Approaching RR crossings

[Hellbent]

Question #229
Which of the following statements is true?
A. You may approach highway-railroad crossings at a high speed, but be prepared to stop if you have to.
B. Buses and trucks never have to stop at highway-railroad crossings unless the gates are down and the warning lights are flashing.
C. If your car stalls on railroad tracks and a collision is imminent, the safest direction is toward the train so you will be least
D. none of the above

[Kirby]

Pshh, since C seems non-logical, I vote D. All buses stop at railroads and regardless it won't matter what direction you are facing you shouldn't be on the tracks! They don't give you info on what to do if you get on the tracks, they just tell you to avoid them completely :P

I think A is irregular to say the least so hoobah to that one

[Hellbent]

Kirby said:

Pshh, since C seems non-logical, I vote D. All buses stop at railroads and regardless it won't matter what direction you are facing you shouldn't be on the tracks! They don't give you info on what to do if you get on the tracks, they just tell you to avoid them completely :P

I think A is irregular to say the least so hoobah to that one

I got this one wrong too so I posted it. For some reason it didn't let me post it as a poll tho :(

The question didn't complete letter C so I don't know what the rest of it was supposed to say... least likely to bear the brunt of the impact?

[Kirby]

Hellbent said:

I got this one wrong too so I posted it. For some reason it didn't let me post it as a poll tho :(

The question didn't complete letter C so I don't know what the rest of it was supposed to say... least likely to bear the brunt of the impact?

I would guess, but I really doubted they'd put that as an option in the first place, hence my dismissal of it at all :/

Anyways, what = correct?

[Hellbent]

Kirby said:

I would guess, but I really doubted they'd put that as an option in the first place, hence my dismissal of it at all :/

Anyways, what = correct?

To my surprise

Spoiler

A

is correct.

[Enjay]

I don't really see why the answer is so surprising. That is the only one that really describes a situation approaching normal. Quite what is meant by "high speed" though, I'm not sure.

Without knowing the specifics of the law in your country (I'm assuming the US), approaching a RR crossing at a reasonable speed whilst looking and listening and being prepared to stop if called upon to do so seems logical.

[Hellbent]

Enjay said:

I don't really see why the answer is so surprising. That is the only one that really describes a situation approaching normal. Quite what is meant by "high speed" though, I'm not sure.

Without knowing the specifics of the law in your country (I'm assuming the US), approaching a RR crossing at a reasonable speed whilst looking and listening and being prepared to stop if called upon to do so seems logical.

I always slow down for RR crossings. Heck, buses and trucks are required to come to a complete stop, so it comes as a surprise that cars aren't even required to slow down at all.

[Sharessa]

I usually drive over them quickly so in case there's a train coming that I don't see, I have less chance of getting pwned by it. :P

[Enjay]

Hellbent said:

...it comes as a surprise that cars aren't even required to slow down at all.

Unless it is specified that you must come to a stop, or a speed limit is imposed, then the driver should be going at a speed that allows them to assess the safety of the crossing and stop safely should they need to do so - as with any driving. That's why the question mentioning "high speed" seems unusual. "Appropriate speed" would be much better. A driver should always be travelling at a speed appropriate to what they can see and the road conditions. Other than that though, it does seem the most realistic description to me.

I wonder if an enforced stop might be counterproductive? ie, if you are forced to come to a complete halt, then you are likely to be going more slowly over the crossing (having just started moving from 0 mph) and would therefore spend more time on the crossing.

[Hellbent]

Enjay said:

Unless it is specified that you must come to a stop, or a speed limit is imposed, then the driver should be going at a speed that allows them to assess the safety of the crossing and stop safely should they need to do so - as with any driving. That's why the question mentioning "high speed" seems unusual. "Appropriate speed" would be much better. A driver should always be travelling at a speed appropriate to what they can see and the road conditions. Other than that though, it does seem the most realistic description to me.

I wonder if an enforced stop might be counterproductive? ie, if you are forced to come to a complete halt, then you are likely to be going more slowly over the crossing (having just started moving from 0 mph) and would therefore spend more time on the crossing.

but you'll be 99.9999999999999999999999% certain a train isn't about to run you over.

Going fast you have less judgment on coming trains, specially if there are trees etc... so even though you are on the tracks for much shorter amount of time, you could ram into a train already on the track.

[AirRaid]

Kirby said:

They don't give you info on what to do if you get on the tracks, they just tell you to avoid them completely :P

You need to be told that if you're on the tracks and a fucking train is coming, get the fuck out of the vehicle and off the tracks? Do you not have a survival instinct?

[Sharessa]

AirRaid said:

You need to be told that if you're on the tracks and a fucking train is coming, get the fuck out of the vehicle and off the tracks? Do you not have a survival instinct?

Well...

[Kirby]

AirRaid said:

You need to be told that if you're on the tracks and a fucking train is coming, get the fuck out of the vehicle and off the tracks? Do you not have a survival instinct?

I was actually trying to say that the makers of the exam wouldn't put that on as the correct answer, as you being the person taking the exams should know better than to be sitting in your car on the tracks when the train is coming. AKA, it wouldn't make sense for them to give you that info if you know better than to be sitting there in the first place.

[Csonicgo]

AirRaid said:

You need to be told that if you're on the tracks and a fucking train is coming, get the fuck out of the vehicle and off the tracks? Do you not have a survival instinct?

you won't believe how many peopel would stay in the car, tell their kids to stay in the car, and lay on the horn. as if that will stop the train.


Darwin is one sumbitch!

[Bucket]

Did someone fail his permit test today?

[GreyGhost]

Approaching a Railroad Crossing - Pull over to the side of the road, exit the vehicle and approach the crossing on foot. Get down on your hands and knees, lay one ear on the track and listen carefully. If you don't hear the rumble of a train - return to your vehicle and drive across the track. If you do hear a train, quickly determine if it's approaching or receding - if it's the former - moving your head would be advisable, otherwise, wait until you can no longer hear the train before returning to your vehicle. Try to ignore the comments of other motorists unless their threatening physical harm.

[Hellbent]

GreyGhost said:

Approaching a Railroad Crossing - Pull over to the side of the road, exit the vehicle and approach the crossing on foot. Get down on your hands and knees, lay one ear on the track and listen carefully. If you don't hear the rumble of a train - return to your vehicle and drive across the track. If you do hear a train, quickly determine if it's approaching or receding - if it's the former - moving your head would be advisable, otherwise, wait until you can no longer hear the train before returning to your vehicle. Try to ignore the comments of other motorists unless their threatening physical harm.

Shit I didn't realize you were supposed to do that. I just slowed down to like 10mph, figured that'd be good enough. No wonder why I failed my driver's test!!

[Stupid Bunny]

Hellbent said:

No wonder why I failed my driver's test!!

Is this why you're starting an excessive number of drivers-ed-type threads?

[Hellbent]

StupidBunny said:

Is this why you're starting an excessive number of drivers-ed-type threads?

Nah.. i was kidding

I was taking a quiz on AIM and posted the questions that I thought were tricky and might be useful for people to know the proper answers to.

So umm.. yeah... stop if it's safe to, and maintain speed over the train track, and keep driving past the school bus if there's two lanes for each direction of traffic divided by a median (don't stop if it's coming from the opposite direction you are driving).

[Georgef551]

Here in Massachusetts, you're required to slow down and check. Some I can get away with that, while other crossings, I have to stop and look. I take extra time when people lay on the horn. :)

[fraggle]

When did you decide Doomworld is your personal driving school?

[leileilol]

start the game with -turbo then you can outrun the train

[Hellbent]

fraggle said:

When did you decide Doomworld is your personal driving school?

When I failed to think of a better place to post these questions.

leileilol said:

start the game with -turbo then you can outrun the train

Even without turbo the marine will outrun most trains. But he will need turbo to outrun a French TRV.