roadwise.Open study app

Georgia driving lesson · Speed, Parking and Railroad Crossings

Railroad crossings

A 3-minute lesson from the Georgia course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.

Study this lesson in the app Back to the course
Read time
3 minutes
Course unit
Speed, Parking and Railroad Crossings
Checkpoint questions
6
Source pages
22, 29, 33, 37

Trains can't stop quickly or swerve. Georgia law tells you exactly where to stop when a crossing warns of a train, and never to drive around a lowered gate. Signs and pavement markings warn you well before the tracks.

15 to 50 feet

Stop within 50 feet but not less than 15 feet from the nearest rail

Handbook p. 22 ↗

You must stop at a crossing when:

  • The signal is flashing
  • The crossing gates are lowered
  • A flagman is giving a signal
  • A train is approaching so closely it's an immediate hazard
  • A train sounds a warning and is an immediate hazard due to its speed or nearness
  • A stop sign is posted
Handbook p. 22 ↗

Know the rule

Never drive through, around or under a crossing gate while it is lowered.

Handbook p. 22 ↗

Know the rule

After stopping, stay stopped until all tracks are clear, the warning signals stop flashing, the gates are raised, and it's safe to go.

Handbook p. 22 ↗

7 Steps for Safety at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings:

  • Approach with care
  • Prepare to stop
  • Look both ways and listen carefully
  • If it won't fit, don't commit: enter only if you can drive completely through without stopping
  • Look again
  • Cross tracks with care
  • Keep going once you start
Handbook p. 22 ↗

If your vehicle stalls on the tracks:

  • Get out immediately
  • Move away
  • Find the Emergency Notification System (ENS) sign with the emergency contact information
  • Call for help and tell them a vehicle is on the tracks
Handbook p. 22 ↗
Emergency notification sign
Emergency Notification System (ENS) sign

Know the rule

The round advance warning sign is posted a few hundred feet before the tracks: slow down, look, listen and prepare to stop. Never try to beat a train. Passing is prohibited at all railroad crossings.

Handbook p. 29 ↗
Railroad crossbuck
Round railroad advance warning sign

Know the rule

A crossbuck is placed at all railroad crossings: yield to trains. A sign below it shows the number of tracks. A complete stop is required when a red light is flashing.

Handbook p. 33 ↗
Railroad crossbuck (multiple tracks)
Crossbuck with a number-of-tracks sign

Know the rule

The pavement before a crossing is usually marked with a large X and two R's, and a yellow line on the right of the center line prevents passing.

Handbook p. 37 ↗

Put it into practice

The gates start to lower as you approach. Stop between 15 and 50 feet from the nearest rail. After the train passes, wait until the gates rise, the lights stop and every track is clear.

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.

When you must stop at a railroad crossing, what is the closest you may stop to the nearest rail?
  1. 5 feet
  2. 15 feet
  3. 25 feet
  4. 10 feet

Answer: 15 feet

You must stop no less than 15 feet from the nearest rail when required to stop at a crossing.

Handbook p. 22 ↗
At a railroad crossing, you must stop no farther than how many feet from the nearest rail?
  1. 75 feet
  2. 25 feet
  3. 100 feet
  4. 50 feet

Answer: 50 feet

You must stop within 50 feet, but not less than 15 feet, of the nearest rail.

Handbook p. 22 ↗
What should you do if the crossing gates are lowered at a railroad crossing?
  1. Drive around it if no train is visible
  2. Wait 10 seconds, then proceed carefully
  3. Stop and stay; never go around it
  4. Proceed if the flashing lights have stopped

Answer: Stop and stay; never go around it

Under no circumstances should you drive through, around, or under a lowered crossing gate.

Handbook p. 22 ↗
What does the safety tip 'If it won't fit, don't commit' mean at a railroad crossing?
  1. Only enter if you can clear it fully
  2. Don't cross if your vehicle is over 8 feet wide
  3. Wait for a green light before crossing tracks
  4. Don't cross while towing a trailer

Answer: Only enter if you can clear it fully

This is one of the 7 Steps for Safety, warning drivers never to enter a crossing they can't clear completely.

Handbook p. 22 ↗
If your vehicle stalls on railroad tracks, what should you do first?
  1. Call for help before exiting the vehicle
  2. Push the vehicle off the tracks yourself
  3. Get out and move away at once
  4. Try repeatedly to restart the engine

Answer: Get out and move away at once

The first step if your vehicle stalls on the tracks is to get out immediately and move away.

Handbook p. 22 ↗
You are required to stop at a railroad crossing only if you can see an approaching train.
  1. True
  2. False

Answer: False

You must stop for a lowered gate, flashing signal, flagman's signal, a posted stop sign, or an approaching train, even if you can't yet see the train.

Handbook p. 22 ↗
Take the lesson checkpoint in the app

More in Speed, Parking and Railroad Crossings

All Georgia lessons