01123253

Component

https://doi.org/10.3141/2122-10

http://scholar.google.com...+Han&publication_year=2009

The safety benefit of stop sign treatments at passive highway–rail crossings has been a subject of research for many years. The objective of this study is to assess the effectiveness of the stop sign treatment on crossing safety. Using the FRA database, the research focused on 26 years of vehicle–train accident history in the United States from 1980 through 2005. A before-and-after and cross-sectional statistical analysis was conducted for 7,394 public highway–railroad grade crossings that were upgraded from being controlled only by crossbucks to stop signs, without other traffic control devices or automatic countermeasures. The study found that accident rates based on annual accident frequency per 1,000 crossings were significantly higher during the period when crossings were controlled only by crossbucks than when they were controlled by stop signs. Further, this study developed negative binomial accident prediction models for paved and unpaved highway–rail grade crossings that included the effect of stop sign treatment. Taking account of specific attributes of crossings controlled only by crossbucks, decision makers and traffic engineers can use the models to examine the accident risks at crossings and assess the potential effectiveness of stop sign treatment.

01147425

09-0806

English

pp 78-85

2009

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board

9780309142519

Print

Figures (3) ; References (21) ; Tables (3)

Before and after studies; Countermeasures; Crash rates; Crash risk forecasting; Railroad grade crossings; Statistical analysis; Stop signs; Traffic safety

Crash prediction models; Crossbucks (Railroad crossing)

Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors; I73: Traffic Control; I81: Accident Statistics

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Jan 30 2009 5:02PM

• Advance Warning Signals: Long-Term Monitoring Results
• Assessment of Traffic Control Device Selection Guidelines for Horizontal Curves
• Comparison of Driver Behavior at Highway–Railroad Crossings in Two Cities
• Effect of Luminance and Text Size on Information Acquisition Time from Traffic Signs (With Discussion and Closure)
• Evaluating Effectiveness of Dynamic Speed Display Signs in Transition Zones of Two-Lane, Rural Highways in Pennsylvania
• Evaluation of Alternative Procedures for Setting Curve Advisory Speed
• Examination of Highway–Rail Grade Crossing Collisions Nationally from 1998 to 2007
• Improving Signing from the Installation Perspective: Creating the "Sign Crew Field Book"
• Path Guidance Information in Advance of Work Zones at Urban Freeway Interchanges