A Passive Railroad Crossing and a Lowered Drawbridge on the Same Trip
You are driving a 35-foot passenger bus with 22 passengers on a two-lane rural road at 8:40 p.m. in light rain. Ahead is a railroad crossing marked only by a crossbuck and a stop line. There are no gates or lights, and a stand of trees limits sight distance to about 500 feet in each direction. The speed limit is 55 mph. Beyond the crossing, the road approaches a drawbridge with a red signal flashing and a gate lowered. A train horn sounds in the distance, but you cannot see the train. Two passengers use canes, and one is hard of hearing. The bus has air brakes and a working parking brake. The road is wet and the shoulder is soft.
1. Describe your crossing procedure at the passive crossing.
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Because this is a passenger bus, stop before the tracks at the stop line or, if there is no line, far enough back to see both directions. Open the door or a window, turn off noisy equipment, and listen. Look both ways, then look again-a train at 50 mph covers about 73 feet per second, so a 500-foot sight line gives only seconds.
Cross in a gear low enough that you will not need to shift on the tracks. Once you start, keep going without stopping. Do not stop on the tracks for traffic on the far side; wait before the tracks until there is room to clear them completely.
At night in rain, the crossbuck is harder to see and the train's headlight may blend with road lights. Use extra time and do not rely on hearing alone, especially with a hard-of-hearing passenger aboard.
2. The bus stalls on the tracks and the train horn sounds again. What do you do?
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Do not spend time trying to restart the bus. Get everyone off immediately and move them away from the tracks at an angle-not straight down the road in the direction of the train. A train can be closer than it sounds and may be moving faster than expected.
Open the front and rear doors, help the passengers with canes, and send ambulatory passengers ahead to a safe distance. Call 911 if you can do so without delaying evacuation. If a train is visible, move away from the track and warn others. Once everyone is clear, keep them together and away from the bus in case of debris.
Only after evacuation should you consider warning the railroad or emergency services. Reboarding the bus to move it is not worth the risk once a train is approaching.
3. How do you handle the drawbridge approach after the crossing?
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Stop before the gate and the bridge. A flashing red signal and a lowered gate mean the bridge is open or about to open; do not drive around the gate or creep onto the bridge. Wait at a safe distance so the bus is not on the bridge approach where a rear-end collision could push it forward.
When the signal stops and the gate rises, verify that the bridge is fully closed and the roadway is clear before proceeding. Cross without stopping, and do not stop on the bridge for traffic on the far side. On a wet road with a soft shoulder, leave extra following distance and avoid pulling onto the shoulder. If the gate remains down, call dispatch and report the delay rather than finding another route that might involve an unmarked crossing.