Hazard Perception and Railroad Crossings with Long Vehicles
Hazard Perception and Railroad Crossings with Long Vehicles
This domain tests scanning and the specific danger a long combination faces at a grade crossing: the trailer is still on the tracks when the driver thinks the vehicle has cleared.
Hazard perception
- Look 12-15 seconds ahead - farther at highway speed - and scan for brake lights, stale green lights, construction, and merging traffic.
- Check mirrors every 5-8 seconds; a car can sit in the trailer's blind spot a long time.
- Watch for the traps that cause heavy-vehicle crashes: a car cutting in front and braking, a vehicle passing on the right as you turn, a stopped vehicle just over a crest, a low bridge or wire.
- Keep a space cushion ahead so you can brake gradually instead of abruptly.
Railroad crossings
- Never stop on the tracks. If traffic is backed up beyond the crossing, stop before the tracks and wait until you can clear the entire crossing in one move.
- At a passive crossing, stop 15 feet before the nearest rail if required, look both ways, and listen.
- Do not shift gears on the crossing; a missed shift can leave you stalled on the rails.
- If a gate lowers on your trailer, drive through it - do not stop on the tracks.
- If you stall on the tracks, get everyone out and move away at an angle toward the oncoming train, then call the emergency number on the crossing sign (the ENS placard lists the railroad and a dispatch number).
Worked example. You are crossing four tracks at a shallow angle with a 53-foot trailer. Clearing the crossing takes about 75 feet of travel. With traffic stopped 40 feet past the crossing, you cannot clear it - so wait before the tracks until the space beyond opens.
Traps that cost marks. Following traffic onto the tracks; assuming a raised gate means the crossing is clear; stopping on the tracks when a gate comes down; not knowing the length of your combination.