It sounds like that crossing should NOT be EXEMPT.
A blind crossing does not meet the sight distance criteria. For crossing without gates the California PUC requires that there be an unobstructed view of the crossing and 400 feet clear sight distance along the tracks from any point on the highway within the minimum stoping site distance to the crossing for the posted speed limit.
seems like many of the “exempt crossings” I have seen were also exempt from maintenance[:D]
dd
Yeah it should be change, but it was probably exempted before they built one of those cheep steel buildings.
I Drive a school bus here in wisconsin And There is an exempt crossing on 43rd st.
which I think it is good good that it is exempt because43rd is a high traffic road and it would be pretty unsafe for school buses and haz mat trucks to stop and check for trains
and I cant even think of the last time I saw a train on those tracks that cross 43rd going over to the factorys on the other side. And Also now that ADM is closed and all of the other factorys along that line should become exempt because the last time I saw a train on those tracks was back in july Or even August but yet They still store a varity of cars
on those tracks From Milwaukee road to soo line to CP and other road names to…
Many Exempt Crossing signs are on the Adirondack Railroad in Tupper Lake Region, as well as the Mohawk & Northern Railroad, which was New York Central trackage. Commercial vehicles do not have to come to a full stop, show their flashers, and then slowly proceed across the tracks. There are no railroad flashers but the crossbucks, have the sign EXEMPT.
thanks, Bruce
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A personal friend advises “Exempt” signs mean just that, and buses, gas tankers, etc. do NOT have to stop at them, unless their company requires them to do so. Neither do trains have to flag over them unless railroad signs facing trains indicate to do so or as per employee timetable. Most typically, exempt signs are on little used industrial spurs. Sometimes a government agency feels impelled to order the railroad to install crossing devices (flashers, gates, etc.) on such crossings, but an exempt sign relieves truck and bus drivers of the legal necessity of stopping unless obviously a train is approaching or actually on the crossing.
When a crossing is placed EXEMPT it means that busses and trucks don’t stop. A crossing is placed exempt if: The line is abandoned, the tracks go through an industrial park where the conductor does the Flag Rule, the crossing is on a dead end spur, the crossing is at a blind intersection, fewer then 5 trains use the tracks, the crossing is on a two laned road, the road and intersection have been closed by the DOT, the user of the industy is closed, and the line is out of service and the crossing is about to be replaced with Out of Service signs or a bridge. If you see an EXEMPT sign stay at highway speed and keep going only stop if a local is switching.
Are you sure about that?
That was only one of several requirements he listed, all of which would have to be met.
Not so fast. It was such a long series (conditions some of which are mutually exclusive) that I didn’t realize what he intended. The way it is worded it appears that several items are redundant if all conditions must be met as you suggest. Clearly it is a list of conditions, any one of which if present make the crossing eligible to be exempt. Except “the crossing is on a two-laned road” which is not true, one would hope.
“A crossing is placed exempt if: The line is abandoned, the tracks go through an industrial park where the conductor does the Flag Rule, the crossing is on a dead end spur, the crossing is at a blind intersection, fewer then 5 trains use the tracks, the crossing is on a two laned road, the road and intersection have been closed by the DOT, the user of the industy is closed, and the line is out of service and the crossing is about to be replaced with Out of Service signs or a bridge.”
I don’t believe that all conditions need to be met. Rather, it is a list of conditions that could allow a crossing to be exempt. It also may not reflect a specific state’s requirement, but is a more generic list.
The only crossings in Iowa that I’ve seen exempted have been on tracks that have been abandoned or out of service. There may be still tracks in use that have exempt crossings here in Iowa, but I’ve not seen any. And I’ve seen crossings on tracks that were used once a week*, but had no exempt crossings.
*On lightly used tracks, trains and engines approaching crossings with gates and/or lights must be prepared to stop and flag them until the lights/gates are seen to activate.
Jeff