CDL · General Knowledge · 5 min read
Crossing Railroad Tracks Safely
- Identify the differences between passive and active railroad crossings and recognize their associated signs, signals, and pavement markings.
- Execute safe procedures for approaching, stopping at, and driving across single and multi-track grade crossings without stalling.
- Recognize equipment at risk of hang-ups on raised crossings and carry out the correct emergency response if stuck on the tracks.
Understanding Grade Crossings: Passive vs. Active
A railroad-highway grade crossing is an intersection where a roadway crosses train tracks. These intersections are always dangerous, whether you encounter them on an open highway or inside an industrial city center. In fact, yard areas and grade crossings in cities and towns are just as dangerous as rural grade crossings. Every railroad-highway crossing must be approached with the expectation that a train is coming. You can never assume the tracks are clear simply because it is an industrial spur or an unfamiliar side street.
When approaching any crossing, remember that human perception has serious limits. It is extremely difficult to judge the distance of an approaching train from a crossing, and it is equally difficult to judge its speed. Drivers must never attempt to race a train to a crossing.
Crossings are divided into two primary types: passive and active. The critical difference between them is whether automated traffic devices are present to warn you of a train.
| Feature | Passive Crossing | Active Crossing |
|---|---|---|
| Traffic Control Devices | Does not have any type of traffic control device installed. | Has an installed traffic control device to regulate traffic. |
| Warning Equipment | Relies solely on static signs and pavement markings (such as cross-bucks). | Includes flashing red lights (with or without bells) or flashing red lights with bells and gates. |
| Driver Responsibility | The decision to stop or proceed rests entirely in the driver's hands. | Driver must stop for active signals; gates must be fully raised and lights stopped before proceeding. |
| Required Action | Recognize the crossing, search tracks for trains, and decide if there is sufficient clear space to cross safely. | Stop when the lights begin to flash, before the gate lowers; remain stopped until the gates go up and the lights stop flashing, then proceed when safe. |
Common mistakes
- Shifting gears while the vehicle is directly crossing the railroad tracks, which risks stalling the engine or missing a gear right on the rails.
- Assuming every train will blow its horn, forgetting that noise inside the cab can drown out sounds and that trains are prohibited from sounding horns at certain signed crossings.
- Driving forward immediately after a train clears a multi-track crossing without checking both directions, risking a collision with a second train hidden by the first.
- Staying inside or near a vehicle that has hung up on a raised crossing to try to push or dislodge it, rather than evacuating all occupants immediately.
Key points
- Railroad-highway grade crossings are always hazardous; every crossing must be approached expecting a train because train speed and distance are extremely difficult to judge.
- A passive crossing has no traffic control devices, placing full responsibility on the driver to look, listen, and decide if there is safe clearance; an active crossing regulates traffic using flashing red lights, bells, or gates.
- The round black-on-yellow advance warning sign and RR pavement markings warn of crossings, while cross-bucks require drivers to yield the right-of-way to approaching trains.
- The manual says all passenger- and hazmat-carrying vehicles must stop. If a white stop line is painted, the front of a school bus must remain behind it; if there is no line, vehicles required to stop must stop no closer than 15 feet and no farther than 50 feet from the nearest rail of the nearest track.
- When stopping, check traffic behind, stop gradually, use pullout lanes if available, turn on four-way emergency flashers, and never shift gears while moving across the tracks.
- On multi-track crossings, remember that a passing train can conceal a second approaching train, so always verify that every track is clear before crossing.
- Low-slung units can get stuck on raised crossings, as can a single-axle tractor pulling a long trailer whose landing gear is set to accommodate a tandem-axle tractor. If stuck, get out and away from the tracks, check the crossing for emergency notification information, and call 911 or another emergency number with the location and DOT number, if posted.
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