Investigating the Role of Driver Decision Styles in Highway-Rail Crossing Accidents

You are here: Homepage > Search

Investigating the Role of Driver Decision Styles in Highway-Rail Crossing Accidents

N. Meshkati / M. Rahimi / M. J. Driver

This research was designed to take a closer look at the ways by which driver decision-making styles affect highway-rail crossing (HRC) accidents. That is, a simplistic approach of portraying human error, as the cause of most HRC accidents, needs to be augmented with a more complex theory of human decision-making process while performing driving tasks before and during a highway-rail intersection. Video and still photos were taken to identify the intersections appropriate for this study. The intersections were among many in the Los Angeles metro area with crossings that demanded certain driver maneuvers with potential accident consequences. Based on these selections, both field and laboratory experimental sessions were designed to study three sets of variables: driver decision styles, conditions in the intersection environment that could influence these decisions (environmental complexity) and the driver maneuvers to cross the intersection. The variable of distraction inside the crossing intersection was also studied using recall versus recognition tests.