Railroad-Highway Vehicular Movement Warning Devices at Grade Crossings

Abstract

Railroad operations have for many years been plagued with poor safety performance at grade crossings. Many lives are lost each year in accidents at crossings, to say nothing of costly injuries and property damage sustained. The situation has gotten worse with the advent of soundproofed cars, being driven at high speed in conditions of poor visibility. Clearly then, some improved method of warning motorists as they approach a grade crossing is needed. Analysis of a critical encounter between a road vehicle and a locomotive reveal that the presently used equipment is inadequate to meet the needs of present day high-speed vehicles. A system of vehicular movement warning devices is described in this paper that mighty improve to some extent the safety of grade crossing operations. Two methods are detailed. One involves static directional sonic devices positioned at the crossing; warning activation is made on a real-time closing velocity determination. The other system employs a special variety of cattle guard in the roadway, to issue a tactile warning. Both systems are designed to give adequate warning to a motorist in a critical encounter situation as he approaches the crossing with a convergent locomotive on the track(s). A bonus feature in the use of selectively activated static directional sound warning sources would be the curtailment of urban noise levels, where trains presently use the mobile audible source to issue warnings.