The International Level Crossing Awareness Day was celebrated on June 9 in the Railway Museum, by preparing the program dedicated to the “Caution! Choose life!” campaign, which has been very successfully organized in the last 12 months all over Serbia. On that occasion, the multimedia presentation “Acting correctly is safe” was prepared in Railway Museum and a video, which will be also displayed on television and considered as an introduction for the next campaign starting from autumn, was played for the first time. The video was made for the needs of Media Center by the team from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, under the lead of their professor Marina Fafulic from Department for Production.

The multimedia presentation was displayed in front of little more than 200 children from two primary schools on the territory of the Savski venac municipality: “Isidora Sekulic” and “Radojka Lakic”, and in front of fifty  kids from “Zora” kindergarten from Zvezdara. The children had also the opportunity to visit the museum train “Romantika” at the main railway station in Belgrade after the presentation.
Except the youngest, the program was attended also by Director General Milovan Markovic with management representatives, Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Road Traffic Dragan Jovanovic, Director of the Traffic Safety Agency Stojadin Jovanovic, Head of Marketing of the Traffic Safety Agency Stefana Mladenovic, Deputy Secretary of the Association of Transport and Telecommunications at Belgrade Chamber Marija Askovic-Matic, as well as numerous friends of the campaign and school institution representatives. “Serbian Railways” joined in this way the railway managements all over the world, drawing public attention in order to point out the importance of responsible behavior of all traffic participants at level crossings.

THE SAFETY LEVEL CROSSING CAMPAIGN „CAUTION! CHOOSE LIFE!“ OF „SERBIAN RAILWAYS“ FINISHED FOR THE 2010/2011 SCHOOL YEAR

Running under the motto “Caution! Choose life!”,  Media Center of „Serbian Railways“ started in October last year socially responsible campaign about the safety at level crossings, which has been organized in front of 11 000 pupils so far. The presentation was prepared in 69 primary schools in 23 cities in Serbia . It represents series of lectures that include multimedia presentation of educational and entertaining character, in order to point out the danger and explain to students correct traffic behavior at level crossings. All lectures are interactive, so that neccessary communication and proper effect is achieved.
The socially responsible campaign about the safety at level crossings was organized in primary schools in: Niš, Lapovo, Zaječar, Prokuplje, Kruševac, Pirot, Novi Sad, Ruma, Šabac, Zrenjanin, Kikinda, Vršac, Subotica, Sremska Mitrovica, Valjevo, Lazarevac, Lajkovac, Čačak, Kraljevo, Užice, Sevojno, Požega and Beograd. During the implementation of the presentation, Media Center has encountered a lot of understanding and cooperation of all local governments, which provided assistance in organizing campaigns in schools.

HOW IT STARTED...

The presentation „Caution! Choose life!“ was started on June 22 last year, on the International Level Crossing Awareness Day, when the first educational and informative public classes were held in five towns in Serbia at busiest level crossings. That presentation was organized at level crossings in Beograd, Niš, Lapovo, Sremski Karlovci and Ruma. On this occasion, the informative material was given to all traffic participiant, and the whole event caused positive response of the public, local government and media. The reason for organizing this kind of action in the whole world and in our country too, are numeruous tragedies and accidents at level crossings. That happens in most of cases due to irresponsible behavior of participants in road traffic and pedestrians, while there is a misconception at the same time that this fatal accidents are railway problem.

International conferences and round tables on the issue show that the only really effective way to decrease the number of accidents, short of clossing all level crossings, is education, highlighting the risks and making people aware of the potential consequences if thay do not follow the rules of the road. For that reason, the railway community, running under the motto „Act safetly at level crossings“, in conjuction with a small but rising number of road sector organisations and in conjuction with the European Commission and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), has established the ILCAD campaign (the International Level Crossing Awareness Day), in which are icluded more than 45 contries and railway managements all over the world, among others also „Serbian Railways“.

The number of killed and injured persons in extraordinary incidents at level crossings grows every year. Only during five months this year 18 extraordinary incidents at level crossings have happened, 8 at level crossings with signal-safety equipment  and 10 at level crossings with road traffic signs. In this accidents one person was killed and 13 were injured. (Detailed data for previous years are given in table 1). 

Table 1.

According to statistical data of the expert services of the "Serbian Railways", the biggest number of extraordinary incidents occurred not only due to negligence, lack of concentration and non-observance of the traffic signs, but also due to irresponsible and insolent behavior of participants in road traffic.

When road vehicles drivers cross the tracks, they usually don’t look at all and make risky and dangerous decision to pass by level crossing half-barriers, they don` t act fully according to traffic signal lights, and drive over the tracks although the device for traffic control is engaged. It often happens that passenger vehicle gets stuck on the track or they run off the road into rail zone. There are also many cases of arrogant and self-confident behavior of road vehicle drivers, who make risky and dangerous operations under alcohol influence.

There are total 2.138 level crossings in the area of the “Serbian Railways”, and there many different ways to secure them:

1. with traffic signs on the road and visibility triangle
2. with traffic signal lights and traffic signs on the road
3. with half-barriers with traffic signal lights and traffic signs on the road
4. with longitudinal barriers and traffic signs on the road
5. with direct regulation of traffic on level crossing and specific measures in particular situations
6. with fences or other devices on level crossings for pedestrians and cyclist

In which way some level crossings will be secured depends on rail and road visibility on the crossing place (visibility triangle), rail purpose, type of rail, traffic density, maximal speed, length of the level crossing and free space above the level crossing.

Let` s mention that it is regulated that the level crossing of railway and road must be equipped by automatic devices of level crossing, when the crossing is performed on the place of:

1. Main railway lines with main or local roads
2. Main railway lines and road where maximal speed is over 120km/h
3. Other railway lines with roads which have traffic density of 5.000 vehicles within 24h.

On the other hand, local government, which also participates in financing and maintenance of these level crossings according to Law on Railway stipulations, has influence on the ways of level crossing securing.

Taking all the economic and technological aspects into consideration, there is no excuse for not securing all level crossings with automatic devices. Such cases don’t exist neither in wealthier and more modern railways, nor in far more developed countries, which invest a lot more in railways and rail traffic.

Bearing in mind time they need and investments that are necessary for the safety on level crossings, many railway administrations have seen potential in education, national media campaign and actions such as the International Level Crossings Awareness Day. With this kind of action the awareness of all participants in road traffic can be influenced in order to make them act responsible, to make them respect all road and rail signalization and to make them be more careful an cautious on level crossings, because - BRAKING DISTANCE OF THE TRAIN SET IS BETWEEN 700 AND 1.000 METERS AND NO IMMEDIATE REACTION IS POSSIBLE! FOR THAT REASON,

"CAUTION! CHOOSE LIFE!"

The school year 2011/2012

Presentation in Batajnica Presentation in Zemun Presentation in Cukarica Presentation in Savski venac Presentation in Pancevo

The school year 2010/2011

Presentation in Nis Presentation in Lapovo Presentation in Zajecar Presentation in Prokuplje Presentation in Krusevac Presentation in Pirot Presentation in Novi Sad Presentation in Ruma and Sabac Presentation in Zrenjanin and Kikinda

Presentation in Vrsac Presentation in Subotica Presentation in Sremska Mitrovica Presentation in Valjevo Presentation in Lazarevac and Lajkovac Presentation in Cacak Presentation in Kraljevo Presentation in Uzice and Pozega Prezentation in Belgrade

The International Level Crossing Awareness Day celebrated by finishing the construction work on three level crossings in Sabac

"Serbian Railways" celebrated June 9 - the International Level Crossing Awareness Day