There is a risk of serious injury or fatality due to insufficient warning systems and checks in place before Luas tram drivers depart platforms, according to the Department of Transports independent Railway Accident Investigation Unit.The Railway Accident Investigation Unit (RAIU) has issued a Safety Advice Notice after investigating what are called trap-and-drag incidents, where passengers or their clothing or other items are caught in closing doors and drivers move off while passengers are trapped, dragging them along. The RAIUs remit is mainly to find solutions to prevent problems from recurring rather than apportioning blame. A male passenger whose fingertip was trapped between doors on a tram (pictured above) and who ran alongside the tram before the driver noticed at the Heuston Stop in April, a teenage schoolgirl who was injured after her coat was jammed between doors at the Stillorgan Stop in May, an incident with a bag at the Bus ras Stop also in May and a dog getting trapped on board with its owner outside the tram in June.The RAIU said it had identified opportunities to improve obstacle/anti-drag technology, upgrade CCTV on some trams, strengthen passenger warnings and education about closing doors, and place greater emphasis on drivers checking platform cameras/mirrors immediately before departure.IMAGE: A CCTV image of the dog trapped on board with the lead stuck in the door and its owner outside. Luas trams have safety systems designed to detect trapped objects, but the RAIU highlight that the system is ineffective: it requires a 10 mm allowance for the doors to close, and that width allows items like coats, bag straps, and dog leads to be trapped. Four casesIn the April incident, the RAIU report said that the person ran alongside the tram before the driver was alerted by commotion from passengers on the tram and stopped the tram, and the person was uninjured. Unlike the other cases, where the obstacle detection system was functioning normally but just did not detect the objects because of the size, the system failed a post-incident test on this tram.In the case of the teenage schoolgirl with her coat trapped, the driver was unaware and did not stop. The report said: The passenger attempted to dislodge their coat from the door and ran parallel to the departing tram before releasing the coat at the end of the platform and falling (out of view of the CCTV) . The teenager suffered deep lacerations to her face as well as grazing to her knee and hands.At the Bus ras Stop, after the doors were being closed, two passengers ran to the doors and put a bag between the doors, with the tram doors closing on the bag, trapping it. The passengers held onto the bag and ran beside the tram, and the driver was alerted by passengers on board and stopped. At the Hospital Stop, the driver also initiated the door, and while the closing sequence was in progress, a dog on a lead boarded the tram without the owner, the report said. The driver departed, unaware of the lead being trapped. The dog owner had the lead around her wrist and was dragged alongside the tram, eventually freeing herself from the lead and falling onto the platform. As with most of the other cases, passengers onboard alerted the driver. The report said that a passenger onboard assisted the dog as it was being pulled towards the doors. According to the report, the dog owner sustained minor cuts but declined medical attention. The dog was uninjured.RecommendationsAll the obstructions in the four occurrences were less than 10 mm and therefore allowed the doors to close and lock, trapping the obstacles. Enhanced obstacle detection and dedicated drag detection technologies, if installed, would likely have prevented the incidents, the RAIU report said.The RAIU issued reminders to tram drivers to check the platform when departing and to warn passengers. It also said the tram operator which is in the process of being changed should review operating procedures to ensure the step Check your platform cameras/mirror again before departing is given greater emphasis.Referring to a study on how passengers think tram and train doors work, the report said: Passengers perceptions of the doors lead them to act in risky ways without knowing the full extent of the risk. Having this overall belief that the doors will behave like lift or shop doors despite previous experience can lead to passengers boarding/ alighting when it is not safe to do so.On this, the report concluded that A study indicated that there is a widespread misunderstanding of how train doors function and that passengers [understanding of how the system works] is incomplete. The information stickers on trams are not sufficiently effective in clarifying the operation of the doors and informing passengers of the risk associated with the closing doors.The RAIU, in its report, said that the image quality on the camera displays differs throughout the Luas fleets, with some of the older fleets having poor quality views and a more refined high-definition CCTV may have assisted the drivers in seeing the persons/ belongings trapped.Unrelated to the safety notice, the contract for operating the Luas transfers from Transdev Dublin Light Rail to Keolis Amey Light Rail Dublin Limited on September 1st. 2026.The RAIU has asked Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), the State body which manages the Luas contract, and the Keolis Amey, the new joint venture operators, to implement its recommendations, including looking at obstacle detection and anti-drag technology, to see if it can be applied to new and existing tram fleets; consideration should be given to determining if the risk is as low as is reasonably practicable.It also called on the TII and Keolis Amey to look at upgrading to better CCTV systems and the possible introduction of smart CCTV which can automatically detect if someone is trapped in the doors and alert the driver.New warning stickers possibly with sharks teeth on each door to more bluntly illustrate the risk of closing doors should also be used, and a public information campaign should be designed to educate passengers of those risks.IMAGE: The incident with the bag caught in the doors.