EFFECTIVENESS OF AUTOMATIC WARNING DEVICES IN REDUCING ACCIDENTS AT GRADE CROSSINGS

In the last 17 years, California has experienced more than 17,000 vehicle-train accidents, which have claimed more than 550 lives. The California Public Utilities Commission and the California State Legislature have attempted to reduce the continuing human and economic loss by promoting the installation of flashing light signals and automatic crossing gates. This study is intended to gauge the effect of automatic warning devices on the frequency of vehicle-train accidents and to examine specific crossing locations to appraise the capabilities of automatic warning devices in reducing the number and severity of vehicle-train accidents. To determine the effectiveness of automatic warning devices under varying conditions, the before-and-after accident histories at 1552 grade crossings where automatic devices were installed between 1960 and 1970 were compared on a crossing-year basis and segregated by type of warning device, rural versus urban conditions, and the number of railroad tracks. While some limitations and adverse side effects do exist, the results indicate that the installation of automatic gates can be expected, on the average, to reduce vehicle-train accidents by approximately 70 percent per crossing-year and to reduce related deaths and injuries by 89 and 83 percent per year respectively. In addition, it would appear that the use of automatic gates eliminates many of those accidents that represent the greatest potential severity, since there were 64 percent fewer deaths per accident, 43 percent fewer per accident, and 36 percent fewer deaths per injury. The data obtained on vehicle-train accidents and their severity were combined with average installation, maintenance, and operation costs for flashing lights and automatic gates to provide a brief economic analysis of the most cost-effective alternative. /Author/

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1976/611/611-009.pdf
• Record URL:
  https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=EFFECTIVENESS+OF+AUTOMATIC+WARNING+DEVICES+IN+REDUCING+ACCIDENTS+AT+GRADE+CROSSINGS&author=W.+Schulte&publication_year=1976
• Availability:
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• 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:
  • Schulte, William R
• Publication Date: 1976

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 49-57
• Monograph Title: Railroad-highway crossings, visibility, and human factors
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 611
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automatic control; Before and after studies; Crash avoidance systems; Crash rates; Crash risk forecasting; Crash severity; Economic analysis; Fatalities; Flashing traffic signals; Gates; Grade crossing protection systems; Prevention; Railroad grade crossings; Risk assessment; Rural areas; Safety; Traffic crashes; Urban areas; Warning systems
• Uncontrolled Terms: Flashing lights
• Old TRIS Terms: Automatic warning systems; Grade crossing protection
• Subject Areas: Economics; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00163046
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309025877
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-021 004
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Oct 13 1977 12:00AM