Good evening,
How come the general public dosen’t know about railroad crossing hotlines? Whenever they see a railroad crossing malfunction they either ignor it or call the police. Why would you say they do this.
Because they don’t see the blue placard that is on every single crossing. On both sides of the crossing. Of course, in order to read it, you have to actually get close enough to read it. In some cases, that might mean getting out of your car.
Besides, it’s easier to dial 9-1-1. Hopefully the 9-1-1 PSAP has the number(s) on speed-dial.
Too, it’s probably not something they have to do very often. I’d bet that if you asked folks, the vast majority wouldn’t even know trains actually run on the tracks, especially outside urban areas.
Most avid railfans probably have the emergency numbers for the railroads they regularly “fan” programmed in their phones.