Investigating the effectiveness of safety countermeasures at highway-rail at-grade crossings using a competing risk model

•Competing risk model in highway rail grade crossing safety analysis is introduced.•Cumulative probability of crash severity and occurrence over time is evaluated.•Marginal effects on HRGCs are evaluated considering pre-improvement condition.•Audible device reduces crash more if added to gate compared to gate + flashingLight.•StopSign will improve safety performs for active crossing but worsen for passive ones.