ÖBB says that it has spent around €25m on safety improvements and public awareness campaigns in recent years, and while these measures have been successful the number of casualties remains high. Last year there were 88 collisions at level crossings in Austria, killing 14 people and injuring 45.
The cameras are currently being trialled at four locations in the provinces of Lower Austria, Salzburg, Burgenland, and Carinthia and ÖBB plans to extend the pilot to more level crossings. ÖBB does not have access to the images from the cameras, which record the license plate of the offender, and the data passes automatically to the police for processing.
