Active warning system for highway-rail grade crossings using connected vehicle technologies

Abstract

Highway-rail grade crossing (HRGC) collisions are a significant safety concern around the world. HRGC collisions have a high risk of injuries and fatalities. To mitigate that risk, safety countermeasures for both active and passive HRGCs have been implemented. Leveraging the latest developments in connected vehicle (CV) technologies, CV-based warning systems perform well in safety applications for roadway networks. However, few have been developed to focus on safety improvements specifically for HRGCs. To bridge this gap, this paper proposes a novel active warning system that was created with readily available CV technologies and devices. A crossing risk assessment model was developed and evaluated in simulation and field applications. The proposed model predicts the crossing risk probabilities in the near future. When road users are in great risk of a collision, the warning system sends out auditory and visual alerts and displays the estimated waiting time. The test results reveal that the proposed warning system is promising for field implementation to improve safety at grade crossings.