Applying Ecological Interface Design principles to the design of rural highway-rail grade crossing infrastructure

Vanessa Beanland; Eryn L Grant; Gemma J M Read; Nicholas J Stevens; Miles Thomas; Michael G Lenne; Neville A Stanton; Paul M Salmon

doi:10.1177/1541931213601953

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Applying Ecological Interface Design principles to the design of rural highway-rail grade crossing infrastructure

Conference paper

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Applying Ecological Interface Design principles to the design of rural highway-rail grade crossing infrastructure

Vanessa Beanland, Eryn L Grant, Gemma J M Read, Nicholas J Stevens, Miles Thomas, Michael G Lenne, Neville A Stanton and Paul M Salmon

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, Vol.61(1), pp.1887-1891

Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) International Annual Meeting, 2017 (Austin, United States, 09-Oct-2017–13-Oct-2017)

Human Factors & Ergonomics Society

2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1541931213601953

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Abstract

Countries such as Australia and USA have many rail level crossings (a.k.a. highway-rail grade crossings) with limited protection (e.g., static signs only or flashing lights but no physical barriers). Lower cost design solutions are required as upgrading crossings using current infrastructure treatments is cost-prohibitive. Here we applied Ecological Interface Design (EID) principles to develop a novel rail level crossing design for high-speed rural roads, and then evaluated the design via two driving simulator studies. Experiment 1 provided an initial concept evaluation of the crossing, then Experiment 2 evaluated the crossing in safetycritical situations, including when a distractor was present and when crossing infrastructure was damaged through vandalism. Driving performance, subjective workload, and usability were compared against existing rural crossing designs. Findings suggest the EID crossing provides a feasible alternative to existing designs, with the potential to encourage safer decision-making by road users and thus reduce collisions.

Details

Title: Applying Ecological Interface Design principles to the design of rural highway-rail grade crossing infrastructure
Authors: Vanessa Beanland (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts, Business and Law
Eryn L Grant (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts, Business and Law
Gemma J M Read (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts, Business and Law
Nicholas J Stevens (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts, Business and Law
Miles Thomas (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts, Business and Law
Michael G Lenne (Author) - Monash University
Neville A Stanton (Author) - University of Southampton, United Kingdom
Paul M Salmon (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts, Business and Law
Publication details: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, Vol.61(1), pp.1887-1891
Conference details: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) International Annual Meeting, 2017 (Austin, United States, 09-Oct-2017–13-Oct-2017)
Publisher: Human Factors & Ergonomics Society
Date published: 2017
DOI: 10.1177/1541931213601953
ISSN: 1541-9312
Copyright note: Copyright © 2017 The Authors. The author's accepted version is reproduced here in accordance with the publishers' copyright policy. The definitive version is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1541931213601953
Grants: A new complex systems approach to road trauma: Applying systems thinking to the fatal five, FT140100681, Australian Research Council (Australia, Canberra) - ARC
Application of contemporary systems-based methods to reduce trauma at rail level crossings, LP100200387, Australian Research Council (Australia, Canberra) - ARC
Driving as a model for investigating and improving visual search abilities, DE150100083, Australian Research Council (Australia, Canberra) - ARC
Organisation Unit: Bioclimatic and Sociotechnical Cities Lab; Centre for Human Factors and Systems Science; School of Social Sciences - Legacy; School of Health - Psychology; School of Law and Society
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99450910602621
Output Type: Conference paper

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