title: Motor vehicle driver injury severity study under various traffic control at highway-rail grade crossings in the United States.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Based on the Federal Railway Administration (FRA) database, approximately 62% of the collisions at highway-rail crossings occurred at locations with active controls (gate and flashing lights), followed by passive controls (cross bucks and stop signs) with approximately 28% of accidents.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study applied an ordered probit model to explore the determinants of driver injury severity under various control measures at highway-rail grade crossing in the United States.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The analysis found that schedule factor (peak hour), visibility, motor vehicle speed, train speed, driver's age, area type, traffic volume and highway pavement impact driver injury severity at both active and passive highway-rail crossings.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  For both active and passive control highway-rail grade crossings, speed control for both trains and vehicles will significantly reduce driver injury severity. However, the level of influence by vehicle speed and train speed at passive control is higher compared with active control. Paving highways at highway-rail grade crossings will also help to reduce driver injury severity at highway-rail crossing accidents.
authors.affiliation: New Jersey Institute of Technology, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University Heights, Newark, NJ 07102, USA. Electronic address: WH29@NJIT.EDU.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.affiliation: New Jersey Institute of Technology, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University Heights, Newark, NJ 07102, USA.
authors.forename: Janice
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Daniel
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000367:Age Factors; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011890:Railroads / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012737:Sex Factors; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014887:Weather; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*
keywords: Accidents; Control devices; Highway-rail grade crossing; Injury Severity; Ordered probit model