A 3-minute lesson from the Mississippi course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
If your car stalls or gets trapped on the tracks, forget the car and save yourself. Get out fast, move away the right way, and call for help. The blue Emergency Notification System sign at every crossing connects you straight to the railroad.
20 seconds
Minimum time it takes a train to reach the crossing once the warning lights activate
A blue ENS sign is at every highway-rail grade crossing, on the crossbuck or on the metal box nearby. Its toll-free number reaches railroad dispatchers who can try to stop train traffic, and it lists an ID number for your exact location.
Your car stalls on the tracks and the lights begin flashing. Don't try to restart it. Get out, run at a 45-degree angle away from the tracks in the direction the train is coming from, and call 911.
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.
Once warning lights begin flashing at a railroad crossing, about how much time might you have before the train arrives?
At least 2 minutes
About 5 minutes
At least 1 minute
As little as 20 seconds
Answer: As little as 20 seconds
Twenty seconds is the minimal time it takes a train to reach the crossing once warning lights activate.
