Safety measures at railway level crossings for pedestrians and bicyclists
other
To improve the safety at railway level crossings in the Netherlands, a number of safety - improving measures has been implemented. Commissioned by ProRail (formerly Railinfrabeheer B.V.), TNO Human Factors conducts studies to determine the effectiveness of these measures with respect to road usersÂ’ behaviour. Among other things, the measures included the separation of two-way traffic by solid white centre lines or physical medians, and separation of slow and fast road traffic at the railway level crossing.
At several railway level crossings behavioural video-observations were conducted on the spot in a before-and-after study design. The video-recordings were analysed quantitatively by determining the speed of passenger cars and by conducting a time analysis of nonstopping/ stopping behaviour of pedestrians and bicyclists. The behavioural analyses also included the rating of conflicts between road users.
Most measures as implemented at railway level crossings improve the behaviour of pedestrians and bicyclists. Within built -up areas (speed-limit 50 km/h), both a solid white centre line and a physical median to separate two-way traffic at the railway level crossing reduce the speed with about 2.5 km/h. The centre line does not prevent slalom manoeuvres or centre-line crossings, whereas a physical median reduces the number of line crossings as well as the severity of bicycle -car overtaking conflicts. Removing slow traffic from the carriageway decreases both the number and the severity of car-bicyclist conflicts and seems to be safety-effective. It also appears to be effective to separate a nearby bicycle -path/road intersection further from a railway level crossing. Twelve metres further away helps already a lot.
At several railway level crossings behavioural video-observations were conducted on the spot in a before-and-after study design. The video-recordings were analysed quantitatively by determining the speed of passenger cars and by conducting a time analysis of nonstopping/ stopping behaviour of pedestrians and bicyclists. The behavioural analyses also included the rating of conflicts between road users.
Most measures as implemented at railway level crossings improve the behaviour of pedestrians and bicyclists. Within built -up areas (speed-limit 50 km/h), both a solid white centre line and a physical median to separate two-way traffic at the railway level crossing reduce the speed with about 2.5 km/h. The centre line does not prevent slalom manoeuvres or centre-line crossings, whereas a physical median reduces the number of line crossings as well as the severity of bicycle -car overtaking conflicts. Removing slow traffic from the carriageway decreases both the number and the severity of car-bicyclist conflicts and seems to be safety-effective. It also appears to be effective to separate a nearby bicycle -path/road intersection further from a railway level crossing. Twelve metres further away helps already a lot.
At railway level crossings only a physical median helps to reduce speed and improve the safety of encounters between motorists and bicyclists when no options are available for separatory slow and fast traffic completely.
TNO Identifier
12609
Source title
Proceedings ICTCT extra workshop Vancouver
Files
To receive the publication files, please send an e-mail request to TNO Repository.