00315065

Component

http://onlinepubs.trb.org...s/trr/1979/737/737-005.pdf

https://scholar.google.co...nnis&publication_year=1979

This paper examines the effectiveness of retroreflectors on the sides of railroad rolling stock as a means of reducing highway-railroad grade-crossing accidents, and it estimates the benefits and costs of reflectorizing the U.S. fleet of railroad cars. Factors that affect the amount of reflected light received by a driver (including reflector characteristics, vehicle-reflector positioning, reflector cleanliness, headlight cleanliness and beam usage, windshield transmittance, and atmospheric conditions) were analyzed, and expected reflector illuminance levels were predicted. Under conditions expected in railroad operation, the analysis indicates that 15-cm (6 in) square delineators of high-intensity-grade reflective sheeting will permit detection distances sufficient for safe stopping in most highway situations, even under low-beam headlight illumination. Benefits were estimated from the 1975 Federal Railroad Administration accident data. Accidents were categorized into four groups based on the speeds of the train and motor vehicle and the collision point on the train. Reflector effectiveness for each of these groups was estimated by considering the type of crossing warning device, daylight accident rates, weather conditions, presence of obstructions, human factors associated with nighttime driving, and the train and motor vehicle speeds. The costs of a reflectorization program were estimated and a cost-effectiveness analysis was performed to assess the impact of visibility at grade crossings on annual benefits, since no reliable information is available on this important factor. (Author)

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

00387801

HS-029 515

Cerney, Louis T; Hopkins, John B; Sonefeld, Otto F

pp 31-43

1979

Transportation Research Record

0309029929

Print

Figures (6) ; References (26) ; Tables (4)

Benefit cost analysis; Cost effectiveness; Freight cars; Human factors; Measures of effectiveness; Railroad cars; Railroad grade crossings; Reflectorized materials; Retroreflectors; Safety; Traffic safety; Visibility

Effectiveness

Highways; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors

HSL, TRIS, TRB

Sep 16 1984 12:00AM

• ACCIDENT AND OPERATIONAL GUIDELINES FOR CONTINUOUS TWO-WAY LEFT-TURN MEDIAN LANES (DISCUSSION AND CLOSURE)
• BENEFIT-COST ANALYSIS OF ADVANCE TREATMENT FOR NO-PASSING ZONES (ABRIDGEMENT)
• DISCOMFORT GLARE: A REVIEW OF SOME RESEARCH (ABRIDGEMENT)
• DRIVER PERFORMANCE WITH RIGHT-SIDE CONVEX MIRRORS (DISCUSSION AND CLOSURE)
• ECONOMIC MODELS FOR HIGHWAY AND STREET ILLUMINATION DESIGNS
• FEASIBILITY STUDY OF ROUTE GUIDANCE SYSTEM
• FORMATION AND DISSIPATION OF TRAFFIC QUEUES: SOME MACROSCOPIC CONSIDERATIONS (ABRIDGEMENT)
• GUIDELINES FOR TRAFFIC CONTROL AT ISOLATED INTERSECTIONS ON HIGH-SPEED RURAL HIGHWAYS
• HIGHWAY GUIDE SIGNS: A FRAMEWORK FOR DESIGN AND EVALUATION
• HUMAN FACTORS CONSIDERATIONS FOR IN-VEHICLE ROUTE GUIDANCE
• MAINTENANCE COSTS OF TRAFFIC SIGNALS
• MODERN ROTARIES: A TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT ALTERNATIVE (DISCUSSION AND CLOSURE)
• OUTLINE OF THE COMPREHENSIVE AUTOMOBILE TRAFFIC CONTROL PILOT TEST SYSTEM
• PAVEMENT INSET LIGHTS FOR USE DURING FOG (ABRIDGEMENT)
• SHOULDER IMPROVEMENTS ON TWO-LANE ROADS (ABRIDGEMENT)
• TEST OF 400-W HIGH-PRESSURE SODIUM VAPOR LIGHTING (ABRIDGEMENT)
• USE OF EC-DC DETECTOR FOR SIGNALIZATION OF HIGH-SPEED INTERSECTIONS
• WARRANTS FOR LEFT-TURN SIGNAL PHASING