Reporting of near misses at
level crossings
Guidance
July 2024
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Reporting of near misses at level crossings
Guidance
1. Introduction
The reporting of near misses at level crossings is a key safety performance indicator. It informs
level crossing risk assessments. However, there are differences in the reporting quality of near
misses. The Level Crossing Strategy Group (LCSG) has published this guidance to tackle this issue.
This guidance clarifies what is considered a level crossing near miss for infrastructure risk
management and driver welfare management purposes. It also covers how industry can
strengthen its reporting and monitoring. It only considers near misses at level crossings on the rail
network in Great Britain. It does not suggest any changes to the reporting practice of near misses
at other locations.
The Rail Health and Safety Strategy outlines the industry’s approach for working together to
improve safety. This guidance document is one of the strategic initiatives set out in the strategy.
This follows an activity from its previous version, Leading Health & Safety on Britain’s Railway. The
activity aimed to ‘increase the number and quality of reports of near miss incidents and close calls
at level crossings’. This document shows the results of LCSG’s Near Miss Task and Finish Group
(NMTFG) activities to tackle that problem. The NMTFG included of representatives from Network
Rail, RSSB, LNER/ASLEF, and c2c. The group met regularly during 2021/22 to find and fix issues
related to near miss reporting.
1.1 Purpose of this guidance
This guidance is for those involved in the reporting chain and management of near misses.
Namely:
• train drivers
• driver managers
• signallers
• level crossing managers
• SMIS inputters.
The purpose of this guidance is to provide more objectivity to measuring near misses so that they
become a more insightful measure to monitor.
1.2 What is a near miss?
Accidents result in harm to people or assets. For level crossings, this could be a train striking a
pedestrian (including cyclists and horse riders) or a road vehicle.
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Incidents are generally events that have an undesired or unintended outcome. For level crossings,
this could be a pedestrian who crossed when a miniature stop light was illuminated but was well
clear of the crossing when the train passed.
Near misses are incidents that could be accidents, but accidents are narrowly avoided. It is the
‘narrowly avoided’ that distinguishes between a near miss and an incident or an accident. What is
‘narrowly avoided’ can be subjective.
This subjective nature means there can be differences in what is reported, making it difficult to
find real trends in data.
Appendix A provides more information on when and where near misses can occur at level
crossings.
1.3 Why do we monitor near misses?
We want to make sure we manage the risks from level crossings. There is a legal duty to ensure
that safety risks are managed so far as is reasonably practicable. There is also a social
responsibility to make level crossings as safe as possible. When level crossings are used safely, it
minimises any disruption to railway’s operational performance and enhances its reputation. To do
this, the infrastructure manager completes risk assessments and puts in place targeted risk
reduction plans at higher-risk locations. Safety event information like accidents, near misses, and
incidents help ensure that the right locations and types of mitigation are considered.
Through improvements in level crossing safety
risk management, we now benefit from fewer
In 2022/23, there were 5 pedestrian level crossings accidents. However, this makes it
fatalities and 5 road vehicle more difficult to identify how to improve safety
collisions from 5,492 level crossings. further. Good practice is to monitor both activity
Yet there were 458 near misses, and outcome indicators.1 In this case, monitoring
which had the potential for harm. near misses can provide an early (or more
leading) indication of where mitigations could be
ANNUAL HEALTH AND SAFETY REPORT
strengthened and further reduce accidents. This
2022/23, RSSB
is because they reflect, by chance, where an
accident was narrowly avoided.
2. How to report a near miss
A near miss can be reported by anyone involved in or observing the incident. In most cases, near
misses are reported by the train driver to the signaller or to their supervisor or manager. When
making this report, it is important that the following information is provided alongside the core
incident details:
1
Measuring Safety Performance, RSSB, January 2014
2
Question Why is this important?
Was the emergency brake applied? It is used to determine whether the definition for a
level crossing near miss is met.
Was the person or road vehicle seen too late to It is used to determine whether the definition for a
apply the emergency brake? level crossing near miss is met.
Who was the near miss with? It is used to better understand the profile of level
crossing users involved in near misses.
What was the unit number of the train? It is used to identify the train involved and obtain
forward-facing CCTV, if available.
3. What happens after a near miss is reported?
Monitoring safety helps to drive action and change. If no action is to be taken, there is little value
in monitoring. Following a near miss, level crossing managers usually take actions to manage the
risk control arrangements at level crossings. Driver managers take actions to manage the welfare
of the driver in the aftermath of the near miss. The definition of a near miss is different in both
cases to reflect these differing actions. The sections below cover this in more detail and provide an
overview for how such events should be reported and monitored using the industry’s Safety
Management Intelligence System (SMIS).
3.1 Actions taken by level crossing managers
When a near miss is reported at a level crossing on Network Rail-managed infrastructure, several
activities are triggered. This involves:
• reviewing the level crossing risk assessment to ensure it is still appropriate
• reviewing forward-facing camera footage from trains to understand the nature of the
near miss
• providing feedback to the organisation or people involved, e.g., train operator or driver
• ensuring the details of the event are recorded accurately in SMIS.
For level crossing managers, near misses give some reflection on the effectiveness of risk control
arrangements at level crossings. The purpose of monitoring them is to inform when and where
changes to those risk control arrangements are needed.
For the purpose of managing risk controls of the infrastructure, the definition of a near miss is
taken to be:
A near miss has been declared and the emergency brake of the train was applied or
would have been applied had there been sufficient time.
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3.2 Actions taken by driver managers
Most near misses at level crossings are reported by train drivers after they observe a condition
they consider has the potential to harm. This harm could be to the train’s passengers or to the
users of the level crossing. In all these cases, it is important for the driver manager to:
• Manage the welfare of the driver in the aftermath of their experience.
• Receive feedback from the level crossing manager and discuss this with the driver.~
For the purposes of managing the welfare of the driver, a near miss is taken to be:
A near miss has been declared or the emergency brake of the train was applied or
would have been applied had there been sufficient time.
3.3 Action taken by SMIS inputters
When a level crossing near miss is reported, it is sent to the relevant safety reporting team for
input into SMIS. The requirements for reporting an incident into SMIS are provided in the SMIS
Application Matrix Table B.
For the purposes of data capture in SMIS, a near miss is taken to be:
A near miss has been declared or the emergency brake of the train was applied or
would have been applied had there been sufficient time.
This makes sure that the driver’s experience is recorded as part of the event entry in SMIS and can
be referred to by the driver manager. However, if, following review, an incident is not classed as a
near miss for risk management purposes, event tags can be used to reclassify this in SMIS.
Guidance on how to reclassify incidents and extract them for reporting purposes is provided on
the RSSB service desk.
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Appendix A Guidance on where and when near misses usually occur
A level crossing near miss should usually be declared by the train driver if both of the following
apply:
• The emergency brake is applied, or would have been applied given more time, to prevent
a collision between the train and the level crossing user or vehicle.
• The level crossing user is on or near the line2 just before or during the passage of a train.
The images below show places of safety for different crossing types.
Figure 1 Position of safety at a footpath crossing
2
Within 2 metres from the nearest rail, or 3 metres for vehicles or where the line speed is over 100 mph.
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Figure 2 Position of safety at a vehicular crossing or where the line speed is greater than 100 mph
The following images show examples of near misses and non-near misses.
Figure 3 Example of a non-near miss
In the image above, it is safe for the level crossing user to wait in the green area, as it is a position
of safety. If the person remains in this area, a level crossing incident or near miss should not be
reported.
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Figure 4 Examples of near misses
The image above shows level crossing users starting to traverse, continuing to cross, and staying
within the level crossing on the approach of a train. These incidents should be treated as near
misses if the emergency brake is applied or would have been applied given more time. Otherwise,
the incidents should be treated as incorrect usage of level crossing.
Figure 5 Example of a non-near miss
In the image above, the level crossing user is seen traversing from a long distance. In most cases,
this should not be treated as a near miss or incorrect usage of level crossing, as the user is likely to
be following the instructions, e.g., miniature stop lights or crossing signage. However, such an
incident should be treated as incorrect usage of level crossing if the driver witnesses a level
crossing user starting to cross from this distance.
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