Driver Behaviour at Level Crossings: Too Fast Approach Speeds and Too Fast Decisions?

Collisions at level crossings are a concern worldwide, but the contributing factors for such collisions are not well understood. The aim of the study was to further investigate driver behaviour at level crossings, during day and night-time driving. A 50-minute rural route was driven by 27 participants; GPS position and speed of the vehicle were recorded. Drivers approached level crossings without boom gates significantly faster than road intersections, resulting in more abrupt braking. Drivers spent a lot less time assessing the situation as compared to road intersections without traffic. Drivers slightly reduced their travelling speed under night-time conditions.