KiwiRail: The Conscious Crossing

Credits & Description:

Pedestrians often become complacent at railway level crossings, especially where expensive warning signals can’t be installed.
So for Rail Safety Week, we trialled a cost-effective way to make zoned-out minds alert, every time they cross.
Media: Outdoor
Category: Public interest
Client: TrackSAFE NZ and KiwiRail
Agency: Clemenger BBDO, Wellington
Production: Flare
Country: New Zealand
Executive Creative Director: Brigid Alkema
Creative Director: Emily Beautrais
Copywriter: JP Twaalfhoven
Art Director: Steve Hansen
Executive Producer: Christina Hazard
Account Director: Claudia Zwimpfer
Agency Producer: Carly Neemia
Agency Producer: Carne Godfrey
Account manager: Fern Holloway
Production Company: Flare

Dan Monaghan: DOP/Editor
Ollie Stent: Camera Op
Paul Stent: Sound Design
Client: TrackSAFE NZ and KiwiRail
Megan Drayton (TrackSAFE NZ Foundation Manager)
Kirsten Kilmister (Rail Safety Week Co-ordinator)
Description
The more often pedestrians use the same rail crossing, the more likely they are to become complacent and walk onto the tracks without checking, particularly at crossings where expensive warning systems can’t be installed. The Conscious Crossing interrupts this over-familiarity by continually changing the crossing environment. The cost-effective set of gates can be reconfigured an infinite number of times, forcing pedestrians into the moment every time they cross. Designed with human nature in mind, anyone can change it into any layout, any time, actively helping to keep others safe.
Strategy:
As New Zealand’s national rail network, KiwiRail has long advocated for safety around trains and railway lines. Expensive warning systems can’t always be installed at the 122 railway level crossings throughout New Zealand. So it’s often left up to pedestrians themselves to check for trains before crossing. KiwiRail identified that regular pedestrians of these crossings have a tendency to neglect checking for risks, due to over-familiarity with the environment. It was these tens of thousands of pedestrians that KiwiRail wanted to target, to prevent from putting themselves in harm’s way.Research shows that something needs to have changed within a familiar environment for people to consciously engage with it. Our strategic approach was therefore to create a cost-effective new way to constantly keep the environment around railway level crossings fresh and unfamiliar. Something that actively engaged pedestrians’ minds and solved the problem of inattentiveness, in the moments before crossing.
Campaign Description:
Last year, 28 New Zealanders were hit or experienced near misses at railway level crossings with no warning infrastructure. Warning systems are expensive, so can’t always be installed at these crossings. So it’s up to pedestrians to check for potential dangers. But over-familiarity with the crossing environment often leads them to become complacent with its risks – causing them to inadvertently put themselves in harm’s way.KiwiRail’s core objective was to find a way to make more people consciously aware of the dangers before crossing, to prevent more people being killed or injured at railway level crossings. With traditional warning systems costing in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, our challenge was to find a smarter, simpler solution that would switch peoples’ attention back on, for a fraction of the cost (less than NZD$15,000). One that could ultimately help save lives at all 122 railway level crossings throughout New Zealand.
Outcome:
Through observation during initial trials, The Conscious Crossing has proven to directly and positively affect pedestrian behaviour.Following its success, it is currently being pushed through more extensive testing by the New Zealand Transport Agency (the national body that implements nationwide transport solutions), with the aim of implementing it at all 122 of the other similar crossings throughout New Zealand. A roll-out that could positively impact the daily routines of the tens of thousands of pedestrians who use such crossings every day – and an ongoing, tangible demonstration of KiwiRail’s commitment to rail safety.Easy to install and cost-effective to produce, The Conscious Crossing has the wide-reaching potential to provide a simple, long-term solution to help keep pedestrians safer at railway level crossings throughout the world.
Synopsis:
Last year, 28 New Zealanders were hit or experienced near misses at railway level crossings with no warning infrastructure. Warning systems are expensive, so can’t always be installed at these crossings. So it’s up to pedestrians to check for potential dangers. But over-familiarity with the crossing environment often leads them to become complacent with its risks – causing them to inadvertently put themselves in harm’s way.KiwiRail’s core objective was to find a way to make more people consciously aware of the dangers before crossing, to prevent more people being killed or injured at railway level crossings. With traditional warning systems costing in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, our challenge was to find a smarter, simpler solution that would switch peoples’ attention back on, for a fraction of the cost (less than NZD$15,000). One that could ultimately help save lives at all 122 railway level crossings throughout New Zealand.
Relevancy:
The Conscious Crossing is more than a safety system for railway level crossings. It’s an installation that actively changes user behaviour as they move through it, prompting a direct response from our audience as they engage with it.The constantly changing layout forces pedestrians to engage their brains and become consciously aware of the present dangers when approaching the tracks. Changing their behaviour right at the moment of risk.The public are also empowered to change the layout as they wish, letting them play an active role in helping keep fellow pedestrians safe, and creating an ongoing cycle of safety.
Execution:
The Conscious Crossing is a safety system that literally changes user behaviour as they move through it. In contrast to conventional fixed barriers systems, its layout continually changes to make the familiar environment unfamiliar – creating a multitude of ways to approach the tracks at a single crossing.Unlike other warning infrastructure which can be expensive, time-intensive to install and require power to operate, it can be easily and cost-effectively installed, without reliance on power to function. Made from similar materials to traditional barriers, it’s just as strong, yet light enough to be altered by anyone. Designed with human nature in mind, anybody can change it into any layout, any time – creating an ongoing cycle of safety between pedestrians.A cost-effective, tangible, real-world solution, The Conscious Crossing is a system that can easily be rolled out across all other crossings in New Zealand and around the world.