Essay On Railroad Crossing

Improved Essays
There are many parts to railroad crossings, and how to use them safely. When you are driving and you see a railroad crossing, the first step to do is slowing down, and paying very close attention. If there isn't a train crossing and the lights are not flashing, continue through with caution, and be serious. You need to always remember there could be a train at any time.
In any area near a railroad track crossing, remember to turn down any sound so you can look and listen. If there is lights flashing and the barriers blocking your way, be very alert and come to a good stop. From the nearest rail you must be around 10 to 15 feet away when stopping.
Especially at night you should always double check even if there is no flashing lights before
proceeding.
…show more content…
If you have troubles crossing and your car stalls, you can't be trapped on the railroad, so immediately evacuate. When you have a evacuated you need to tell authorities after you run towards the train at an angle away from the train for safety. It's important to never miss judge speeds or distance, in these areas it is key to be patient. Buses and trucks are required to stop and there can also be more than one train. Especially at nighttime, be extra cautious and use your car lights. The light rail trains in Salt Lake City are specifically very fast, so don't ever try to beat the trains.
Not just cars but pedestrians walking or jogging and bikers on railroad tracks can be harmful in these areas. People always need to remember that it's their choice what to do in these areas, so listen and be alert. Unlike cars, trains cannot swerve or move out of the way to avoid a collision. Like stated earlier, trains go faster than they appear. It takes about a mile for a train, going the usual 79 mph, to stop. Not only this, the train cars are very extremely heavy.
Texting, cell phones and headphones in today's society are huge impacts when it comes to not paying attention. Always hear and see the train coming. In many cases trains can go in

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Since trains arevery large they need very large engines the size of the engines makes them look like they are going a lot slower than they actually are. The drivers need to use common sense with driving and make sure there is no obstruction and if there is any the driver should not pass until the obstruction is gone. Railroad crossings can be a very tricky thing to learn how to manage. Every single driver should learn the rules and regulations of driving with railroads. Learning these rulesand regulations will keep everyone safer, knowing how to drive with railroads and trains will make you a better driver and will keep your passengers safe as well. Trains although can be of great use may also be extremely dangerous and the driver always needs to take caution and beaware of your surroundings and look for oncoming trains and lights and signs to help you decide to cross the tracks or not. Railroad safety should be a great concern to all citizens. Driving can be dangerous and confusing but being unaware and ignorant can make it more so. That is whyus as drivers need to be sure to use caution and common sense in order to be the best drivers we can…

    • 480 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    First, you should always slow down when you come to a railroad crossing. Besides slowing down and looking both directions, you need to listen. Trains often blow their horns when approaching crossings, but if your radio is up, it may be hard to hear them. The same is true if you are on a bike, or walking near rail road crossings. Today's portable devices that allow us to talk, text and listen to music can be very distracting. We need to avoid those distractions when near train crossings and on train platforms. I was surprised to learn that we should even take our hoods off to listen.…

    • 955 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It doesn't matter how big of a hurry you are in you must not cross. You also need to pay much attention to where there is a rail road crossing sign is. This will warn you that there is tracks coming up and you need to pay attention. When trains approach to where they cross an intersection they will sound their horn so you need to be paying attention to that. You must NEVER stop in a rail road crossing. If you stop in a crossing you must move, a train could be coming any minute and it will kill you. Also if you need to go to the other side of the trains and they are both stopped you must not cross in between them. Your clothes could get caught and the train could start accelerating. You would be dragged and possibly killed and no one could possibly notice. Also, while waiting for a train to arrive you must not have anything hanging over the yellow line. If something is in the yellow like it could possibly be hit by the train. So just to be safe while waiting for a train stand at least a foot away from the yellow to avoid any accidents.Each year on average, about 400 people are killed in European and about 300 citizens in the United States of…

    • 521 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Today if anybody decided to travel they would either do it with a car or plane but once upon time the train was the most reliable option.…

    • 886 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Trains and railroads have been existing for a long time. They have done so much wonders in our lives. My paper will be saying a lot about trains and railroads. My platform will be consisting of the “Transcontinental Railroad”, also “The Transformers” within the railroads. It will also be containing facts about “Railroads In The 20th Century”, I will be discussing railroads in the 1900’s and also talking about the Golden Age. I am also going to be talking about the Maglev Train.…

    • 1522 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    First, you should always expect that a train can be coming at any time. Once you make sure it is clear to go, you can cross with caution, however never shift gears if driving a manual car because you could stall your car. This could be dangerous if a train starts to come and your car is in the middle of the tracks. Also, you should never try to judge the speed of a train because big object always look like they are moving slower than they actually are. If you try to beat a train across the tracks because it looks like it is moving slow, you will most likely regret you decision. It is not worth risking you life to try and beat train just to get to your destination 30 seconds…

    • 504 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This includes ambulances, fire trucks, police vehicles, or towing trucks and the people who were traveling in these vehicles. Basically, if the vehicle has flashing lights, drivers should move…

    • 410 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    I followed it into a tunnel. I eventually caught up to the train and jumped onto the caboose. I climbed to the top and began heading to the cab, jumping the gap between the railcars. I finally, reached the cab and peered through the window D-O-G had disappeared. I heard a distant honk coming from a train, I froze, we were on our way to collide with another train, with the collecting pressure of the oncoming train I began to think of solutions I then looked ahead of the train there was a railroad switch up ahead I positioned myself so that I could hit the handle and switch the track. The oncoming train was straight ahead. Moments before the train hit me I switched the track, the oncoming train scraped the side of my train, once again I had saved the day, but still with no trace of D-O-G.…

    • 1401 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Do you ever wander what you could do to be more careful around railroad crossings? Railroad crossings can be dangerous if you don’t look out for the warning signs. There are many warnings you need to look out for so you can be safe around railroad crossings. There are a lot of things that we need to know about trains, their warning signals, and what we can do to stay safe around railroad crossings. In the article “25 interesting facts about trains” the author wrote, “There is an abandoned subway station under City Hall in New York that no train stops at but you can see it in passing if you take the number 6 train.”…

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Railroad Crossing

    • 644 Words
    • 3 Pages

    If you can not see a mile clearly in each direction on the railroad tracks, you should not assume a train is not coming. They are very quiet now and most are on one piece of rail so there is not much noise coming from the train. They are not able to swerve out of the way of a crash. They hit it head on and that can cause a tremendous amount of damage to both the train and to the outside world. If a train hits a car, due to size it is like a car running over a can of soda. Trains are very heavy and can not stop on a dime. It takes time. There are numbers listed at most railways crossings if you are to be stranded on the tracks. Get out of your car and call the number listed and let them know your location. They can get the notification to the drivers of the near by trains to stop. If they have time and space they will. Do not however stay within your vehicle. You just never know if they will get the information in time. You should not stop on railways ever. Make sure the crossing is completely clear before you go. This means that car in front of you should be clear of the rails and enough room for you to also be clear of them before you go. You do not ever want to go and then find the red light3 ahead leaves you on the tracks.…

    • 644 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Besides patrolling railroads, railroad officers do investigate varies crimes such as theft, vandalism, train/vehicle crash, arson, and fatalities. The highest incident involving railroads are related to trespassing and fatalities. Special Agent Black pointed out that one in every three hours, a person gets hit by a train throughout the state. Because people do trespass and horseplay on the tracks, people will often time be hit by a train which result in death. Besides trespassing and fatalities, train/vehicle crashes are the second most occurring incident. One the common reasons to why it occurs is because people fail to obey railroad crossing lights and gates. Typically, people will drive around railroad gates and through flashing lights thinking that they will make it. However, by understanding that trains are traveling at fast speed and the train wheels are driven on top of metal, stopping a train from 100 feet away is nearly impossible. As a result of being unable to stop a train, crashes involving vehicles are the second most occur able incident…

    • 461 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    have a light on and it is dangerous to assume there is no train coming. The book also states…

    • 356 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    train and its tracks, sometimes even planning to kill the workers. Farther down the tracks…

    • 419 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    400 Railroads

    • 102 Words
    • 1 Pages

    Shippers who have large volumes of freight that must travel over long distances depend on railroads to deliver their goods and materials. This is because railroads are the most efficient form of land transportation. One railcar can hold the equivalent of roughly four truck loads. Additionally, one train can haul the equivalent of over 400 trucks. In order to move 400 trucks on the road, it would require 400 drivers compared to the two engineers that could run one train. With rising fuel costs and the shortages of trucks and drivers in America, rail is used by more and more companies…

    • 102 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I was stationed at the Delhi Metro Khyber Pass Depot where I was closely associated with the trains. I would first study about different components/parts & understand about them & visit the yard where I would see the train parts.…

    • 5780 Words
    • 24 Pages
    Improved Essays