A new campaign is warning local drivers of the dangers of complacency when crossing rural rail tracks.

This is the aim of the NZ Transport Agency initiative is to improve driver awareness at rail level crossings in remote areas.

A time-lapse video of the billboard being installed.

The ‘Expect a Train' campaign will see a locomotive-sized billboard and other signs placed near selected level crossings.

The life-sized locomotive billboard acts as a visual reminder for drivers to slow down and check for trains before they cross the tracks.

The campaign is being officially launched at a in Carterton today.

Celia Patrick, Director of Rail Safety and Access and Use Group Manager, says the focus on raising awareness with local drivers in rural areas is the result of research that indicated they can be complacent around level crossings that they use regularly.

'Local drivers often don't perceive the risk of rural level crossings to be very high,” says Celia, 'and this complacency can lead to risky behaviour like failing to carefully look for trains before crossing rail tracks.

'We really want drivers in rural areas to sit up and take notice of level crossings and the life-sized train billboard should make them do just that.”

Complacency at rural level crossings is likely to be because people have grown up around rail tracks and navigate crossings every day.

'Services on rural train lines are usually infrequent,” adds Celia, 'so the majority of times local drivers cross at a level crossing, they see an empty track.

'This leads to a bit of autopilot behaviour where they fail to look properly in both directions to see if a train is coming.”

The Transport Agency has a role in promoting safe use of the rail corridor by rail operators, road users and pedestrians. As part of this role, they run awareness campaigns and works with other organisations in the rail sector.

The ‘Expect a Train' campaign has been developed and partly funded by the Transport Agency, with additional funding from KiwiRail, and is being launched as part of Rail Safety Week 2015.