A 3-minute lesson from the Oklahoma course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
You don't really share the road with trains: you stop and let them have the right-of-way, every time. A train can't swerve and needs a mile or more to stop, so a car-train collision is always the car driver's fault.
A train collision is always the fault of the car driver. Nearly half of car/train collisions in America happen at crossings with lights, bells or gates, and two-thirds happen in full daylight.
Negligence: drivers ignore crossing signs and warnings and cross without looking, listening or stopping. Most collisions occur within 25 miles of the driver's home.
The law: at a railroad grade crossing, stop within 50 feet but not less than 15 feet from the nearest rail, and don't proceed until it's safe, when any of these apply:
Red lights flash at a crossing but you can't see a train yet. Stop no closer than 15 feet and no farther than 50 feet from the nearest rail, and wait. A train is coming even if you can't see it.
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.
About how far does it take a train traveling 55 mph to stop?
About 500 feet
A mile or more
A quarter mile
About 100 feet
Answer: A mile or more
A train at 55 mph takes a mile or more to stop, which is why you must always yield.