New KiwiRail survey shows nearly half fail to stop or prepare to stop at rail crossings

RNZ News

05-06-2025

The report says a simple 'Look for Trains' sign had significantly higher success getting drivers to stop and look.
Photo:
RNZ / Nathan Mckinnon
Nearly half of motor vehicles fail to stop, or prepare to stop when approaching level crossings in research commissioned by KiwiRail.
They were least likely to do so where there was just Give Way signs in place.
The engineering and professional services consulting firm WSP observed more than 3600 drivers - 47 percent failed to stop at crossings with Stop signs, or were ready to stop at Give Way signs.
Earlier research had found more than half of the deaths in serious level crossing collisions over a ten-year period occurred at crossings with Stop or Give Way signs.
There have been 25
collisions at crossings
in the last two years.
The report said 'Look for Trains' signs had significantly higher success getting drivers to stop and look - and a major recommendation of the review was to remove all Give Way signs for Stop signs.
Chief operations officer at KiwiRail Paul Ashton told
Nine to Noon
the report helped them to further understand the challenges around passive crossings.
A passive rail crossing is where there is a stop sign, give way sign or look for train sign.
Crossings with barrier arms, bells and flashing lights are known as active protection crossings.
"This research focused on the stop and give-way signs because there is evidence showing that compliance to the stop and give-way have been very very low, and the results of the survey re-enforce that we are just on 50 percent of people are failing to to that.
"From a KiwiRail perspective this is both disappointing and very disturbing, disturbing on a number of fronts."
Ashton said it was mostly in the rural areas where the passive signs were in place.
He said in these places people were "sailing through" the crossings, often not slowing down or checking before crossings the tracks.
The compliance crossing active crossings is much higher, Ashton said.
"It is much higher because you have physical obstacles like barriers arms coming down to stop the traffic moving, but unfortunately we have had situations where people have driven around the barriers and we've had some very tragic incidents in the last 12 months as a result of that."
To improve compliance, he said, they would be looking to add 'Look for Trains' signs at more crossings.
"But it is still reliant on the responsibility of every vehicle driver to follow the rules, which is no different to us in our cars everyday at stop signs or give-way signs on the public roads."
He said collisions and near misses also took a serious toll on KiwRail staff.
There are 550 passive rail crossings and 750 active protective crossings around the country.
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