An Application of Signal Detection Theory for Understanding Driver Behavior at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings

Yeh, Michelle; Multer, Jordan; Raslear, Thomas G.

doi:10.1037/e578572012-007

Cited by 3 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…For this reason, drivers’ decision not to comply at the level crossing are also an issue outside peak times. Long level crossing closures during peak hours, such as the ones determined by the present study and reported elsewhere ( 23 ), have been hypothesized as a factor in driver non-compliance ( 41 ). Long waiting times encourage some drivers not to comply at crossings by attempting to traverse a crossing before an approaching train has passed ( 13 , 20 , 21 ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

Understanding Why Drivers Cross the Line at Activated Railway Crossings

Larue

Naweed

2020

Transportation Research Record

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Congestion at urban and active railway level crossings leads to non-compliant driver behavior, and scenarios in which road users may enter into the rail corridor with the crossing nearing full closure. Previous research indicates this scenario occurs with alarming regularity during peak periods. However, limited research has investigated whether such non-compliance arises from errors or from deliberate decisions. The objective of this study was to better understand driver decisions when approaching a level crossing during activation. Vehicle movements and crossing activation were continuously recorded for 2 months at a congested active level crossing close to Melbourne, Australia. Each movement corresponding to a vehicle approach to the level crossing during onset of activation was extracted with traversals counted, and the ability to stop safely modeled with linear motion equations, using the position and speed of the vehicle at activation. The probability of entering the level crossing was then modeled with generalized linear models. Analysis revealed that much of the non-compliance was involuntary and linked to a dilemma zone in the absence of sufficient warning time for drivers to react to and safely stop before proceeding through the crossing. However, deliberate non-compliance was also an issue, and independent of the time of day. Findings are discussed in relation to the ideal grace period for road users at such crossings, and consideration is given to enforcement as a viable treatment for reducing deliberate non-compliance.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

Understanding Why Drivers Cross the Line at Activated Railway Crossings

Larue

Naweed

2020

Transportation Research Record

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“…Using data from 1986, Raslear reported that the analysis suggested that grade crossing warning devices are effective because they encourage drivers to stop. Yeh, Multer, and Raslear (2009) updated this analysis and compared the findings to more recent data (2006) with similar results. Additionally, the results indicated that warning device effectiveness improved over the 20-year period examined, as drivers behaved more conservatively.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 65%

“…The results by Raslear (1996) and Yeh, et al (2009) demonstrate the improvements in safety at grade crossings, but the analysis does not speak to what led to this improvement. The number of grade crossing accidents decreased by 41% between 1994and 2003(Office of the Inspector General, 2004, a time period in which a number of safety measures were implemented.…”

Section: State Of the Worldmentioning

confidence: 90%

Evaluating the Impact of Grade Crossing Safety Factors through Signal Detection Theory

Yeh

Raslear

Multer

2012

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual

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The purpose of this effort was to apply signal detection theory to descriptively model the impact of five grade crossing safety factors to understand their effect on driver decision making. The safety factors consisted of: improving commercial motor vehicle driver safety through federal regulations, increasing locomotive conspicuity with alerting lights, increasing locomotive conspicuity with reflectors, increasing sight lines, and improving warning device reliability. We estimated d’ and β for eight warning devices associated with each safety factor using data from the Federal Railroad Administration’s Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Accident/Incident database and Highway-Rail Crossing Inventory. We also calculated ω2 for each safety factor and device type to examine the reliability of each independent variable on grade crossing safety. The analysis indicated that the first four safety factors listed above were generally equally effective in improving grade crossing safety. Warning device reliability (which pertained to active warning devices only) still contributed to improvements in grade crossing safety, but the effects were more muted. Grade crossing devices (and particularly active warning devices) are an important safety tool because they increase drivers’ inclinations to stop, and this bias to stop has a greater impact than improving the driver’s ability to detect the train.

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“…A better understanding of these human factors issues not only helps answer why an incident may have occurred but helps prioritize and focus more effective poten tial crash countermeasures. There are two general categories of fac tors that can influence a driver's decision to stop or not stop at a passive level crossing and the probability of an accident occurring: those that affect the driver's ability to detect the presence of a train and those that affect the driver's decision making, or perception of the need to stop (9,10). In human factors terms, these two types of factors can be categorized as "perceptual" and "cognitive."…”

Section: Targeted Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent research by Yeh and colleagues (10,46,47), as well as previous work by Raslear (48), used signal detection theory to describe and model a driver's decision making at level crossings. Compared to active crossings, passive crossings are associated with the strongest bias for drivers to proceed through the crossing.…”

Section: Information Processingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human Factors Issues of Accidents at Passively Controlled Rural Level Crossings

Rudin-Brown

George

Stuart

2014

Transportation Research Record

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Collisions between road vehicles and trains at passively controlled level crossings, where no indication is given to drivers of the presence (or absence) of an approaching train, raise important human factors safety concerns. A database search of Canadian level crossing crash data for the 10-year period between 2003 and 2012 and a targeted review of the scientific research literature were conducted to explore the human factors and related risks involved in crashes of this nature. Accidents at passively controlled, rural level crossings where the driver of the road vehicle did not stop constituted 15% of all level crossing crashes. Statistical analysis revealed that this type of accident was most likely to occur in prairie provinces, during daylight hours, and to involve a disproportionate number of heavy vehicles. Nine human factors issues were identified. Four affected driver detection of an approaching train, including sightlines, train conspicuity, unchanging retinal image, and train horn audibility. Five issues related to driver decision making, including looked-but-failed-to-see errors, faulty activation of schema–mental model, distraction, impairment, and information processing. These issues were overlaid across four previously proposed driver approach zones at passive level crossings. Analysis of countermeasures designed for application within the approach zone, which began at the decision sight distance point, revealed several potential countermeasures, including the observation that current minimum sightline guidelines for passive level crossings might not have been adequate to ensure that drivers have sufficient time to assess the threat posed by an approaching train from both directions and to respond appropriately.

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An Application of Signal Detection Theory for Understanding Driver Behavior at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Understanding Why Drivers Cross the Line at Activated Railway Crossings

Understanding Why Drivers Cross the Line at Activated Railway Crossings

Evaluating the Impact of Grade Crossing Safety Factors through Signal Detection Theory

Human Factors Issues of Accidents at Passively Controlled Rural Level Crossings

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