Railroad Crossings
With over 50 years of experience in the railroad and precast concrete industry, Century Group Inc. Developed and continually improved upon our designs for all our railroad crossing products such as the lagtype crossing, hi-rail access crossing and pedestrian rail crossings.
Railroad Crossings Of The Up Joliet Sub
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Driver shall keep to the right half of highway at railroad crossing unless area is obstructed or impassable. School buses, vehicles carrying explosives, and buses or trucks carrying passengers must stop at all railroad crossings. Railroad Grade Crossings Our network includes over 25,000 grade crossings. Promoting grade-crossing safety is an essential part of our operation and culture. Trains cannot stop quickly.
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#crosscarefully
Injuries and deaths occur at railroad crossings every day, but most of these tragedies are preventable. Conscientious motorists keep themselves informed and their passengers safe.
Unless you’re at a crossing, it’s illegal to be on or near train tracks in any sort of vehicle, but ensuring your own safety — as well as that of your passengers and of anyone else in the vicinity — requires hypervigilance. It’s easy for drivers to forget that even in an emergency, trains can take a mile (or more) to stop. They’re also three feet wider than the tracks — on both sides.
You should stop because trains can’t.
Well…they can, but it takes a while. If you assume a train will stop when the engineer sees a car on the tracks, you’re right — but trains need at least 18 football fields of track to reach a complete stop. Don’t risk it.
7 Simple Steps for Safely Navigating Railroad Crossings
- Stop, look both ways, and listen. Remember that trains always have the right of way.
- Make sure you have room to get across. Once you enter the crossing, keep moving.
- Stop 15’ away from flashing red lights, lowered gates, a signaling flagman or a stop sign.
- Never try to drive around a lowering gate. Never ignore signals, and always use caution.
- Before you begin to cross, wait for gates to fully rise and for all lights to stop flashing.
- Never assume that there is only one train coming from a single direction.
- If your car stalls in a crossing, get out of there and call the number on the sign, or 911.
Trying to beat a train is like trying to wrestle a Wookie, but even dumber.
Railroad Crossings 4
It’s essential to understand the signs and signals. Stop at crossings, assume there could be more than one train coming from either direction, give yourself plenty of room for your car on both sides of the tracks, and cross completely.
There’s Always More to Learn
They say knowledge is power for a reason. If you’re interested in learning more about railroad crossing safety or want to share information with others, we’ve assembled the below links for you.
Federal Railroad Administration Resources for Further Reading
- National Strategy to Prevent Trespassing on Railroad Property Report to Congress
- FRA Training Videos for Law Enforcement & First Responders Law Enforcement Rail Safety
- Explore the new Trespass & Suicide Dashboard FRA’s Interactive Data Visualization Tool
- A Dangerous New Trend Is Ending Lives Taking Selfies on Train Tracks
- Trespasser & Grade Crossing Fatality Prevention Summit Watch the October 2018 FRA
- GX DASH! Introducing a New National Railroad Crossing Data Visualization Tool
- Model State Action Plan & Noteworthy Practices Download New Resource Tool for States
- By The Numbers Railroad Crossing Safety & Trespass Prevention Stats in Depth
- New Interactive Resources for Rail Crossing Safety For Motorists AND Pedestrians
- 2017 FRA Grade Crossing Research Needs Presentations Now Available for Download