Safety and associated parameters influencing performance of rail road grade crossings: A critical review of state of the art

摘要

Introduction: Railroad grade crossings (RRGCs) have emerged as critical transportation infrastructures from the point of safety and operational aspects because two modes of transportation intermingle at the intersecting zone; the understanding of safety and traffic operation at RRGC is of prime concern while planning and designing this transportation facility. Method: In this context, this work tries to comprehend RRGC performance-related parameters from published literature and figure out critical gaps. An interna-tional synthesis on the identified potential parameters influencing the RRGC performance (i.e., safety, dri-ver behavior, and operational impact) was carried out by critically reviewing the articles published worldwide. Furthermore, key findings, used variables, analysis methods, research gaps, and recommen-dations were studied. Results: The review revealed that many researchers had explored the driver behav-ior and safety aspect based on past crash data and violations prevailing at RRGC. However, little research has been done to evaluate the effect of highways' operational characteristics on the performance of RRGC. Moreover, limited investigation has been carried out to understand the dilemma of drivers and the proac-tive safety evaluation of pedestrians and non-motorized vehicles at RRGC. A total of seven critical research gaps concerning parameters are recognized, facilitating a clear agenda for further research per-taining to RRGC performance. (c) 2021 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.