Potential of auxiliary strobe lights on train locomotives to improve level crossing safety.

Inattentiveness of road users on approach to passive railway crossings represents a major threat to level crossing safety. An auxiliary strobe light system installed on trains in addition to existing headlights may help address this issue by providing an ergonomic way of attracting human attention to the level crossing and to the train. The objective of this paper was to investigate the ergonomics and safety potential of auxiliary strobe light systems. A system was implemented on a real railway vehicle and in the virtual environment of a driving simulator. Acceptance of the system, including its usefulness and perceived benefits and drawbacks, as well as its objective effectiveness, were evaluated using questionnaires, behavioural measures, and eye tracking. The safety potential of the system was evaluated with respect to fatal level crossing accidents. The auxiliary strobe lights were preferred over normal lights and were rated as useful, reducing driving speeds, increasing visual scanning at level crossings, and thus aiding detection of a train. The system has the potential to prevent 6-30% of level crossing accidents in Europe. The results suggest that it might be worthwhile to test auxiliary strobe lights in a larger scale real-world experiment. Especially on railway lines with a high number of passive level crossings, this system can be expected to increase safety by supporting timely detection by road users and preventing accidents caused by inattentiveness.

A mixed-methods analysis of mobility behavior changes in the COVID-19 era in a rural case study.

Background: As a reaction to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), countries around the globe have implemented various measures to reduce the spread of the virus. The transportation sector is particularly affected by the pandemic situation. The current study aims to contribute to the empirical knowledge regarding the effects of the coronavirus situation on the mobility of people by (1) broadening the perspective to the mobility rural area's residents and (2) providing subjective data concerning the perceived changes of affected persons' mobility practices, as these two aspects have scarcely been considered in research so far. Methods: To address these research gaps, a mixed-methods study was conducted that integrates a qualitative telephone interview study (N = 15) and a quantitative household survey (N = 301). The rural district of Altmarkkreis Salzwedel in Northern Germany was chosen as a model region. Results: The results provide in-depth insights into the changing mobility practices of residents of a rural area during the legal restrictions to stem the spread of the virus. A high share of respondents (62.6%) experienced no changes in their mobility behavior due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation. However, nearly one third of trips were also cancelled overall. A modal shift was observed towards the reduction of trips by car and bus, and an increase of trips by bike. The share of trips by foot was unchanged. The majority of respondents did not predict strong long-term effects of the corona pandemic on their mobility behavior.