Hi I was wondering what is the correct explaintion of what exempt RR crossings.
I do know that if you are driving a coach bus or school bus or even a chemical truck
you don’t have to stop but alot of times. When I am driving my bus and I go over an exempt RR crossing people look at me like I just did somrthing illegal or something like that. But that’s what I know and i was wondering if there is any more info about this subject and if so can you pass it on to me.[banghead][banghead][#dots]
You are correct that you are not required to stop for Exempt crossings. Here in Texas, Exempt crossings are limited to lightly, if ever, used crossings. The Transportation Code specifies that buses, hazmat and other special equipment moving on the roadway is not required to stop.
Very little service, there is a beanch off of the santa fe Topeka sub in topeka that went into forbes field that is exempt, they used to run on it 1 time a yeay for Railroad days, but now they dont have railroad days anymore[V][:(]
Here’s what it means in California, 4 page .pdf document requires Acrobat Reader to open:
…Don’t know the legal and technical read out but I would think a crossing with an “exempt” sign displayed is: Out of service. Not abandoned but simply out of service for the forseable future. No rail traffic.
The rules do vary between the States, but basicly:
Certain types of vehicles are required to stop before crossing railroad tracks. The include many trucks carrying hazordous materials and school buses.
An EXEMPT crossing is one where these vehicles are not required to stop.
In California these are lightly used tracks with low speed trains, that have good sight distance for both train crews and motorists.
There is a procedure to request that a crossing be made EXEMPT. If it meets the criteria and the request is approved, the crossing is signed EXEMPT. EXEMPT crossing are monitored and will lose this status if conditions change.
An unused crossing is not automatically EXEMPT. On a County road about 5 miles from my home there is a crossing that has not seen a train in over 20 years. It is not signed EXEMPT. The school buses stop and open their doors to listen for a train. There is a gate across the track on the east side of the road. The east track is still connected to the rail network, but the track on the west side was removed about five years ago and has been unuseable for much longer than that.
In Pa an exempt crossing is the same as has been explained. Vehicles required to stop for crossings do NOT stop at such a crossing. I only see them on lightly used sidings etc that cross busy highways. They work in reverse. Instead of vehicles stopping for an approaching train, the train must stop, and the conductor has to get off and stop traffic before the train can cross the highway.
One Exempt crossing I see daily is on South Broadway in St. Louis right in front of the Anheuser Busch brewery. It is trackage owned by Manufacturers RR that serves the brewery…the crossing sees traffic quite often, but it is moving so slow through the A-B complex and down the middle of Dorcas street back to their yard…I don’t think they would have problems stopping if they needed to.
Mark
This is really the key to it. At an exempt crossing, the road traffic does not have to stop UNLESS train personnel (usually the conductor, but a flagman or brakeman will do if you have one) is out there stopping traffic – and the train must stop until the flagman signals to come ahead.
That may be true in some states, but it is not true in California. The trains have the right of way even at exempt crossings. Assuming that the train must stop and flag the crossing could get you killed.
Illinois seems to work about the same as Wisconsin.
I can’t see your post. The letters are too small. [;)][8D]
Thank you for the correction, DSmith – although it makes me feel a bit stupid. Prudence would certainly suggest that every railcrossinng be approached, every time, as though a train were coming and was not stopping – exempt or not.
Wouldn’t it be nice if there were uniform traffic laws in all the States and Provinces? Dream on…