The light rail transit safety experience in North America

Because of the increased interaction between light rail vehicles (LRVs), motor vehicles, and pedestrians, LRT systems across the United States and Canada have placed top priority on strategies to minimize collisions and conflicts between LRVs, motor vehicles, and pedestrians. This paper presents a summary of LRT/motor vehicle and LRT/pedestrian accident characteristics at ten LRT systems in North America, evaluated by the author during 1994, 1995 and 1996 as part of the Transportation Research Board, Transit Cooperative Research Program, Project A-5, "Integration of Light Rail Transit into City Streets" and Project A-13, "Light Rail Service: Pedestrian and Vehicular Safety." The paper also summarizes the types of collisions and their potential causes, and identifies operating and design concepts to improve LRT safety. The final report containing the findings of the TCRP Project A-5 has recently been published by the Transportation Research Board [I]; the TCRP Project A-13 is currently on going, and expected to be completed by mid-1999.