New Risk Management Study Findings Recently Were Reported by Researchers at University of Tennessee (A comparative study of rail-pedestrian…

New Risk Management Study Findings Recently Were Reported by Researchers at University of Tennessee (A comparative study of rail-pedestrian trespassing crash injury severity between highway-rail grade crossings and non-crossings)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Weekly News -- New research on Risk Management is the subject of a report. According to news reporting originating from Knoxville, Tennessee, by VerticalNews correspondents, research stated, "Rail-trespassing crashes that involve various levels of injuries to pedestrians are under-researched. Rail trespassing could occur at crossings where pedestrians are present at the wrong time and at non-crossings where pedestrians are not legally allowed to be present."

Financial supporters for this research include NURail University Transportation Center, Center for Transportation Research, and the Transportation Engineering and Science Program in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at University of Tennessee.

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from the University of Tennessee, "This paper presents a comparative study examining rail-trespassing crashes in two contexts: highway-rail grade crossings vs. non-crossings. How pre-crash trespassing behaviors and other factors (e.g., crash time, locations, and socio-demographics) differ between grade crossings and non-crossings are explored. The analysis relies on a ten-year (2006-2015) database of rail-pedestrian trespassing crash records extracted from a Federal Railroad Administration safety database. Of these 7157 rail-pedestrian trespassing crashes, 6236 (87%) occurred at non-crossings, while 921 (13%) occurred at grade crossings. About 60% of the crashes were fatal at both crossings and non-crossings. The most prevalent pre-crash trespassing behavior is running or walking, 63% at grade crossings and 44% at non-crossings. Lying or sleeping account for 29% of non-crossing crashes, whereas they are 3.6% at grade crossings. A unique aspect of the study is that a diverse set of variables based on geographic variations across counties along with crash or injury data are modeled. Considering the data structure and heterogeneity that may exist due to unobserved factors, the multilevel mixed-effect ordered logistic regressions models are estimated. The results show that the correlates of injury severity differ across highway-rail grade crossings and non-crossings. For example, lying or sleeping on or near tracks contributed to higher chances of fatal injury in both contexts, however, they were relatively more injurious at grade crossings."

According to the news editors, the research concluded: "The analytical results can provide guidance on railway safety improvement plans."

For more information on this research see: A comparative study of rail-pedestrian trespassing crash injury severity between highway-rail grade crossings and non-crossings. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 2018;117():427-438. Accident Analysis and Prevention can be contacted at: Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd, The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, England. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Accident Analysis and Prevention - www.journals.elsevier.com/accident-analysis-and-prevention/)

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting M. Zhang, University of Tennessee, Dept. of Civil & Environm Engn, Knoxville, TN 37996, United States. Additional authors for this research include A.J. Khattak, J. Liu and D. Clarke.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2018.02.001. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

Keywords for this news article include: Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, North and Central America, Risk Management, Legal Issues, University of Tennessee.

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