Details:

Creators:
Khattak, Aemal ; Luo, Zheng
Khattak, Aemal ; Luo, Zheng Less -
Corporate Creators:
Nebraska Transportation Center
Corporate Contributors:
United States. Federal Highway Administration
Subject/TRT Terms:
[+]
Center Lines Cyclists Gates Grade Crossing Protection Systems Highway-railroad Grade Crossings--Safety Measures Lane Lines (Roads) Median Barriers Median Strips Pedestrians Railroad Grade Crossings
Publication/ Report Number:
SPR-P1(09) P323
Resource Type:
Tech Report
Geographical Coverage:
Nebraska
Edition:
Final report.
Corporate Publisher:
Nebraska. Dept. of Roads
Abstract:
The focus of the research reported herein 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.


Format:
PDF
Collection(s):
US Transportation Collection
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:346ec6aa7eee6aa83337a680ebfd237b8d2aaec1f164543b1657e02d7360cb00
Download URL:
https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/25407/dot_25407_DS1.pdf
File Type:

Supporting Files

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