Human Factors in Highway-Rail Crossing Accidents: The Influence of Driver Decision Style

This paper explores the hypothesis that driver decision-making style influences highway-rail crossing accidents. To investigate this, the authors have designed an analysis of variance experiment with three independent variables: "driver decision style," "driver time pressure" and "intersection complexity." To simulate the driving conditions, the authors identified and videotaped a number of dangerous crossings in downtown Los Angeles. The tapes represented different environmental complexities and time pressures a driver experiences while crossing an intersection. The tapes were played back to the subject drivers. The subjects were classified according to their decision styles. Dependent measures were designed based on a driver's decision to cross the intersection. This paper presents the conceptual approach and the experimental design for this research.