A literature review commissioned by Public Transport Safety Victoria has found, when it comes to pedestrian risk at railway level crossings, the following are high risk groups: school children, disabled and aged. Also identified were young male ‘sensation seekers’ as an additional high-risk group. A series of factors were linked to crashes involving pedestrians, and they included: familiarity with crossings (leading to complacency), rushing or sensation seeking behaviour, and perceptual limitations due to age, intake of alcohol or disability.
When it comes to performance shaping factors, the study lists the presence of a second train that the pedestrian may not detect, if the pedestrian is crossing in a group, the time of day/week (weekdays in peak hour being higher risk), the frequency and speed of the trains, personality factors, familiarity and (to a smaller degree) colder weather all raising the pedestrian risk.