Railroad Crossing Safety: Signs, Signals, and Rules

Crossing Signs and Signals

Railroad crossings are marked well before you reach them. The round yellow advance warning sign with the letters RR tells you a crossing is ahead and to start looking and listening for a train. At the crossing itself stands the crossbuck, the white X-shaped sign reading RAILROAD CROSSING, which has the same legal weight as a yield sign: you must yield to any approaching train. If a number sign below the crossbuck shows how many tracks there are, expect that many sets of rails and more than one possible train.

Many crossings add active signals. Flashing red lights mean a train is approaching and you must stop, exactly as you would for a steady red light or a stop sign, and remain stopped until the lights stop flashing. Gates that lower across the road reinforce the lights, and driving around a lowered gate is both extremely dangerous and illegal everywhere. When the lights flash or the gate is down, the only safe and legal action is to stop and wait.

• Round yellow RR sign: a crossing is ahead, so look and listen
• Crossbuck (white X): yield to any approaching train
• Flashing red lights: a train is coming, so stop and wait
• Lowered gates: never drive around them, in any circumstance

How to Approach and Cross Safely

Slow down as you near a crossing and be ready to stop. Roll down a window if needed to listen, since a train can be hard to see and easy to hear, and look carefully in both directions. Trains are wider than the rails and closer and faster than they appear, so never try to judge whether you can beat one. If you see or hear a train, stop and let it pass.

When you do cross, do it deliberately. Never stop on the tracks, and only start across when you are certain there is room for your entire vehicle on the far side, including any trailer. In stop-and-go traffic, wait behind the crossing until the road ahead is clear so you are never trapped on the rails. Cross at a steady pace without shifting gears, and after one train passes, watch for a second train on another track before you proceed.

• Slow down, look both ways, and listen as you approach
• Never stop on the tracks, and never enter unless the far side is clear
• Do not shift gears while crossing, which risks stalling on the rails
• After a train passes, check for a second train on another track

Drivers Who Must Always Stop

Some vehicles are required to stop at every railroad crossing, whether or not a train is in sight, because of what they carry or who they carry. School buses must stop, open their door, and look and listen before crossing, since the cost of a bus on the tracks is catastrophic. Buses carrying passengers and trucks hauling hazardous materials, such as fuel tankers, also stop at every crossing for the same reason.

As a regular driver, you should expect these vehicles to stop ahead of you and never honk or try to pass them at a crossing. Leave room behind them and be patient while they complete their required stop. Knowing this rule helps you on the test and prevents the dangerous mistake of pushing past a bus or tanker that is stopping exactly as the law requires.

• School buses stop, open the door, and look and listen at every crossing
• Buses with passengers and trucks carrying hazardous loads also always stop
• Never pass or pressure a vehicle that is making a required stop
• Leave extra space behind these vehicles near tracks

If Your Vehicle Stalls on the Tracks

This is the situation the test treats as life or death, so the answer must be automatic. If your vehicle stalls on the tracks, get everyone out and away immediately. Do not stay in the car to try to restart it, and do not go back for belongings. Walk quickly toward the train if one is coming, at an angle away from the tracks, so that flying debris from a collision is thrown away from you rather than toward you.

Once you are clear, call for help. Look for an emergency notification sign near the crossing, often on a metal box or signal post, that lists a phone number and a crossing identification number. Calling that number reaches the railroad directly and can stop approaching trains faster than calling anyone else, though you should also call 911. The order never changes: people out first, then call, then worry about the vehicle.

• Get every person out of the vehicle at once, leaving belongings behind
• Move away from the tracks at an angle toward any oncoming train
• Call the railroad's emergency number on the crossing sign, then 911
• Never re-enter the vehicle to restart it or recover items

Common Crossing Mistakes to Avoid

Most crossing crashes come from a handful of avoidable errors. Trying to beat a train is the deadliest, because a driver almost always underestimates the train's speed and overestimates their own car's. Driving around a lowered gate is another, often made by someone who has crossed there many times and assumes no train is coming. Stopping on the tracks in heavy traffic, with nowhere to go, leaves a driver trapped in the worst possible spot.

Avoid all of these by treating every crossing the same way: slow, look, listen, and cross only when you are certain of a clear path. Never rely on hearing a train's horn alone, since modern cars are well insulated and some crossings are designated quiet zones where horns are not sounded. A few seconds of patience at a crossing is the cheapest insurance you will ever buy.