Railroad Crossings – Special Situations

Special Situations

If you run into an abandoned or unused track, treat it as a useable track and approach it the same way you would as a track being heavily used.

Be on the lookout for malfunctioning crossing gates and lights. You should never drive around a malfunctioning gate. It is extremely dangerous and illegal. If you suspect a malfunction, report it to dispatch immediately and do not proceed until it is safe to do so.

If you get stuck between gates, or the cross arm comes down on any part of the bus, drive through the cross arm and break it. Cross arms are not very strong and they are designed to break. Don’t forget, if the cross arm is coming down, that signals that a train is coming. Your only course of action then is to get across the crossing immediately.

If the bus stalls on the railroad tracks, issue an immediate evacuation for all occupants aboard the school bus.

During an evacuation, the bus driver leads the students in an angle away from the tracks and in the direction of the train. The reason for doing so is to reduce the chance of the students or bus driver being struck by flying debris, if the train collides with the stalled bus.

If the view of the tracks is not adequate, do not attempt to cross them until you can see that no train is approaching.

Additional caution must be exercised when crossing in bad weather conditions such as fog, snow, and rain.

Preparation and confidence are the main ingredients for the bus driver if any of these situations were to occur.