Number of Railway Level Crossing Accidents Decreases
Estonian Technical Surveillance Authority press release
18.01.2012
In 2011 there occurred 28 railway incidents in Estonia. There were 15 motor vehicle and train collisions injuring 3 persons but with no fatalities. There were 13 pedestrians hit by railway rolling stock, 4 of them were injured and 9 died.
Compared to 2010 reduced the number of motor vehicle – train collisions. An important positive indication is also the fact that there were no fatal accidents and the number of persons injured showed a decline. Most of the collisions happened during harsh winter conditions due to choosing inappropriate driving speed (1st quarter) and drunk driving (4th quarter), which indicates that that the technical infrastructure is already safe and in most of the cases accidents happen because of traffic regulation violations.
The reduction in the number of collisions and fatalities has been contributed by the efforts continuously made for improving the technical condition of level crossings and visibility during the year 2011 and before. Last year the cooperation between the Technical Surveillance Authority, railway companies and local governments resulted in closure of six railway level crossings and five crossings were equipped with additional safety equipment. Furthermore, changes in regulations were introduced in order to make level crossings more visible (e.g. the obligation to replace the existing lights with LED lights, install additional traffic signs, etc.). The implementation of such measures has improved the overall situation in 2011 and is expected to have positive influence in the following periods.
The number of pedestrians hit by trains remained the same as in 2010. The main reason for such accidents continues to be negligence and carelessness, as well as trespassing. The Technical Surveillance Authority is planning to map all the illegal pedestrian crossings and find optimal solutions to the problem considering with the needs of road users.
The Technical Surveillance Authority analyses constantly the circumstances of all railway accidents and incidents in order to find, in cooperation with railway companies and railway safety organizations, suitable solutions and make railways a safer place. It also continues its active public safety promotion activities in cooperation with OLE (Operation Lifesaver Estonia) with the objective to improve road users’ awareness about the dangers present in railway traffic and their prevention.
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Additional information:
Anu Võlma
Chief Specialist of Public Relations
Technical Surveillance Authority
Sõle 23A, 10614 Tallinn
Tel 667 2031
Mob 50 11 585
Anu.Volma@tja.ee