Driver Behavior Analysis at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings using Field Operational Test Data Heavy Trucks

The United States Department of Transportation’s (U.S. DOT) Research and Innovative Technology Administration’s (RITA) John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center), under the direction of the U.S. DOT Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Office of Research and Development (R&D), conducted a research study focused on collecting and analyzing data related to driver characteristics at or on approachtohighway-rail grade crossings. Volpe Center reviewed and coded 3,171 grade crossing events involving heavy vehicle drivers collected during a recent field operational test of vehicle safety systems. The data collected for each grade crossing included data about drivers’ activities, driver and vehicle performance, driving environment, and vehicle location at or on approach to highway-rail grade crossings.