Using a driving simulator to assess driver compliance at railway level crossings

Railway level crossings have the potential to bring motor vehicles and trains into fatal contact. In Australia there are approximately 9,400 public railway level crossings across the country, protected either passively (64%) or by active/automated systems (28%). Passive crossings provide only a stationary sign warning of the possibility of trains crossing. Their message remains constant over time. Active systems, by contrast, activate automatic warning devices (i.e., flashing lights, bells, barrier, etc.) as a train approaches. Using a driving simulator, this paper compares driver compliance at railway level crossings equipped with either active or passive warning devices including a stop sign, rumble strips, flashing lights/bell and in-vehicle auditory warning. This paper describes the driving simulator data collection and findings and subsequently draws conclusions on driver compliance with respect to different types of warning devices. The results indicate that drivers behave differently and are more compliant at active crossings than at passive crossings.