Evaluation of IdaShield sign safety benefits at highway-rail crossing in Idaho.

Details

• Creators:
  Dixon, Michael P. ; Dyre, Brian ; Wulfhorst, J. D. ; Abdel-Rahim, Ahmed ; Grover, Alex ; Meyer, Mark ; Reyna, Monica A. ; Foltz, Barbara E.
• Corporate Creators:
  University of Idaho. Dept. of Civil Engineering
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Railroad grade crossings
  • Traffic signs
  • Before and after studies
  • Crash data
  • Surveys
  • Countermeasures
  • Driving simulators
  • Railroad safety
  • Highway safety
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA-ID-14-223
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Idaho
• Corporate Publisher:
  Idaho Transportation Department
• Abstract:
  This report describes findings from a study aimed at assessing the safety impact of IdaShield signs installed at 1,341 highway ; railroad crossings in Idaho. Specifically, our research assessed the marker’s effectiveness using three measures: ; • Before-and-after analysis of historical crash data preceding and following installation of the IdaShield marker. ; • User assessment survey measuring user understanding of the IdaShield and changes in user response due to the ; IdaShield. ; • Simulated driving test environment that exposed participants to various controlled circumstances related to ; highway railroad crossings. ; The before-and-after analysis of test data showed crashes were significantly decreased by 38.6 percent after the IdaShield ; installation and these effects were largely attributed to the IdaShield. The user assessment survey found users understood the ; purpose of the IdaShield, believed it enhanced intersection visibility, and would improve safety. Finally, the driver simulation ; showed how the IdaShield changed driver responses at highway railroad crossings, but only for conditions in which it was paired ; with a YIELD sign and a train was approaching. No significant safety benefit was noted when the IdaShield sign was paired with a ; STOP sign. Because the IdaShield produces positive overall outcomes on driver safety and does not have any apparent negative ; effects, we recommend the signage should continue to be required to increase visibility and safety at passive at-grade railway ; crossings in Idaho where a STOP sign is not present.
  More +
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  RP 223
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/28514/dot_28514_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.65 MB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:297202b627a026d4047ac87f11726c6bde4777751df3fc3c9886e653e5add3aa1daa37efaaa715fc04c08c3bee985a7cc256d906fa95dff0cff6251157ec3977