Analysis of in-vehicle warning system for rail-road level crossings: Case study in the city of Thessaloniki, Greece

Abstract

The present research has investigated the impact of a Cooperative - Intelligent Transport Systems service for increasing Rail - Road Level Crossing safety, in terms of driving dynamic of the taxi drivers who used the service at the city of Thessaloniki, Greece. The Cooperative - Intelligent Transport Systems service informed drivers when approaching a Rail - Road Level Crossing, through 6 different paths, at the western area of the city of Thessaloniki. The results were yielded after comparing two datasets concerning the use of the Cooperative - Intelligent Transport Systems service by 168 taxi drivers for 28 days and without the use of the Cooperative - Intelligent Transport Systems service by 15 taxi drivers for 25 days. Even if conclusions are contrasting for the different types of the Rail - Road Level Crossing transits, the findings highlight a relation between speed reduction with types of transits whose first road segment is rectilinear, during Cooperative - Intelligent Transport Systems service use, while minor differentiations are noticed for Rail - Road Level Crossing transits with sharp turns and stop signs.