Acoustical Warning Devices as Emergency Warning Signals, Phase 2

Federal Railroad Administration2021PDFTech ReportCampbell, ThomasParida, BasantRoss, Jason C.Zaouk, Abdullatif K.QinetiQ North America, Inc.Harris, Miller, Miller & Hanson Inc.United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Railroad Administration. Office of Railroad Policy and DevelopmentUnited States. Department of Transportation. Federal Railroad Administration. Office of Research, Development and TechnologyUnited States. Department of Transportation. Federal Railroad Administration. Office of Research, Development, and TechnologyUnited StatesAudible warning devicesHornsRailroad safetyRailroad trainsSound intensityTrespassersWarning signalsMusicRolling stockReaction timeEmergency Warning Signaltrain hornmusic masking soundsAcoustic Warning DevicelisteningDOT/FRA/ORD-21/13DTFR5312D00003L-0014Omar, TarekTechnical Report, September 2, 2014\u2013July 31, 2016The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) sponsored a project to demonstrate the effectiveness of an Acoustical Warning Device (AWD) to be used for generating a secondary Emergency Warning Signal (EWS). The focus of this Phase 2 work is to warn trespassers of an approaching train through the development of an EWS that produces a sense of urgency, is noticeable to wearers of headphones, and identifiable as a train. Several EWS sounds were developed and evaluated in surveys to assess the participant\u2019s response of the sense of urgency and detectability. Researchers identified sound characteristics that enhance detectability.109