Anne Silla

THE DEVELOPMENT OF RAILWAY SAFETY IN FINLAND

This study reviews the development of railway safety in Finland from 1959 to 2008. The results show that the level of safety has greatly improved over the past five decades. The total number of railway fatalities did not show any obvious decreasing or increasing trend during the first decade, but since the early 1970s the annual number of fatalities has decreased from about 100 to 20. The estimated overall annual reduction per year from 1970 to 2008 was 5.4% (with a 95% confidence interval from -8.2% to -2.6%). The reduction in subcategories per million train-kilometres from 1959 to 2008 was 4.4% per year for passengers, 8.3% for employees, 5.0% for road users at level crossings and 3.6% for others (mainly trespassers). The safety improvement for passengers and staff was probably influenced by the introduction of central locking of doors in passenger cars and improved procedures to protect railway employees working on the tracks. The number of road users killed at level crossings has fallen due to the installation of barriers and the construction of overpasses and underpasses at crossings with dense traffic, removal of level crossings, and an improvement of conditions such as visibility at crossings. The number of trespasser fatalities has seen the least decline. Key plans for the future include further reduction of the number of level crossings on the state railway network from the current roughly 3500-2200 by 2025, and involving communities in safety work related to railway trespassers.

Main characteristics of train–pedestrian fatalities on Finnish railroads

The aim of this study was to describe the frequency of fatalities, timing of collisions and characteristics of persons killed in train-pedestrian collisions on Finnish railways during 2005-2009. In addition, the Finnish results were compared with those collected in Sweden. The Finnish data were combined from five different sources. The results showed that 311 pedestrians were killed in train-pedestrian collisions, including 264 suicides, 35 accidents and 12 unclassified events. For each event type, most of the victims were male. Most suicide victims were in the 20-29 year age group and on average younger than people who chose some other form of suicide. About half of all victims were intoxicated by alcohol, medicines and/or drugs. Both suicides and accidents occurred most often at the end of the week but no specific peak for time of year was found. Suicides occurred most frequently from afternoon to night and accidents during the rush hours. Most train-pedestrian fatalities happened in densely populated areas. In conclusion, the effective prevention of railway suicides and accidents calls for a systems approach involving effective measures introduced by authorities responsible for urban planning, railways, education and public health.

Effect of three countermeasures against the illegal crossing of railway tracks

This study was designed to investigate the effects of three countermeasures--landscaping, building a fence and prohibitive signs--on the frequency of trespassing, which in this case means crossing the track at places where it is forbidden. At each location the official route was no more than 300 m away. The main results showed that the effect of each countermeasure on the frequency of trespassing was statistically significant. Specifically, the fencing reduced trespassing by 94.6%, followed by landscaping (91.3%) and prohibitive signs (30.7%). The majority of illegal crossings were committed alone and the persons trespassing were mostly adults and men. In addition, the results demonstrated some tendencies of how the effects of the selected countermeasures can vary with the characteristics of the trespassers. The main implication of this study is that the building of physical barriers such as landscaping or fencing is recommended for reducing trespassing. However, if the required resources are not available or the site is not suitable for such measures, the use of prohibitive signs is recommended. Further, there is a need to tailor the countermeasures to the characteristics of the trespassers in order to ensure that the most appropriate countermeasures are applied.

Can cyclist safety be improved with intelligent transport systems

In recent years, Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) have assisted in the decrease of road traffic fatalities, particularly amongst passenger car occupants. Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs) such as pedestrians, cyclists, moped riders and motorcyclists, however, have not been that much in focus when developing ITS. Therefore, there is a clear need for ITS which specifically address VRUs as an integrated element of the traffic system. This paper presents the results of a quantitative safety impact assessment of five systems that were estimated to have high potential to improve the safety of cyclists, namely: Blind Spot Detection (BSD), Bicycle to Vehicle communication (B2V), Intersection safety (INS), Pedestrian and Cyclist Detection System+Emergency Braking (PCDS+EBR) and VRU Beacon System (VBS). An ex-ante assessment method proposed by Kulmala (2010) targeted to assess the effects of ITS for cars was applied and further developed in this study to assess the safety impacts of ITS specifically designed for VRUs. The main results of the assessment showed that all investigated systems affect cyclist safety in a positive way by preventing fatalities and injuries. The estimates considering 2012 accident data and full penetration showed that the highest effects could be obtained by the implementation of PCDS+EBR and B2V, whereas VBS had the lowest effect. The estimated yearly reduction in cyclist fatalities in the EU-28 varied between 77 and 286 per system. A forecast for 2030, taking into accounts the estimated accident trends and penetration rates, showed the highest effects for PCDS+EBR and BSD.

Effect of railway safety education on the safety knowledge and behaviour intention of schoolchildren

This study was designed to evaluate whether railway safety lessons are effective in increasing schoolchildrens safety knowledge and behaviour intention. The railway safety education in schools included a 45-min lesson on safe behaviour in a railway environment directed at 8-11 year old schoolchildren. The lessons were held in four schools located near railway lines in Finland. The effectiveness of this measure was evaluated based on a short survey directed at pupils before the lesson (base level) and around 2-3 months later (post-lesson) based on three variables which are considered as strong determinants of actual behaviour: behaviour intention, estimated dangerousness of the behaviour, and level of knowledge on the legality of the behaviour. The results show that the change in the share of correct answers was positive regarding all questions except for one question in which the difference was not significant. Based on this we can reasonably assume that railway safety education in schools can have a positive effect for all the measured variables, although the effect is not necessarily large. The results indicate that these positive changes can have a positive effect on the frequency of trespassing (i.e. fewer unsafe crossings in the future). We can further assume that reduction in the frequency of trespassing would reduce the frequency of trespassing accidents.

Prevention of railway trespassing by automatic sound warning—A pilot study

ABSTRACT Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of a sound warning system on the frequency of trespassing at 2 pilot test sites in Finland. Methods: The effect of automatic prerecorded sound warning on the prevention of railway trespassing was evaluated based on observations at 2 test sites in Finland. At both sites an illegal footpath crossed the railway, and the average daily number of trespassers before implementation of the measures was about 18 at both sites. Results: The results showed that trespassing was reduced at these sites by 18 and 44%, respectively. Because of the lack of proper control sites, it is possible that the real effects of the measure are somewhat smaller. Conclusions: The current study concludes that automatic sound warning may be efficient and cost effective at locations where fencing is not a viable option. However, it is not likely to be a cost-effective panacea for all kinds of sites where trespassing occurs, especially in countries like Finland where trespassing is scattered along the railway network rather than concentrated to a limited number of sites.

Optimizing suicide and trespass prevention on railways: a problem-solving model from the RESTRAIL project

Abstract Suicides and trespassing accidents result in more than 3800 fatalities in Europe, representing 88% of all fatalities occurring within the EU railway system. This paper presents a problem-solving model, which consists of a multistep approach structuring the analysis of a suicide or trespass-related problem on the railways. First, we present the method used to design, evaluate and improve the problem-solving model. Then we describe the model in detail: it comprises six steps with several subsequent actions, and each action is approached through a checklist of prompting questions and possible answers. At the end, we discuss the added value of this model for decision makers and its usability in the selection of optimal prevention measures.

Collecting evidence from distributed sources to evaluate railway suicide and trespass prevention measures

Abstract It can be difficult to select from available safety preventative measures, especially where there is limited evidence of effectiveness in different contexts. This paper describes application of a method to identify and evaluate wide-ranging preventative measures for rail suicide and trespass fatalities. Evidence from literature and industry sources was collated and reviewed in a two stage process to achieve consensus among experts on the likely effects of the measures and factors influencing their implementation. Multiple evaluation criteria were used to examine the measures from different perspectives. Fencing, awareness campaigns and different types of organisational initiatives were recommended for further testing. This is the first time evidence has been collected internationally across such a range of preventative measures. Commentary is provided on using this type of approach to select safety measures from a pool of prevention options, including how re-framing the scope of the exercise could identify alternative options for prevention. Practitioner summary: The findings give insight to how different measures work in different ways and how industry can consider this in strategic initiatives. The method could be used in future studies with different frames of reference (e.g. different timescales, level of ambition and safety context e.g. railway crossings or highway fatalities). Abbreviation: RESTRAIL: REduction of Suicides and Trespasses on RAILway property