Summary: Highway safety legislation includes provisions for supplementing state spending for safety measures at rail-highway crossings. The Federal Highway Administration (FHwA) has designated several types of safety improvements that may be federally funded, including better warning devices or elimination of crossings. The Highway Safety Act of 1976 reduced the percentage of highway safety funds available for high-hazard locations and roadside obstacles and more than doubled the funding for improvements at railroad crossings although only 2 percent of highway deaths occur at grade crossings.
FHwA has not told states what level of safety they should provide at crossings. As a result, states have widely divergent policies for improving crossing safety. During 1975, about 38 percent of crossing accidents occurred at locations having active warning devices. Improvement in law enforcement and drivers' education may offer alternatives to warning devices. State and federal officials favor nationwide safety standards but anticipate difficulties in agreeing on a goal and in funding. Highway legislation established specific funding levels for various programs, but such categorical funding does not give states the necessary flexibility to meet their most critical needs. States contended that high-hazard projects were the most cost beneficial, but some crossing projects were also considered sound investments. FHwA has proposed legislation that would combine six categorical safety programs into a unified fund.
