A 4-minute lesson from the Oklahoma course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Most crossing crashes come from impatience or misjudgment. Expect a train on any track at any time, never try to beat one, and know exactly what to do if your car stalls on the tracks: get out.
At every highway-rail crossing:
Slow down, keep alert and watch for the crossing sign or signal
Look both ways and listen; you may have to stop
Expect a train on any track at any time
Never move onto the tracks unless you're sure you can get across; once started, keep going
Never drive around the gates; it's against the law to drive through lowered gates. Stop behind the gate and don't cross until the gates are raised and the lights stop flashing.
If the lights start flashing or the gates start coming down while you're crossing, don't stop: KEEP MOVING. The signals allow enough time to finish crossing, and the far-side gate will not block you in. If you stop and try to back up, your vehicle may stall.
At a multiple-track crossing, after the last car of the train passes, don't go until you're sure no other train is coming on another track from either direction.
If your vehicle stalls on the tracks, get out. Run at a 45-degree angle away from the tracks in the direction the train is coming from, then immediately dial 911.
Stuck on the tracks with no warning lights yet? Get out, call 911 and the ENS number. Give the location, crossing number (if posted) and road, and say a vehicle is on the tracks.
Trains look slower than they are because of their size, and speed and distance are very hard to judge at night. If you see or hear a train, STOP and WAIT.
Never drive around gates; if trapped, leave your vehicle
Put it into practice
Your car stalls on the tracks and the lights begin flashing. Get everyone out of the vehicle now and run away from the tracks at a 45-degree angle toward the direction the train is coming from, then 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 crossing warning lights activate, what is the minimum time it may take a train to reach the crossing?
About 20 seconds
About 30 seconds
About 60 seconds
About 2 minutes
Answer: About 20 seconds
Twenty seconds is the minimal time a train takes to reach a crossing once lights activate.
