On 10 and 11 June, the UIC, the worldwide railway association, the international rail community and many partners from the road sector as well as a number of international institutions will be holding the 8th edition of International Level Crossing Awareness Day (ILCAD: www.ilcad.org). To launch this worldwide campaign an international conference on level crossing safety will be hosted by “Latvian Railways” (LDz) on 10 June in Riga (Latvia), followed by a technical visit in Tallinn (Estonia) on 11 June organised by Operation Lifesaver Estonia (OLE).
Jean-Pierre Loubinoux: “As in previous years, we are proud to bring together about 40 countries to participate in this global event, either by relaying it on their websites or on social media, or by organising a range of activities around 10-11 June. The partners in ILCAD will be focusing in particular on safety at level crossings, but some will also make the most of the opportunity to raise public awareness of other dangers such as crossing railway lines where it is strictly forbidden to do so, or safety on station platforms. We wish our partners all the best for their campaign.”
Each year, the ILCAD partners choose a different section of the public for their awareness campaign. Since we have been experiencing in a certain number of countries an increasing number of collisions at level crossings involving seniors, we have decided this year to focus on “Senior citizens and people with sensory and mobility restrictions”.
As for all other categories of road users, pedestrians and cyclists, collisions may involve seniors who may take wrong decisions either by error or deliberately. For this particular category of persons, misbehaviour can be linked to habit, age problems (decrease of sight, hearing), and to the overestimation of their abilities. Such behaviour which fails to take safety adequately into account, may lead them to act recklessly, leading to severe injuries or even loss of life. They also can put the lives of others at risk, whether those travelling in their vehicles, or rail staff and passengers. To promote the awareness of senior citizens and people with mobility restrictions UIC and LDz have co-produced posters and a new video available on internet and broadcast on TV; visit: www.ilcad.org.
These communications materials were developed with seniors in mind, but will be useful as a reminder to all other level crossing users and particularly persons with mobility restrictions.
Our accident-prevention message for 2016: “Do not overestimate your abilities near railway tracks!” is for everyone.
Also view:
Level Crossings and Road Safety
