A 3-minute lesson from the Delaware course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Trains can't stop quickly or swerve, and they are often closer and faster than they look. Crossings use signs, pavement markings, lights and gates to warn you—your job is to expect a train every time.
Crossing signs and signals:
Advance warning sign—round and yellow with an X and 'RR', placed before the crossing
Pavement markings—an X with 'RR' and a stop bar
Crossbuck—white X-shaped 'Railroad Crossing' sign; same meaning as a yield sign
Flashing side-by-side lights—you must stop
Gates—never drive around them; bells—don't cross until the bell stops
Number-of-tracks sign—more than one train may be crossing
Never try to beat a train. Don't start across unless there's room for your vehicle on the far side, and never stop on the tracks or block the crossing.
A blue sign on or near the crossbuck with the railroad's emergency number and a DOT number that pinpoints the crossing. Call it to report a problem or anything blocking the tracks.
Traffic ahead is backed up across the tracks, and no train is in sight. Stay behind the stop line until there's room for your whole vehicle on the far side—never wait on the tracks.
Check your understanding
Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.
A white, X-shaped sign at a railroad crossing is called a
crossbuck
guide sign
advance warning sign
channelizing device
Answer: crossbuck
The white X-shaped sign at the crossing itself is called a crossbuck, and it has the same meaning as a yield sign.