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The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation, issued a final rule to require retroreflective material on the sides of freight rolling stock (freight cars and locomotives) to enhance the visibility of trains. The rule represented a partial solution to a safety problem that has long concerned FRA--the need to reduce the incidence and severity of collisions between motor vehicles and trains at highway-rail grade crossings throughout the United States, especially during conditions of darkness or reduced visibility.
Approximately 4,000 times each year, a train and a highway vehicle collide at a highway-rail grade crossing in the United States. Approximately 23% of all highway-rail grade crossing accidents involve motor vehicles running into trains occupying grade crossings ("RIT'' accidents). Many of these RIT accidents occur during nighttime conditions (dawn, dusk, and darkness) and involve a highway vehicle striking a train behind the first two units of the consist. This suggests that a contributing factor to many RIT accidents is the difficulty motorists have in seeing a train consist at a crossing in time to stop their vehicles before reaching the crossing, particularly during periods of limited visibility, such as dawn, dusk, darkness, or during adverse weather conditions.
The physical characteristics of trains, in combination with the characteristics of grade crossings (e.g., grade crossing configuration, type of warning devices at a crossing, rural background environment with low level ambient light, or visually complex urban background environment, etc.), and the inherent limitations of human eyesight, often make it difficult for motorists to detect a train's presence on highway-rail grade crossings, particularly during periods of limited visibility. Freight trains lack conspicuity in different environmental settings. For example, trains are typically painted a dark color and are often covered with dirt and grime which are inherent in the railroad environment. With the exception of locomotives, trains are usually unlighted and are not equipped with reflective devices. Similarly, a large percentage of crossings are not lighted. Consequently, much of the light from an approaching motor vehicle's headlights is absorbed by the freight cars, instead of being reflected back toward the motorist. In addition, the large size of freight cars also makes them difficult to detect. For instance, even if a motorist is looking for a train, if the locomotive has already passed, it is difficult to detect the freight cars because the cars often encompass the motorist's entire field of view and have the tendency to "blend'' into the background environment, especially at night. Also, because most drivers involved in grade crossing accidents are familiar with the crossings and with roadway features at the crossings, the drivers become habituated (or preconditioned) to the crossings. Based on previous driving experiences and conditioning, a driver may not expect a train to be occupying a crossing, and without a clear auditory signal (because the locomotive has already cleared the crossing) or visual stimuli alerting the driver to a train traveling through the crossing, the driver may fail to perceive the train in time to stop. This condition is further exacerbated when a train is stopped on a crossing.
Before the FRA rule, there was no requirement for lighting or reflective markings on freight rolling stock. However, reflectorization has become an indispensable tool for enhancing visibility in virtually all other modes of transportation, including air, highway, maritime, and pedestrian travel. For example, airplanes and motor vehicles are equipped with high brightness retroreflective material at key locations on the exterior surfaces to increase their conspicuity. Microprismatic corner cube retroreflectors (which have the ability to direct light rays back to the light source) are typically used on roadway signs that warn of construction or other hazardous conditions. Federal regulations require retroreflective materials on the sides and rear of large trucks to increase their conspicuity and to aid motorists in judging their proximity to these vehicles. Even regulations addressing bicycle safety have specific requirements on the use of reflective materials. Lifesaving marine equipment, such as life vests and rafts, require reflectorization; and to enhance the conspicuity of pedestrians, especially at night, retroreflective material has been incorporated into clothing and similar items.
The everyday use of reflectors indicates their acceptance to delineate potential hazards and obstructions in a vehicle's path of travel. Research specific to the railroad industry has demonstrated that reflective materials can increase the conspicuity of freight cars, thereby enhancing motorists' ability to detect the presence of trains in highway-rail grade crossings. Reflective material on rail equipment increases visibility inexpensively, and does not require a power source to produce light, but returns light produced from another source (i.e., an approaching automobile's headlights). This greater visibility can help drivers avoid some accidents and reduce the severity of other accidents that are unavoidable. Accordingly, FRA, as the Federal agency responsible for ensuring that America's railroads are safe for the traveling public, and in direct response to a Congressional mandate, is issuing this final rule requiring the application of reflective material on the sides of certain rail cars and locomotives to enhance the visibility of trains in order to reduce the number and severity of accidents at highway-rail grade crossings where train visibility is a contributing factor.
FRA funded a study to determine the most appropriate placement of reflective material on rail cars. The study found vertically oriented patterns were recommended over outline and horizontally oriented patterns because they were less likely to be confused with the horizontally oriented truck patterns.
Taking into consideration the material, installation, and maintenance costs, FRA's analysis determined that over a 20-year period, the discounted cost to reflectorize the entire freight railroad fleet would be about $74.5 million.
Installation on new or repainted railcars .....................
Maintenance on preexisting reflectorized railcars .....
Maintenance on newly reflectorized cars ....................
Reapplication on older cars ..........................................
Installation and maintenance on locomotive fleet .....
Total Costs$52,862,702
995,895
3,539,885
14,762,187
375,161
-----------------
74,535,830
The rule, published in the January 3, 2005 Federal Register, mandates the reflectorization of freight rolling stock (freight cars and locomotives) to enhance the visibility of trains in order to reduce the number and severity of accidents at highway-rail grade crossings in which train visibility is a contributing factor. The rule establishes a schedule for the application of retroreflective material and prescribes standards for the construction, performance, application, inspection, and maintenance of the material.
The rule applies to all railroad freight cars and locomotives that operate over a public or private highway-rail grade crossing and are used for revenue or work train service, except: (a) freight rolling stock that operates only on track inside an installation that is not part of the general railroad system of transportation; (b) rapid transit operations in an urban area that are not connected to the general railroad system of transportation; or (c) locomotives and passenger cars used exclusively in passenger service. Freight rolling stock owners, railroads, and (with respect to certification of material) manufacturers of retroreflective material, are primarily responsible for compliance with this rule.
It is not necessary to remove previously applied retroreflective sheeting from rail cars or locomotives that does not meet the standards of the rule unless its placement interferes with the placement of the sheeting required by the rule.
The mandatory schedule for applying reflectorization to Railroad Freight Cars is as follows:
As an alternative to the above listed deadlines for existing cars without retroreflective sheeting, a freight rolling stock owner can choose to comply with the schedule specified in Table 3 below. But he must submit by July 1, 2005 to FRA a completed Reflectorization Implementation Compliance Report certifying that the cars in his fleet subject to the rule will be equipped with retroreflective sheeting in accordance with that schedule. Under this option, the freight rolling stock owner must submit to FRA an updated Reflectorization Implementation Compliance Report by July 1, 2007 and then again annually by July 1 of each year, for the duration of the 10-year implementation period.
| Table 3. Alternative Schedule for Application of Retroreflective Material to Freight Cars | |
| (A) \1\ | (B) (percent) |
| May 31, 2007.......................... May 31, 2008.......................... May 31, 2009.......................... May 31, 2010.......................... May 31, 2011.......................... May 31, 2012.......................... May 31, 2013.......................... May 31, 2014.......................... May 31, 2015.......................... |
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 |
\1\ Column (A) indicates the date by which the minimum percentage of an owner's freight cars specified in column (B) must be equipped with retroreflective sheeting conforming to this part.
Renewal -- Regardless of condition, retroreflective sheeting required by the rule must be replaced with new sheeting no later than ten years after the date of initial installation. May 31, 2005 is considered the initial date of installation.
The rule has also deadlines for affected locomotives.
The rule will directly affect freight railroads, shippers who ship by rail or have their own rail car fleet, and rail car leasing companies who operate in the U.S. or ship by rail into the U.S. from Canada and Mexico. Impacts include the cost of reflectorization, continued maintenance and monitoring, and regulatory compliance. The rule may also indirectly affect industries that rely on rail shipments through pass-through expenses. For more information see the Federal Register notice.
