

Approximately 70 percent of pedestrian level crossing collisions occur where automatic alarms are installed.

source: KiwiRail, January 2013

Trespass incidents

Trespassing is the leading cause of railway deaths in New Zealand.  From 1994 to the end of 2012, 203 people have died while trespassing on railway tracks. (New Zealand Ministry of Transport data).

Around forty percent of pedestrian deaths on the railway are suicides.

Trends

In data collected between 1990 and 2008 from the Ministry of Transport's Crash Analysis System relating to collisions between motor vehicles and trains:

• around 67% involved cars or station wagons
• approximately 15% involved vans or utes, and 7% were trucks
• 72% of drivers involved in fatal and injury crashes held full drivers' licences
• of these drivers, around 74% were male
• the highest represented group in level crossing collisions is men aged between 40-59
• women aged over 60 are the least likely group to be involved in a level crossing collision

Interesting facts:

• most collisions occur during daylight hours and in fine weather
• collisions at night occur when motorists drive into the side of a train
• a significant number of collisions occur within a close proximity of a person's home
• around 12% of all collisions happen at crossings with barrier arms

the majority of collisions occur because the driver has made a mistake (didn't look or failed to see the train) or because they thought they could beat the train over the crossing.

More statistical information can be found on the Ministry of Transport website.