Freight Car Reflectorization. Safety of Highway-Railroad Grade Crossings

摘要

Collisions at highway-railroad grade crossings have posed a significant safety211u001eproblem. To reduce the number of these collisions at highway-railroad grade 211u001ecrossings where train visibility is a contributing factor, the Federal Railroad 211u001eAdministration (FRA) is investigating measures to enhance the visibility of 211u001etrains with the use of retroreflectors on freight cars. A four-phase research 211u001eprogram was conducted to determine the feasibility of reflectorization as a train 211u001econspicuity device. A literature review provided past and current transportation 211u001eexperiences on the use of retroreflectors. A demonstration test was conducted to 211u001eestablish the durability of a newly developed (microprismatic) material, and to 211u001ecreate a retroreflective pattern to test for the next phase of research. A 211u001enationwide in-service test was conducted to measure the microprismatic 211u001eretroreflectors' performance, accident reduction potential, and costs. A human 211u001efactors test was conducted to evaluate the detectability and recognition of 211u001eseveral retroreflective designs. Results from this research indicate that a 211u001euniform, recognizable pattern of reflectorized material can facilitate 211u001erecognition of a freight car. The durability of the microprismatic material 211u001etested indicates that adequate intensity levels can be sustained up to 10 years 211u001ewith maintenance.