Railroad Crossing Research Paper

Railroad crossings are very dangerous and have caused many serious crashes and even deaths. When crossing them you have to be very aware of what is happening around you, and the signs telling you what to do and where to go. I believe that in order to avoid crashes while crossing them you need to use common sense, understand and see the signs warning you about the dangers, and if you do this you will be fine. I think that it is ironic that railroad crossings are such a problem because it’s not an extremely hard task, however people seem to have no common sense and think that they could somehow outrun the train and avoid collision. Little kids are always told that when they cross the road they have to look both ways and listen, and if grownups …show more content…
If people think that a train wont hurt there car or them then there sadly mistaken. It takes a very long time for the train to stop, and the operator can probably only see about one mile ahead of his, therefore it gives him very little to no reaction time. When reading and watching the videos about railroad crossings I learned that if your car or vehicle stalls on the tracks you are supposed to get a safe distance from the tracks and call 911. When trains are moving down the track, they always look like there farther away and moving slower than they are so it is very important to not underestimate the time you have to cross. I learned from first hand experience that when you are on the tracks, a train is very hard to hear. When you pull up to the track, the arm that goes across the road is to alert when a train is coming. Because of this it is important that you don’t go around it. Turning down your radio and taking out your headphones can also help you know when or not it's safe to cross. Your favorite song is not worth dying for. When a car or an object pulls out in front of a train and the operator has to pull on the brakes very quickly then it not only puts you in danger but can also hurt the train and the people on