Safety Improvements at Highway-Railroad Crossing for Pedestrians and Bicyclist and the Assessment of Long-Term Effects of Centerline Curbing
The focus of this research was on assessing the long-term effectiveness of median barriers at highway-rail grade crossings (HRGCs), the impacts of barrier maintenance in resurrecting safety, and on exploring and assessing ways to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety at HRGCs. Nebraska has about 7,000 HRGCs and each one represents a potential conflict point among trains and highway users, i.e., motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists. Safety at HRGCs is compromised when highway users resort to unsafe maneuvers, such as passing around closed gates when trains are approaching. Gate-related violations by motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists were studied at three selected HRGCs in Waverly, Fremont, and Lincoln, all cities located in Nebraska. The barrier at the Waverly HRGC was removed after being in place for a long time while the dilapidated barrier at the Fremont HRGC was revived through maintenance. An educational activity focused on pedestrians and bicyclists at the Fremont HRGC was evaluated for reducing gate violations. Removal of the barrier in Waverly contributed to greater frequency of unsafe maneuvers by motorists. Specifically, the frequencies of aggregate unsafe maneuvers (i.e., the sum of motorist gate rush, U-turn and backup), as well as gate rush and U-turn, increased after barrier removal. Safety deteriorated over the long-term at the Fremont HRGC while maintenance resurrected safety by reducing the frequency of passing around fully lowered gates by 30-50%. Regarding the effects of the educational campaign focused on pedestrians and bicyclists at the Fremont HRGC, the drive successfully reduced passing around fully lowered gates by about 39%. The recommendations from this research include emphasis on maintenance of barriers in top condition after installation and educational campaigns focused on pedestrians and bicyclists for safety improvements at HRGCs.
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- Record URL:
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Supplemental Notes:
- This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program.
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Corporate Authors:
University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Nebraska Transportation Center, Department of Civil Engineering
262 Whittier Research Center, 2200 Vine Street
Lincoln, NE United States 68583-0851Nebraska Department of Roads
1500 Highway 2, P.O. Box 94759
Lincoln, NE United States 68509Mid-America Transportation Center
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
2200 Vine Street, PO Box 830851
Lincoln, NE United States 68583-0851Research and Innovative Technology Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC United States 20590Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC United States 20590Federal Transit Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC United States 20590 -
Authors:
- Khattak, Aemal
- Luo, Zheng
- Publication Date: 2012-6
Language
- English
Media Info
- Media Type: Digital/other
- Edition: Final Report
- Features: Appendices; Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
- Pagination: 73p
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Center lines; Cyclists; Grade crossing protection systems; Highway safety; Maintenance; Median barriers; Pedestrian safety; Railroad grade crossings; Safety education
- Geographic Terms: Nebraska
- Subject Areas: Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors; I85: Safety Devices used in Transport Infrastructure;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01469942
- Record Type: Publication
- Report/Paper Numbers: 26-1121-0004-001, SPR-P1(09) P323
- Files: UTC, NTL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT, STATEDOT
- Created Date: Jan 17 2013 1:56PM