Rail-highway grade crossing safety has received increasing emphasis since the creation of the department of of transportation. As a part of an action program announced by the secretary of transportation in the fall of 1967, the bureau of public roads has issued an instructional memorandum suggesting guidelines for the implementation of grade crossing safety programs within individual states. Included among the guidelines is a suggestion for the formation of diagnostic teams to conduct studies and recommend improvements for increasing safety at rail- highway grade crossings. This paper describes the diagnostic study technique as it is applied by the medical profession and relates the applicability of this approach to rail- highway grade crossing safety evaluation. The results of the diagnostic team approach, as a research procedure, in the conduct of a bureau of public roads-texas highway department cooperative project is reported in the paper. The role of the diagnostic team in safety evaluation is described by defining responsibility in areas such as (1) assignment of team members, (2) scheduling team activities, (3) preparation of diagnostic study support data, (4) development of diagnostic study procedures, (5) questionnaire design, and (6) results of the diagnostic team activities. In general, the diagnostic team has proven to be a successful procedure in identifying and isolating factors that contribute to unsafe conditions of grade crossings, preparing of priorities for crossing protection, recommending improvements in protective equipment, developing on-the-spot improvement programs, establishing an interdisciplinary approach to the solution of a common problem, and establishing a line of communication between groups and individuals who are responsible for the safe operation of rail-highway grade crossings. (Author/publisher)
Abstract