A Victorian coroner has outlined plans for an investigation into 29 level crossing deaths across the state from 2002 to 2009.

An academic at a leading Victorian University has preempted the findings, attributing the deaths to a phenomenon known as ‘the moth effect’. The paper is based on the premise that humans, much like moths and other insects, are innately oriented towards light like ‘moths to a flame’. ‘This results in an intense fixation on a roadside target, in this case - the flashing red lights at level crossings. Concentrating all your attention on a single target diminishes other peripheral sensory cues – such as the sight and sound of an oncoming train’ the academic said.

A spokesman for VicRoads yesterday dismissed the claims, saying it did not explain the accidents where there was no ‘flashing red lights’. But the University was quick to defend its claim stating that ‘There are no known studies that have not been disproven that substantiate the actual existence of this effect in real world driving’.

While neither the coroner nor the police endorse the University’s findings at this stage, both parties said they will ‘leave no stone unturned’ during the course of its investigations.

Meanwhile, police are advising motorists to stay safe by:
   - Not parking any vehicle, attended or unattended on railway lines
   - Ensuring there is enough petrol in your car before you attempt to cross a railway line
   - Looking both ways before approaching a railway line
   - Be alert to ‘audio cues’ that may indicate that a train is nearby

A senior police officer also suggests that the blind and/or death drivers should refrain from using Victoria’s roads. The police also refused to admit that seatbelts may have been a contributing factor in some of the level-crossing accidents following dissent from some community members that they ‘kill more people than they save’.

A government spokesperson who will assist with the coroner’s investigations, said the accidents were a tragedy for everyone involved and made a mockery of Victoria's catchy slogans ‘On the Move’ and ‘The Place to Be’

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