Flashing Lights With No Train Visible
At 3:45 p.m. you are driving 18 students home in a 72-passenger bus. You approach a rural Massachusetts grade crossing on a two-lane road. The crossing has two tracks, flashing red lights, a bell, and no gates; the speed limit is 35 mph. Your bus is 30 feet from the nearest rail when the lights begin to flash and the bell rings. You see no train in either direction, but a curve and brush limit sight distance to about 300 feet. The crossing is on your regular route and you have crossed it twice already today when the lights were off. A car behind you has stopped. The students are noisy, and one asks why you are waiting. You know the schedule is already 5 minutes behind.
1. What must you do at this crossing, and can you proceed because no train is visible?
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Stop. A school bus must stop at a railroad-highway grade crossing, normally within 50 feet but not less than 15 feet from the nearest rail. Open the door and a window, look and listen in both directions, and do not proceed while the red lights are flashing or the bell is ringing. No visible train is not proof that the crossing is clear; a train can be hidden by the curve or brush and can cover the sight distance quickly. The fact that you crossed earlier when the lights were off has no bearing on this approach. Silence the students, keep them seated, and wait. The schedule delay is irrelevant compared with a train strike.
2. The lights continue flashing for 4 minutes and no train appears. What now?
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Treat the active signal as a malfunction until proven otherwise. Do not cross on the assumption that the signal is broken. Report the stuck signal to dispatch and ask them to contact police or the railroad. If a police officer or railroad flagger arrives and signals you through, follow that person's direction. Otherwise, use a safe alternate route or wait. If you turn around, check mirrors and blind spots, use your turn signal, and avoid backing across the tracks. Notify the school of the delay. A driver who crosses a malfunctioning crossing because no train is visible has given up the protection the signal is meant to provide.
3. What if your bus stalls with the front bumper over the rail?
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Evacuate immediately. Put the bus in park, set the parking brake if you can do so quickly, and get students out through the front door or emergency exits, moving them away from the tracks and upwind of the bus. Do not try to restart the engine with students aboard. Call 911 and give the crossing location, using the blue emergency sign if one is present. Keep students together and count them. If a train is approaching, move farther away rather than trying to move the bus. A stalled bus on the tracks is an emergency evacuation, not a troubleshooting exercise.