The influence of road/ rail intersection design on accidents at level crossings

In this paper the relationships between driver behaviour and five variations in the geometric features of road/rail grade crossings are examined. The objective is to determine whether any patterns of behaviour induced by these variations can be applied more widely to reduce the incidence of accidents at open crossings, ie, crossings protected by a static array of signs and with no automatic device warning of an approaching train. The five features examined are sight distance, seal, presence of intersection, gradient and crossing angle. It is concluded that only the last is appropriate for manipulation for this purpose - then only at a specified range of crossings. (A)