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[quote user="tree68"] Well, there you go.  Information we haven't had up until now, other than speculation. I'm still not convinced on the flashing lights.  A driver rummaging around his lunch pail or typing in a text would probably miss a marching band and the (name your team) cheerleaders. <div style="clear:both;"></div> [/quote]  <o:p></o:p>  <o:p></o:p> I am not sure what you mean by your first sentence.   <o:p></o:p> But for the rest, why pick an example of something that is100% distracting to reach a general conclusion that no means of improving the chance of getting a driver’s attention will work?  I agree that if a driver is reading a book, or trying to win a video game, or has his eyes closed, he or she will not likely notice warning lights.  But a driver cannot possibly be at 100% distraction for very long because it takes attention just to keep the vehicle on the road.   <o:p></o:p> Therefore, the most egregious examples of 100 % distraction with drivers are necessarily short in duration.  And those short lapses can lead to abrupt violations such as running over a pedestrian.  Whatever may have transpired as distraction in this case had to last for 15-20 seconds.  So the distraction was probably something less than 100% for the most part.  A cell phone conversation would amount to the kind of mid-range, prolonged distraction that could have been enough for the driver to miss the importance of the advance warning signs, and the visual cues of the lights and approaching train until it was too late to stop.  And a prolonged, mid-range distraction is just the kind of distraction that advance, active warning lights could break through.   <o:p></o:p> Rumble strips are attention-getters, but whether that would properly translate at a grade crossing is an open question.  They are passive, so they would rumble for drivers whether a train was approaching or not.  As a passive measure, they are more assertive than the advance warning signs or pavement marking.  But, since they would give a strong warning regardless of whether a train was approaching, they might habituate drivers to a sense of the rumble strips crying, “Wolf!”  Rumble strips are also used in other situations, so it raises the possibility of their meaning being misunderstood in grade crossing applications.    <o:p></o:p> The system of active advance warning lights that I have suggested is quite intuitively an extension of the active system at the grade crossing itself.  And this system is not just something that I have dreamed up as the solution.  The MUTCD and related authorities have developed this active advance warning system just for grade crossings on high-speed roads.
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