Human Behavioral Aspects of Level Crossing Safety with Special Reference to Indian Railways

Railway level crossings (LC) are the interface between roads and railway tracks, and as such are the potential site for vehicletrain collisions and incidents. About 95 % of accidents are caused by road users‟ misuse. Behavioural science is an academic and applied discipline involving the scientific study of mental process and behaviour. There is currently considerable interest being taken to better understand road users‟ behaviour at LC, and to implement additional controls and upgrades to improve LC safety performance. The present paper describes various parameters of behavioural science related to LC. The present study indicates that on Indian Railways, gate closure time on most of the L.C is unusually long and beyond the tolerance of the road users. About 30 % of the vehicle drivers have reaction time more than 2 seconds which results in delayed decisions and actions, sometimes resulting into accidents.