HOW TO ESTIMATE THE SAFETY OF RAIL-HIGHWAY GRADE CROSSINGS AND THE SAFETY EFFECTS OF WARNING DEVICES

The safety of a rail-highway grade crossing should be estimated by mixing information about causal factors such as train and traffic flows, types of warning device, and geometry with the accident history of the site. A theoretically sound and logically coherent procedure for doing so is suggested. This procedure is applicable not only to crossings but also to intersections, road segments, drivers, and vehicles. Current estimates of the safety effect of warning devices used at crossings are incorrect. This claim is supported in this paper. The aforementioned coherent procedure for estimating safety also enables corrected estimates of effectiveness to be furnished, which should be used in the allocation of resources to warning devices.

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/trr/1987/1114/1114-015.pdf
• Summary URL:
  • http://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=HOW+TO+ESTIMATE+THE+SAFETY+OF+RAIL-HIGHWAY+GRADE+CROSSINGS+AND+THE+SAFETY+EFFECTS+OF+WARNING+DEVICES&author=E.+Hauer&author=B.+Persaud&publication_year=1987
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309044669
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Railroad-Highway Grade Crossings. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • Hauer, E
  • Persaud, B N
• Publication Date: 1987

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 131-140
• Monograph Title: Traffic control devices and rail highway grade crossings
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1114
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Estimating; Measures of effectiveness; Railroad grade crossings; Resource allocation; Safety; Warning devices
• Uncontrolled Terms: Effectiveness
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors; I73: Traffic Control;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00467863
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309044669
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Mar 31 1988 12:00AM