WHERE THE ROAD MEETS THE RAIL

Cars and trains interact daily at almost 260,000 public and private highway-railroad intersections (HRIs). In the past 5 years, crashes at HRIs have decreased by 30% and fatalities by 33% through concerted efforts by federal agencies such as the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Railroad Administration. In 1998, however, more than 3,500 collisions occurred at HRIs across the United States, resulting in more than 430 deaths and more than 1,300 injuries. Many of the incidents that occur at HRIs relate back to driver behavior or engineering principles. More than 60% of the drivers involved in rail crossing accidents in 1998 never stopped at the intersection. Research personnel are developing a number of technologies, strategies, and principles all being simulated, tested, or monitored from a host of laboratories and test facilities. Current research includes design principles and geometric concerns for new and existing HRIs, signalization and signage around HRIs, automatic enforcement of HRI violations, advanced train detection for quicker emergency response, and new preemption strategies for the movement of vehicles and pedestrians in an HRI.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/1587330
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Page Range: pp 1, 6-7
• Corporate Authors:

  Texas Transportation Institute

  Texas A&M University System, 1600 E Lamar Boulevard
  Arlington, TX  United States  76011
• Publication Date: 1999-10

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Photos;
• Pagination: 3 p.
• Serial:
  • Texas Transportation Researcher
  • Volume: 35
  • Issue Number: 2
  • Publisher: Texas Transportation Institute
  • ISSN: 0040-4748

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: At grade intersections; Automation; Behavior; Crash causes; Crash rates; Crashes; Fatalities; Grade crossing protection systems; Railroad grade crossings; Research; Safety; Traffic law enforcement
• Identifier Terms: U.S. Federal Highway Administration; U.S. Federal Railroad Administration
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Railroads; Research; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor; I85: Safety Devices used in Transport Infrastructure;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00792392
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: May 20 2000 12:00AM