Home

About Us

Education Resources

Training

Presenters

Statistics

Results

For Kids

News & Events

Contact Us

Links

OL Community

OL Store

Savage Research Report

Does Public Education Improve Rail-Highway Crossing Safety?

Evaluating the relationship between Operation Lifesaver activities and
collisions between trains and motor vehicles at public crossings

by Ian Savage

Department of Economics and the Transportation Center
Northwestern University
September 2005

Published in Accident Analysis and Prevention Volume 38, Number 2 (March 2006), pages 310-316

http://www.elsevier.com/wps/product/cws_home/336

Correspondence Address:

Department of Economics
Northwestern University
2001 Sheridan Road
Evanston, Illinois 60208

Ph: (847) 491-8241
Fax: (847) 491-7001
E-mail: ipsavage@northwestern.edu

Abstract:

Improvements in rail-highway grade crossing safety have resulted from engineering, law
enforcement, and educating the public on the dangers and appropriate conduct. The primary form of the latter is a campaign called Operation Lifesaver which started in the 1970s. This paper uses a negative binomial regression to estimate whether variations in Operation Lifesaver activity across states and from year-to-year in individual states are related to the number of collisions and fatalities at crossings. Annual data is used on the experience in 46 states from 1996 to 2002. The analysis finds that increasing the amount of educational activity will reduce the number of collisions with a point elasticity of -0.11, but the effect on the number of deaths cannot be concluded with statistical certainty.

Download PDF of Savage Research Report here.

Related Reports:

Why Has Safety Improved at Rail-Highway Grade Crossings?

By Shannon Mok and Ian Savage, July 2004.

Download PDF of this report here.

Trespassing on the Railroad

By Ian Savage, January 2006.

http://faculty-web.at.northwestern.edu/economics/savage/trespassers.pdf