School Bus at a Passive Crossing
Elena drives a 40-foot, 48-passenger school bus with 24 students aboard on a rural two-lane road in western Kentucky. She approaches a passive railroad crossing marked only by a crossbuck; the view to the left is blocked by a barn 40 feet from the track. The road rises slightly to the crossing. A train is visible about 1/4 mile to the left, moving at 40 mph. The bus is 40 feet long and needs about 10 seconds to clear the 20-foot crossing from a stop. Students are noisy, and the radio is on. The speed limit is 45 mph; Elena is at 35 mph. She has driven this route for six years and has never seen a train on these tracks.
1. Walk through the required railroad-crossing procedure and decide whether Elena should cross.
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She must stop 15 to 50 feet from the nearest rail, turn off the radio, open the door or window, and listen and look both ways. She should check that the tracks are clear, then cross in a low gear without shifting. Here the view is blocked and the students are noisy, so the stop-and-listen step is critical. The train is 1/4 mile away at 40 mph: 1,320 ft divided by about 58.7 ft/s is roughly 22.5 seconds. The bus needs about 10 seconds to clear from a stop, leaving only about 12 seconds of margin, and a stall would be catastrophic. The safe decision is to wait until the train passes and the track is clear.
2. If the bus stalls with its rear wheels on the rail and the train is still approaching, what should Elena do?
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Get the students off the bus immediately and move them well away from the tracks, preferably at least 100 feet and on the side away from the approaching train. Call 911. Do not spend time trying to restart the bus while students are aboard and a train is coming. After everyone is clear, she can try to move the bus if it is safe, but human life comes first. She should also set the parking brake and turn on hazard lights if she can do so quickly.
3. After crossing safely, a car passes the bus's stop arm at the next stop. What should Elena do?
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Keep the students on the bus and do not signal them to cross. The stop arm and red lights require traffic to stop; a passing car is a danger. She should wait until the car is gone, then check traffic again before releasing students. She should record the plate number and description and report the violation to dispatch or law enforcement. She should not chase the car or argue with the driver.