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Drivers blameless in level crossing accident says ATSB report

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has released its Victorian level crossing truck crash report

 

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has released its report on a V/Line train’s 2016 collision with a semitrailer in Victoria.

The ATSB reports on rail, air and maritime accidents and it is rare but not unknown that accidents involving trucks are investigated.

These findings come as the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) continues to campaign to have ATSB-style investigation of major truck accidents.

The report arrives one month shy of three years after a Warrnambool-bound passenger train collided with a semi-trailer at the Phalps Road level crossing at Larpent, near Colac.

In common with two other reports this decade on level-crossing crashes involving trucks, line-of-sight issues are to the fore in its findings.

“The investigation, conducted by Victoria’s Chief Investigator, Transport Safety, on behalf of the ATSB, found the driver was unable to detect the approaching train on his left due to his restricted view from the level crossing’s acute road-to-rail angle and the composition of the truck’s passenger-side window,” the ATSB says.

The level crossing was “passively controlled with stop signs”.

When the truck initially stopped at the crossing, the train was more than 300m away.

The truck began moving towards the track when the train was 220m-260m from the crossing.

Unaware of the train approaching beyond his line of sight, the truck driver entered the level crossing.

The driver heard the train’s horn shortly before the locomotive struck the truck’s semi-trailer. After impact, the train’s locomotive and all passenger cars derailed. The locomotive driver, train conductor, 18 passengers and the truck driver were injured, the drivers severely. There were no fatalities. 

“The ability of a truck driver to see along a railway track to their left can be affected by in-cab obstructions,” the ATSB says.

“The Australian Design Standard for passively controlled level crossings accounts for this possibility by requiring a viewing angle of no more 110 degrees for a driver looking to their left from the straight-ahead direction.

“If this viewing angel is exceeded, passive level crossing controls should not be used.

“The investigation found that for a vehicle stopped at the northern side of the Phalps Road level crossing, the viewing angle to achieve the required sighting distance was 116 degrees.

“The Phalps Road level crossing was subsequently upgraded to active protection controls in August 2016.”

The report regards those in control of the truck and the train as blameless in the accident but does note that “available controls were not applied to the level crossing even though the hazards were known. There was an opportunity for V/Line and/or Colac Otway Shire Council [COSC] to implement available risk controls prior to and after the decision to upgrade.”

It finds more than 100 V/Line’s level crossings in the V/Line regional rail network, including 35 at the intersection of passenger lines and public roads) were non-compliant with the left-side viewing angle requirements

These crossings had an acute road-to-rail angle that affected the ability of drivers to sight trains approaching from their left.

Meanwhile, data from the Australian Transport Council (ATC) and the Standing Committee on Transport (SCOT) backed Australian Level Crossing Assessment Model (ALCAM) was faulty due to survey shortfalls.  


Decline in heavy rigid fatal crashes


In response to the incident, a five-year program of re-survey and assessment of all public level crossings on the Victorian rail network commenced in May 2017 and is scheduled to be completed in April 2022. This will ensure that any erroneous data is corrected.

V/Line has established a new rail interface team that has been tasked with actively engaging Councils and the COSC says it “would seek to clarify those crossings with outstanding sighting issues and investigate short-to-medium term solutions for implementation”.

“Since the accident, V/Line has taken action at 25 passenger line passively controlled level crossings with left-hand viewing angles that exceed the Australian Standard,” thee ATSB notes.

“Nine have been upgraded, one has had restricted access gates installed and 15 have had speed restrictions put in place. A further 24 crossings have also been nominated for upgrade.” 

Of the 35 level crossings at the intersection of passenger lines and public roads that were non‐ compliant with the left‐hand viewing angle requirement:

  • nine have been upgraded to active (four at Warrnambool, three at Swan Hill and two at Bairnsdale)
  • one has restricted access gates (Maryborough)
  • 15 are still passive with speed restrictions of no greater than 60km/h (one on the Warrnambool line scheduled for upgrade in 2019), 11 Swan Hill, two Shepparton and one Bairnsdale).
  • nine are in service without speed restrictions. one will be closed on the loop line at Bungaree, eight on the Swan Hill line have ALCAM road usage data of no more than five vehicles per day, with some impassable by trucks.

One has been reassessed as compliant with the standard. V/Line has nominated a further 24 crossings for upgrade with priority given to non-compliant passive crossings above higher ALCAM ranked active crossings.

The Victorian Level Crossing Safety Steering Committee (VLCSSC) has established a Passive Crossing Working Group.

It is examining low cost technologies exploring the option of including the details of ‘limited sighting’ crossings on the VicRoads heavy vehicle road network maps.

Comment has been sought from the ATA.

The full report can be found here.

 

 

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