What does it mean?
thanks
an Exempt crossing is a crossing that is on a Dormant Piece of Railroad track. However, there is one mystery. The Manufactureres have a 'Exempt" Crossing on their trackage headed to the Budwiser Brewrey. Man, I can’t spell. But anyway, this trackage is used, but the exempt sign is there. Normally it means that the crossing is on a piece of Dormant or Abandoned right of way.
I have seen exempt crossing signs on active (but lightly used) rail lines where the automotive cross traffic always has the right of way. In operation - the train must come to a full stop before the grade crossing and then flag protect the train during the crossing.
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Exempt crossings are also used so school buses dont have to stop and check for trains also any haz mat carrying vech does not have to stop also and check for trains saves time and on a busy highway could just save a life
“Exempt” applies to vehicles on the road, which would otherwise have a duty to stop or otherwise use special lookout, keep to the far right, use only one gear, etc. (e.g., school buses, tank trucks). When an ‘exempt’ sign is properly posted, the responsibility switches to the train crew (as didance notes) to flag the crossing and otherwise ensure motor vehicle traffic is safely stopped.
A few relevant statutes:
Minnesota:
Subd. 2. Exempt crossing. (a) The commissioner may
designate a crossing as an exempt crossing if the crossing is:
(1) on a rail line on which service has been abandoned; or
(2) on a rail line that carries fewer than five trains each
year, traveling at speeds of ten miles per hour or less.
(b) The commissioner shall direct the railroad to erect at
the crossing signs bearing the word “Exempt” that conform to
section 169.06 [this section describes signage] . The installation or presence of an exempt sign does not relieve a driver of the duty to use due care. A train
must not proceed across an exempt crossing unless a police
officer is present to direct traffic or a railroad employee is
on the ground to warn traffic until the train enters the
crossing.
(c) A vehicle that must stop at grade crossings under
subdivision 1 is not required to stop at a marked exempt
crossing unless directed otherwise by a police officer or a
railroad employee.
Lakewood, Colorado:
10.12.030 Certain vehicles to stop at all grade crossings.
A. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the driver of any motor vehicle carrying more than six passengers for hire, or of any school bus carrying any school child, or of any vehicle carrying explosives or hazardous materials as a cargo or part of a cargo, or of any vehicle designed to carry flamma
Here theres an abandoned rail line through town, and at all the crossings they have thoes. the took down the gates and left the lights. It just means that you can ignore the crossing because there wont be any trains, IF ITS AN ABANDONED LINE, If like overmod said there is less than 5 trains, then u still have to keep a lookout. And we also have exempt here sice they paved over all the tracks at crossings [:(]
Here is a link to the Calitornia PUC page of General Orders for railroad/highway crossings. GO 145 is “Exempt” crossings:
http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/static/industry/transportation/crossings/genorders.htm
The California vehicle code requires that certain classes of vehicles (for instance school buses) come to a complete stop at all railroad crossings that are not signed “EXEMPT”
High volumn (rail traffic) crossings (with automatic crossing gate protection) as well as low volumn crossing (without automatic crossing gate protection) can qualify.
The California law does not relieve the the drivers of the vehicle classes, designated in the vehicle code, or any motorist of the responsibility to be observant and cross the railroad tracks in a safe maner. It just allows the designted vehicle classes to operate in the same manner as non designated vehicle classes.
Wow, that’s interesting.
I have never heard of exempt crossings before…learn something new everyday.
…don’t think I have actually ever seen one IRL.
Not in use any more,gone…astalavesta…!
you mean they killed off the exempt signs?
Don’t know if this was covered or not, but the other thing with an exempt crossing is that things are backwards from normal for the train. The train must stop prior to crossing the road. Go figure! Then railroad personnel must dis-embark the train and stop traffic before the train can cross.
Next time you go through the Wooster Ohio area on U S 30 you can see one just west of the active RR overpass.
You need to say where that rule applies. It is not true in California, where a crossing with train speeds of 60 mph may be exempt. “Exempt” apparently has different meanings in different States.
When I was a child there was an exempt crossing in Whittier, CA.Our school bus did not stop at this crossing. This line has since been abandoned and the tracks were torn out recently[:(][:(!].
As folks have noted, usually the most important points that in order for a crossing to be exempt, there has to be a well-defined statute stating the conditions (I hadn’t read the Vermont one in years – thanks for the nostalgia trip!); the crossing has to meet those conditions; the railroad and local authorities having jurisdiction have to agree. Then, once it is so designated, the train must stop before reaching the crossing and a flagman must go out and protect the crossing; then the train may proceed. This is not quite the same as saying that the road traffic has the right of way – the flagman has every right to stop the traffic as soon as he gets out there.
An exempt crossing will be listed in the railroads employee timetable. They are not well liked by train crews, for obvious reasons!
In a similar vein, there are several grade crossings involving industrial leads in Bedford Park IL (near Clearing) that are not posted as exempt but the crew must flag the crossing before proceeding. The IHB also has a similar situation with some industrial leads in Alsip and Blue Island.
Was this the former PE line that curved over Whittier Blvd. and ended near the hospital? Or do you mean the former UP route with the truss bridge?
Further west, in Torrance, the ATSF/BNSF Alcoa spur had “exempt” signs. Not sure if they are still there. All crossings still have flashers but no gates. The track is still there but in poor shape; it ends just short of Western Ave. now
In relation to the signs and California, it mean special vehicls don’t have to stop.
I also have the twisted pleasure of testing school bus and farm labor drivers, and I take them to tracks that have the exemp signs on them. Imagin their suprise when a train comes through at 15 to 20 mph across a blind grade crossing that is markes exempt. Hopefully it will save a life one day.
- (a) Subdivisions (b) and (c) apply to the operation of the
following vehicles:
(1) Any bus or farm labor vehicle carrying passengers.
(2) Any motortruck transporting employees in addition to those
riding in the cab.
(3) Any schoolbus and any school pupil activity bus transporting
school pupils, except as otherwise provided in paragraph (4) of
subdivision (c).
(4) Every commercial motor vehicle transporting any quantity of a
Division 2.3 chlorine, as classified by Title 49 of the Code of
Federal Regulations.
(5) Every commercial motor vehicle that is required to be marked
or placarded in accordance with the regulations of Title 49 of the
Code of Federal Regulations with one of the following federal
classifications:
(A) Division 1.1.
(B) Division 1.2, or Division 1.3.
(C) Division 2.3 Poison gas.
(D) Division 4.3.
(E) Class 7.
(F) Class 3 Flammable.
(G) Division 5.1.
(H) Division 2.2.
(I) Division 2.3 Chlorine.
(J) Division 6.1 Poison.
(K) Division 2.2 Oxygen.
(L) Division 2.1.
(M) Class 3 Combustible liquid.
(N) Division 4.1.
(O) Division 5.1.
(P) Division 5.2.
(Q) Class 8.
(R) Class Division 1.4.
(S) Every cargo tank motor vehicle, whether loaded or empty, used
for the transportation of any hazardous material, as defined in Parts
107 to 180, inclusive, of Title 49 of the Code of Federal
Regulations.
(6) Every
That sounds like it would confuse the issue. What is the point of marking a crossing “exempt”…is it intended as a a heads up that a crossing is rarely used, but still active?
There are several non-exempt crossing on the Sacramento Northern where the school buses stop, as prescribed by law. A couple of them may see trains several times a year, although I’m not aware of any.
At another one there is a gate across the track on one side of the road and the track (now gone) on the other side of the road was in such bad shape for at least 20 years, that I am aware of, that I doubt a train could have run on it.