New Approach to Determining Visibility Length on Passive Protected Level Railroad Crossings

The paper is based on the question whether the existing (legislation determined) method for determining the visibility length on passive protected level railroad crossings insures the relevant level of traffic safety. It has been recognised that using of such method does not provide stopping of road driver vehicles in front of railroad crossing in all conditions. Based on such conclusion a new approach to determining visibility length on passive protected level railroad crossing is proposed. The new approach is based on the assumption that it is necessary, primarily on level railroad crossings with local roads to recognize the worst possible and expected road and weather conditions. The testing of the proposed method in the real environment has shown that at lower speeds of road vehicles there is almost no difference, and that important benefits are recognised for the speeds of 30 and 50km/h where longer stopping distances of road vehicles have been detected (road vehicle can stop safely in front of a rail crossing) with almost the same visibility lengths. The use of the proposed method could have important impact on the increase of traffic safety on passive protected level railroad crossings.Pričujoči prispevek temelji na vprašanju, če obstoječa zakonsko določena metoda za določevanje dolžine preglednosti na pasivno zaščitenih železniških prehodih zagotavlja ustrezni nivo prometne varnosti. Ugotovljeno je, da uporaba obstoječe metode ne omogoča vozniku motornega vozila zaustavitve vozila v vseh pogojih. Na osnovi takšne ugotovitve je predlagan nov pristop k določevanju dolžine preglednosti na pasivno zaščitenih nivojskih železniških prehodih. Nov pristop temelji na predpostavki, da je nujno, predvsem na nivojskih železniških prehodih lokalnih cest, upoštevati najslabše možne in pričakovane cestne in vremenske pogoje. Preizkus predlagane metode v realnem prometnem okolju je pokazal, da pri nižjih hitrosti cestnih vozil skoraj ni razlike, pomembnejše prednosti se pokažejo pri hitrostih 30 in 50 km/h, kjer so ugotovljene večje dolžine zaustavljanja cestnega vozila (cestno vozila se lahko varno zaustavi pred nivojskim železniškim prehodom) pri skoraj enakih dolžinah preglednega polja. Uporaba predlagane metode lahko pomembno prispeva k povečanju prometne varnosti na nivojskih železniških prehodih zaščitenimi samo z Andrejevim križem