Second Train at a Passive Crossing
At 3:40 p.m., you are driving a 54-passenger bus with 22 middle-school students home from an activity. You approach a rural crossing with two tracks, no gates, and flashing red lights that have just begun to work after a reported power outage. The road slopes slightly down to the crossing. A freight train has just cleared the near track eastbound, and the flashing lights continue. The stop line is 18 feet from the nearest rail. Students are talking loudly; one is standing in the aisle. The crossing surface is rough, and a truck is waiting about 60 feet behind you. You cannot see far down the second track because of brush. You have 6 minutes of schedule slack, and the bus has air brakes.
1. What is the correct stopping and crossing sequence, and what do you do about the standing student?
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Stop before the crossing between 15 and 50 feet from the nearest rail; 18 feet is legal. Set the parking brake, silence noisy equipment, and tell the standing student to sit before you move. Open the service door and window, look and listen in both directions, and check the second track even though the first train has cleared. Flashing lights may continue after a train clears, and brush can hide a second train. Close the door, select the lowest gear, and proceed across without shifting or stopping. Do not rely on the lights as proof that the crossing is clear.
2. As you start forward, the bus stalls with the front bumper 12 feet from the rail. What now?
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First decide whether any part of the bus is fouling the tracks. At 12 feet from the rail, the bumper is not on the crossing, but it is inside the usual stopping zone and very close. Keep students aboard unless there is fire, smoke, or a train approaching. Set the parking brake, call 911 and dispatch, put out warning devices if safe, and keep students seated and quiet. Do not let students wander near the tracks. If the bus rolls, catches fire, or a train is visible, evacuate immediately away from the tracks and at an angle, then account for all 22 students at a safe distance.
3. The flashing lights stop after the first train clears, but the second track is still hidden by brush. How do you proceed?
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Treat the crossing as passive. The lights going off does not prove the second track is clear. Stop, open the door, look and listen, and use the clear view you can get by moving your head and mirror checks. If you still cannot see enough, do not cross; wait until a person with a clear view or a train crew signals that it is safe, or choose another route. Schedule slack is not a reason to accept a blind crossing.