Micro and Macro Level Safety Analysis at Railroad Grade Crossings

To assess the safety and risk of railroad grade crossings, one may utilize macroscopic models derived from regression analysis using data from an entire state or country. Macroscopic analysis is mainly used to study the correlation between crossing characteristics (i.e. conflicting volumes and their physical characteristics) and the past accident frequency, to generate predictions about accidents in the future. A common macroscopic model currently used is the US Department of Transportation (DOT) Accident Prediction Formula, which predicts the annual number of crashes at a given crossing. While this model provides useful information for ranking grade crossings for resource allocation, it was developed in the late 1970s and thus it has potential for improvement. The analysis of macroscopic models is one of the two main topics from this study, where a series of alternative models are explored and compared to the US DOT formula. Through these comparisons, it is possible to understand strengths and weaknesses of the current state-of-practice and also to identify models for future improvements. In addition to macroscopic analysis, the second main topic discussed here is the analysis of accidents from a microscopic perspective, where individual characteristics of accidents at a given location are investigated to determine potential contributing factors. The proposed microscopic analysis is used to discover local trends that could not be identified at a macro scale and may help in assessing the risk at a crossing. Examples for the use of the micro analysis are provided to show the benefits of such a combined methodology and its potential use as a tool for on-site inspection.

• Record URL:
  http://www.nurailcenter.org/research/final_reports/UIUC/NURail2012-UIUC-R02_Final_Report_Benkohal.pdf
• 
• Record URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/30849
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This document was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program.
• Corporate Authors:

  National University Rail Center (NURail)

  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 205 N. Mathews Avenue
  Urbana, IL  United States  61801

  Research and Innovative Technology Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Medina, Juan C
  • Shen, Shiyu
  • Benekohal, Rahim F
• Publication Date: 2016-3

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Figures; Maps; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 70p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Analysis; Crash analysis; Crash risk forecasting; Railroad crashes; Railroad grade crossings; Railroad safety; Risk assessment; State of the practice
• Subject Areas: Highways; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01599265
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: NURail2012-UIUC-R02
• Files: UTC, NTL, TRIS, RITA, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: May 20 2016 3:47PM