Speaker: Dr. Aemal J. Khattak, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
and Director of the Mid-America Transportation Center (UNL)
When: Friday, Nov. 7th 10:50am-11:50am
Where: KH A510 (Lincoln), PKI 160 (Omaha)
Zoom: https://unl.zoom.us/j/94281831713
Title: Rail crossing safety in the United States: Research Results and Future Direction
Abstract: Protecting people at rail crossings is an essential component of comprehensive transportation safety. Crashes at rail crossings can potentially disrupt multiple transportation modes and they tend to involve more severe injuries than crashes elsewhere on the highway network. In 2023, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) reported 2,190 rail crossing crashes, resulting in 248 fatalities and 752 injuries. The presentation will outline the current status of rail crossing safety in the US, followed by Dr. Khattak’s research on this topic and then the emerging research issues that require attention. Topics include advancing data-driven risk models for crossings, integrating new connected-vehicle technologies, enhancing multi-modal coordination among rail, and road and active-transport modes.