R&D programme
Research brief
Research into signs at private level
crossings
Background
Level crossings on private roads pose a risk to road users. One method of
reducing the risk is to ensure that users are provided with appropriate and
well-designed information, instructions, and warnings as they approach
crossings.
RSSB, with the cross-industry Level Crossing Strategy Group sponsoring the
research, identified the need for a thorough review of signing requirements
at private road level crossings. This was to determine, without the
influence of the legacy of previous requirements and constraints, the types
of signs, signals and markings that would be most effective in reducing
road user errors at these crossings.
Aims and scope
The overall aim of the project was to investigate the signs, signals and
markings that best convey the information that road users need to
negotiate user-worked level crossings safely. The types of level crossing
considered were:
• User-worked crossing (UWC) (n = 620)
• User-worked crossings with telephones (UWCT) (n = 1654)
• User-worked crossings with miniature stop lights (UWCMSL) (n = 99)
The scope of the work included exploring potential changes to the design
of the crossing environment and the approach to the crossing, without
changing the way that the crossing is operated.
The project initially assessed existing signs, signals and markings and
provided 12 recommendations for improvement, deliberately ignoring all
R&D programme: Research brief T983 ‐ May 2015
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practical issues regarding implementation. The latter stages of the project
further developed and evaluated these design suggestions and considered
issues such as practicality, legality and cost. A final set of recommended
measures was selected, based on the research findings, and the actions
needed to implement the changes were identified.
Overview of research methods
The research project investigated all current private road level crossing
signs and signals in GB and a range of methods were used to increase
confidence in the research findings. Research methods to assess the
existing signs, signals and markings at user-worked crossings and to
develop recommendations included:
• A literature review of relevant accident and research reports
• Site assessments of user-worked crossings
• Development of task and error analyses for user-worked crossings
• An expert workshop with human factors and level crossings specialists to
identify road user information needs
• A comprehension survey of existing signs and signals at user-worked
crossings
• Laboratory based trials to gain an understanding of road user situation
awareness on the approach to existing user-worked crossing approaches
• A second expert workshop to discuss key findings and develop
recommendations for improvement through user-worked crossing
mitigations
Findings from these research activities then fed into the development of a
number of potential designs addressing the areas for improvement that
were identified. These designs were evaluated using a comprehension
survey and a virtual reality trial and refinements to the designs were made
where necessary after each strand of research and after discussions with
the steering group.
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R&D programme: Research brief T983 ‐ May 2015
The project also carried out a feasibility assessment for each measure
which considered practicality issues, legal and standards issues, and an
assessment of cost. Once the final set of promising measures had been
selected, a plan was developed to identify the steps and actions that would
be required to implement the changes.
A risk categorisation and quantification task was conducted to prioritise
each of the measures.
Key results
Findings from the site assessments showed that the way in which userworked crossings are signed and marked is inconsistent. This could lead to
confusion when approaching and using the crossing.
The survey of road users, conducted to assess their understanding of
existing user-worked crossing signs and signals, showed that there was
some uncertainty over which instruction sign applied to which road user
type. The miniature stop light signals, however, were fairly well understood.
Figure 1 - Current instruction sign used at vehicular UWCs
When participants were shown images of the approach to user-worked
level crossings, many did not associate the gates with a level crossing until
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they were at the crossing itself. Additionally, many participants did not
recognise the need to operate gates or barriers themselves and instead
expected them to open automatically.
Following discussions, human factors and level crossings experts identified
a range of potential improvements to user-worked crossings. These were:
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Use one universal level crossing sign at all UWCs to provide a consistent
user experience. The preferred design is shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2 - Preferred universal user-worked crossing sign
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2
Use a universal Stop Look Listen sign at all UWCs, which applies to all
road users.
3
Clearly convey the need to use the telephone at UWCTs, possibly by
using a universal stop and telephone sign which applies to all road users.
4
Provide simple, well understood instructions which are clearly related to
the intended road user groups.
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Reduce sign clutter by removing unnecessary information and
appropriately locating all information.
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Use ground markers to aid pedestrians (recommended by T984,
Research into the causes of pedestrian accidents at level crossings and
potential solutions).
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Improve the visibility of gates and barriers to speed up recognition of a
UWC, possibly by mounting a roundel and/or applying retro-reflective
tape, and standardising the appearance of gates and barriers at UWCs.
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Differentiate the look of UWC barriers from automatic barriers to reduce
misinterpretation of barrier type and crossing procedure.
9
Use back-to-back MSLs (where the MSL is installed on the nearside of the
crossing as well as on the far side) or MSL repeaters to ensure that all
road users can see the signal aspect.
10 Supplement MSLs with an audible warning that was designed during
T756-02, Research into signs and signals at public road level crossings.
11 Standardise information and location of information.
12 Use a coloured level crossing surface for all road users to mark the
'danger' area (recommended by T984, Research into the causes of
pedestrian accidents at level crossings and potential solutions).
Measures which aimed to address some of these recommendations were
then developed and evaluated; and an overall assessment, which included
a qualitative assessment of risk and a categorisation task, was conducted.
This resulted in the proposed measures being divided into two groups:
• Measures for all relevant user-worked crossings
• Measures which would improve safety at specific user-worked crossings
Measures for all relevant user-worked crossings
It was concluded that some measures would be good practice for the
design of all relevant user-worked level crossings subject to further testing
and changes to legislation and guidance in some instances. However, it
would not be feasible to implement them in a short period of time, so a
programme for implementation needs to be developed.
One measure which would need further testing and possible changes to
legislation and standards, and guidance prior to implementation, is a
universal user-worked crossing sign.
Five measures which would need further testing and changes to standards
and guidance before implementation are:
• High level instruction sign for UWCs
• High level instruction sign for UWCTs
• Detailed instruction sign for UWCs
• Detailed instruction sign for UWCTs
• Coloured level crossing surface
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One measure which would need changes to standards and guidance prior
to implementation is the one concerned with user-worked crossing gates
having red and white markings and a red roundel.
Measures which would improve safety at specific user-worked crossings
These measures were considered to be reasonably practicable at some
user-worked crossings. An implementation programme would be needed to
confirm costs.
One of these measures that would need further testing and changes to
standards and guidance is the proposed implementation of audible
warnings at UWCMSLs.
One measure that would need changes to guidance prior to
implementation is the installation of back-to-back MSLs.
Overall, this project evaluated and refined a range of promising new
designs for information provision at user-worked crossings, and
recommended implementing some new and existing measures to address
the areas for improvement that were identified.
Deliverables
The findings from the research have been published on (sparkrail.org) in a
project report, along with associated appendices.
Next Steps
The findings will be used by organisations managing level crossings in
Great Britain, to inform what changes should be made to level crossings on
private roads. The project identified the steps and actions that would need
to be taken to implement each of the recommended measures. For some
measures, further research and/or development activities and/or live trials
are suggested to investigate road user behaviour in relation to the signs,
signals and markings prior to installation at user-worked crossings.
Network Rail and RSSB are arranging a specialist workshop to consider in
detail the outcomes of this project, in conjunction with the outcomes of
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R&D programme: Research brief T983 ‐ May 2015
T756 and T984. Each recommendation will be worked through to establish
what will need to be done to get to a stage where the sign or marking can
be installed. The discussions will cover such issues as the design and length
of any trials, the phasing of gathering confidence in new signs with respect
to formal approval of new signs by DfT (where applicable), and how many
of the new signs and markings can be tested or trialled simultaneously at
the same level crossings.
Following the workshop RSSB is planning to host an industry event to
communicate the findings of these three projects and inform the industry
of the plans arising from the workshop above. That event will also cover
implementation activities undertaken so far, and planned for the future,
following the publication of two earlier research projects: T818 Optimising
public communication with signallers in emergencies at level crossings, and
T650 Improving safety and accessibility at public road level crossings for
disabled pedestrians.
Contact
For more information please contact:
Professional Lead - Operations R&D
R&D Programme
RSSB
enquirydesk@rssb.co.uk
Floor 4, The Helicon
1 South Place
London
EC2M 2RB
R&D programme: Research brief T983 ‐ May 2015
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