Sounding the warning bells: The need for a systems approach to understanding behaviour at rail level crossings

Collisions at rail level crossings are an international safety concern and have been the subject of considerable research effort. Modern human factors practice advocates a systems approach to investigating safety issues in complex systems. This paper describes the results of a structured review of the level crossing literature to determine the extent to which a systems approach has been applied. The measures used to determine if previous research was underpinned by a systems approach were: the type of analysis method utilised, the number of component relationships considered, the number of user groups considered, the number of system levels considered and the type of model described in the research. None of research reviewed was found to be consistent with a systems approach. It is recommended that further research utilise a systems approach to the study of the level crossing system to enable the identification of effective design improvements.

► The individual and systems approach to research were compared and contrasted. ► Criteria were developed to define and classify a systems approach to research. ► A structured review of the rail level crossing literature was undertaken. ► None of research reviewed was found to be consistent with a systems approach. ► A systems-based research approach is proposed to improve safety at level crossings.