LEVEL CROSSING ACCIDENTS ANALYSIS IN ROMANIA

Level crossing accidents are one of the largest groups of fatal accidents and it is often useful to investigate them from a safety point of view in order to avoid their recurrence. Level crossings are a serious hazard for rail safety killing more than 200 people/year in the EU. Material damages are also substantial in terms of loss of assets and disruptions to traffic. Crossing a level crossing without following signs is a widespread problem. Even in the case of an obvious violation of safety rules, the causative factor may come from the railway system. Accidents at level crossings have an obvious impact on railway safety regulation or safety management, if the accident was a result of deficiencies in the railway system (e.g. technical failures of infrastructure devices or rolling stock, staff not following procedures, deficiencies in the safety management system, etc.). In this context, the analysis of road accidents at railway level crossings in Romania helps to understand the current situation and the measures needed to modernize them to increase road safety.