Safety Evaluation of IdaShield Signs at Passive Railroad Crossings Using Crash Data Analysis, User Assessment Surveys, and Driving Simulation
Grover, Alexander Scott. (2014). Safety Evaluation of IdaShield Signs at Passive Railroad Crossings Using Crash Data Analysis, User Assessment Surveys, and Driving Simulation. Theses and Dissertations Collection, University of Idaho Library Digital Collections. https://www.lib.uidaho.edu/digital/etd/items/grover_idaho_0089m_10288.html
- Title:
- Safety Evaluation of IdaShield Signs at Passive Railroad Crossings Using Crash Data Analysis, User Assessment Surveys, and Driving Simulation
- Author:
- Grover, Alexander Scott
- Date:
- 2014
- Keywords:
- Crossing Rail Safety Transportation
- Program:
- Civil Engineering
- Subject Category:
- Civil engineering
- Abstract:
-
This study evaluates the safety performance of the IdaShield experimental warning sign via crash data analysis, user assessment surveys, and driving simulation. Highway-rail crossing inventory and crash data from the Idaho Transportation Department and Federal Railroad Administration were used to develop a Safety Performance Function (SPF) for passive highway-rail crossings. A Highway Safety Manual Before/After Empirical Bayes analysis was performed using the SPF and revealed a significant decrease in crash frequency after the 1997 - 1998 IdaShield installations. This is the first study to develop a highway-rail crossing SPF and also use the SPF in the HSM Empirical Bayes method to evaluate the effectiveness of a sign treatment. A statistical comparison between nighttime and daytime crash frequency reduction due to IdaShield installations showed that the IdaShield performs notably better at nighttime relative to daytime. User assessment surveys and driving simulation revealed that drivers assign a "yield" meaning to the IdaShield.
- Description:
- masters, M.S., Civil Engineering -- University of Idaho - College of Graduate Studies, 2014
- Major Professor:
- Dixon, Michael P
- Committee:
- Abdel-Rahim, Ahmed; Williams, Christopher
- Defense Date:
- 2014
- Identifier:
- Grover_idaho_0089M_10288
- Type:
- Text
- Format Original:
- Format:
- application/pdf
- Rights:
- In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted. For more information, please contact University of Idaho Library Special Collections and Archives Department at libspec@uidaho.edu.
- Standardized Rights:
- http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/