2.3 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA

with a 90% federal share. The FAST Act continues the set-aside of Highway Safety Improvement Program funds for grade crossing improvements under Title 23 U.S. Code, Section 130(e) and increases the set-aside amount in each fiscal year. There was an additional one-time increase in funds for the program in the FY 2016 appropriations law. The set-aside for FY 2020 totaled $245 million.

Half of the funding available to each state is dedicated to the installation of protective devices at grade crossings, while the remainder can be used for any hazard elimination project, including protective devices. The FAST Act extended eligibility to include projects designed to reduce the amount of time grade crossings are blocked by idling trains. States can use these funds as incentive payments for local agencies to close public crossings if there are matching funds from the railroad. Localities can also use these funds as matching funds for state-sponsored projects.

Section 130 requires each state to maintain a survey of all highways to identify railroad crossings that may require separation, relocation or protective devices, to update information for each public crossing in the U.S. DOT crossing inventory database (maintained by FRA), and to establish and implement a schedule of projects. It also requires states to place signage at every public crossing and requires railroads to provide a phone number to call to report emergencies or other unsafe conditions at crossings, which is printed on the required signage. States must also submit annual reports to FHWA on the progress of implementing their Railway-Highway Crossings Program. Additionally, railroads must submit information to the crossing inventory database about public crossings through which they operate.

FHWA maintains the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, developed under the advice of the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Laws and Ordinances (a body consisting primarily of state Department of Transportation or Highways officials), which contains the Railroad-Highway Grade Crossing Handbook. This document, most recently revised in August 2007, establishes the national standards for signage and protective devices used at grade crossings, including the shape and lettering of the crossbuck, the size, color and materials of the warning lights and the placement of reflective paint and lights on crossing arms, and is fully incorporated into 49 CFR Part 234.32

2.3 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

NHTSA had not had any role regarding railroad safety prior to 2017, but every year since then, it and FRA have conducted a public awareness campaign (with funding from the FAST Act) entitled “Stop. Trains Can’t,” encouraging road users to exercise caution when approaching grade crossings. The 2019 campaign spent $5.6 million on advertising, tested with focus groups in December 2018, targeted to communities with