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Rail and road team to promote level crossings safety

The peak rail and trucking representative bodies will run an education campaign to promote safety at level crossings

The peak rail and trucking representative bodies will run an education campaign to promote safety at level crossings.

The Australasian Railway Association (ARA) has injected $65,000 into a fund to promote the issue, with the Australian Trucking Association’s (ATA) Road Ahead exhibition running displays to raise awareness.

ATA Chairman Trevor Martyn says the partnership is crucial to promoting safety at level crossings.

“We will be working together to make sure that truck drivers, motorists, pedestrians and school children all understand the importance of level crossing safety as the exhibition trailer continues to tour throughout 2009 and beyond,” Martyn says.

“The display will highlight the simple rules that motorists and truck drivers can follow to protect their safety at level crossings.”

He says this includes obeying red lights and boom gates, never queuing across train or tram tracks and following traffic signs and signals at crossings without boom gats or red lights.

The ARA and the ATA will also increase pressure on governments to upgrade thousands of crossings across the country by installing rumble strips, safety warnings and improving lines of sight.

Martyn says governments must install red lights and boom gates at high-risk crossings.

ARA Chief Executive Bryan Nye says it is important the rail and road industries work collaboratively to increase safety and work to achieve “wide-reaching benefits”.

“Whilst we may disagree on some transport issues, improving level crossing safety throughout Australia is a common goal for the rail and trucking industries,” Nye says.

An average of 37 Australians die each year as a result of collisions with trains at railway crossings.

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