Evaluating Pedestrian and Cyclist Behaviour at a Level Crossing

Lukas Hartwig,Dominik Schreiber,Clemens Kaufmann,Martin Urban,Ralf Risser,Christian Erbsmehl,Tom Landgraf

doi:10.5507/tots.2019.009

Abstract

The article gives an overview about the results of the use of a newly developed measurement technique in order to analyse the behaviour of road users at level crossings. For the test of the measurement technique a before/after design was chosen in order to evaluate the effects of a speed bump on the behaviour of road users and on safety at level crossings. The measurement technique combines the use of (1) an infrared camera and (2) conventional video recording. The use of an infrared camera allows the registration of variables such as speed, position, distance and acceleration independent of lighting conditions. A conventional camera includes recording of road users head movements on the basis of which one can conclude where their attention is directed.

Highlights

AND BACKGROUNDIn order to avoid accidents at railway crossings, some structural measures have been carried out in Austria in recent years
Vulnerable road users were crossing the railway mostly alone followed by crossing in pairs
Even though the speed bump was mainly aiming to change the behaviour of motorists, we want to show in this article that the developed measurement technique can be employed to evaluate the behaviour of vulnerable road users (VRU)

Summary

Introduction

In order to avoid accidents at railway crossings, some structural measures have been carried out in Austria in recent years. In order to systematically examine and to compare the effects on the behaviour of road users and the traffic safety at level crossings the project SESAM (Evaluierung der Sicherheit von Eisenbahnkreuzungen mittels automatischer Messmethoden – Safety evaluation at level crossings with the help of an automated measurement technique), funded by the OBB-Infra (Infrastructure Department of the Austrian National Railway) and the Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology (BMVIT) processed by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) was carried out. A measurement technique (a combination of video and infra-red camera) was tested at a level crossing in Lower Austria where a speed bump was temporarily installed. We analyse the data on the behaviour of pedestrians and cyclists that was gathered alongside the data about motorists with regards to: a) the general behaviour when crossing the level crossing, b) misconduct that could potentially lead to accidents, and c) possible direct and indirect effects that the speed bump had on the behaviour of the VRU

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