LAST YEAR, 28 NEW ZEALANDERS WERE HIT OR EXPERIENCED NEAR MISSES AT RAILWAY LEVEL CROSSINGS. RESEARCH SHOWS THE MORE FAMILIAR PEOPLE ARE WITH AN ENVIRONMENT, THE LESS ATTENTION THEY GIVE IT – WHICH IS ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS AT CROSSINGS WHERE EXPENSIVE WARNING SIGNALS CAN’T BE INSTALLED. SO WE NEEDED A COST-EFFECTIVE WAY TO MOVE PEDESTRIANS FROM AUTOPILOT TO ALERT, AT MORE LEVEL CROSSINGS, EVERY TIME THEY CROSS. WE MADE THE FAMILIAR, UNFAMILIAR – DESIGNING AN INNOVATIVE, INTERACTIVE NEW SYSTEM THAT KEEPS ENVIRONMENTS AROUND CROSSINGS EVER-CHANGING. THE SERIES OF MOVEABLE GATES IS DESIGNED WITH HUMAN NATURE IN MIND, GIVING THE POWER TO CHANGE THE SYSTEM TO THE PUBLIC – EMPOWERING OUR AUDIENCE TO HELP KEEP OTHER PEDESTRIANS SAFE, RIGHT AT THE MOMENT OF RISK. ANYONE CAN EASILY RECONFIGURE THE GATES INTO ANY LAYOUT, ANY TIME – ALTERING THE ENVIRONMENT AND ACTIVELY SWITCHING ON OTHER PEDESTRIANS’ MINDS. CREATING COUNTLESS WAYS TO APPROACH THE TRACKS, AT A SINGLE CROSSING. AFTER THE SUCCESS OF THE FIRST TRIAL CONDUCTED AT A HIGH-RISK RAILWAY LEVEL CROSSING OVER RAIL SAFETY WEEK, THE SYSTEM IS CURRENTLY BEING PUSHED THROUGH MORE EXTENSIVE TESTING BY KIWIRAIL, TRACKSAFE AND NZ TRANSPORT AGENCY, WITH MORE HOPED TO BE INSTALLED IN 2017.