Suprisingly, more than half of collisions involving highway/railway crossings happen at crossings equipped with lights, bell and/or gates. This leads us to believe that many motorists ignore the warning devices and take unnecessary risks with their life and those of others. Keep in mind that it is your responsibility as a driver to yield to trains at any crossing. LOOK, LISTEN AND LIVE!

Come aboard the Operation Lifesaver train and take a moment to complete the following quiz. Remember to use your common sense, because a failure could be fatal!

1. The advance warning sign tells you:

A. there is a railway yard nearby
B. to slow down, you are approaching a railway crossing
C. there is only one railway track ahead

2. The crossbuck sign tells you:

A. to hurry across the tracks
B. there is only one railway track ahead
C. to slow down, look, listen, and be prepared to yield to an approaching train

3. A train whistle sounding means:

A all clear, proceed
B. the train is about to stop
C. you must stop - a train is approaching
D. the engineer is saying hello to a passing train

4. Most highway/railway crossing collisions involve drivers living within ___ of the location of the collision.

A. 10 km
B. 40 km
C. 65 km
D. 100 km

5. You are driving across the tracks. The lights start flashing and the gates come down while you are on the
     tracks. You should:

A. keep going
B. abandon car
C. stop
D. back up

6. A freight train with 80 cars travelling 90km/h requires ___ distance to stop.

A. 1 km
B. 1.6 km
C. 2.5 km
D. 0.5 km

7. Some vehicles stop at all crossings. These include:

A. Vehicles carrying passengers
B. School buses
C. Hazardous material carriers
D. All of the above

8. The principal contributing cause of vehicle-train collisions is:

A. Weather conditions
B. Malfunctioning warning devices
C. Poor eyesight
D. Driver error

True or False

  9. It's illegal to drive around crossing gates.
10. Never race a train to the crossing.
11. It's okay for you to cross when the last car of a train clears the crossing.
12. When a driver runs into a train at night, we can assume that the vehicle's headlights were turned off.
13. Avoid stopping on tracks in a traffic jam.
14. A train should be expected on any track at any time.
15. If you stall on the tracks when a train is approaching, get away from your car immediately.

1. B.
   The advance warning sign warns you in advance of the highway/railway crossing. You should slow down and be alert as you are approaching a crossing.
2. C.
   When you see the crossbuck sign, you know that you are at a railway crossing. It is your responsibility to slow down, look, listen and yield to oncoming trains.
3. C.
   The locomotive engineer is required, by law, to sound the train whistle approaching most crossings. When you hear it, be prepared to stop.
4. B.
   40 km. As you might expect, familiarity with highway/railway crossing breeds complacency. Many collisions occur close to home.
5. A.
   If you are being careful and obeying the traffic signs, you should never find yourself on the tracks while the gates are closing.
   The lights start flashing before the gates come down. If you should find yourself in this situation, the best thing to do is to keep going.
6. B.
   Travelling at 90 km/h, this train would proceed for about 1.6 km before it came to a stop. Remember, locomotives and freight cars are a lot heavier than the family car, and it takes a great deal more distance to stop. You can stop a lot more quickly!
7. D.
   In most provinces, school buses, hazardous material carriers and vehicles carrying paying passengers stop at all crossings. So be prepared to stop if you are following one of these types of vehicles.
8. D.
   According to studies, drivers who do not exercise due caution at crossings are the principal reason for highway/railway crossing collisions. Drivers who fail to obey the warning signs take dangerous risks with their lives and those of others.
9. TRUE
   It is not only illegal, but also dangerous to drive around gates.
10. TRUE
    The race for the crossing was a highlight of many an old movie comedy; in real life, there's nothing funny about such a scene - it can be deadly, because even in a tie, you lose!
11. FALSE
    Never move until the lights stop flashing - you might walk or drive right into the path of a moving train on another track or slam into its side.
12. FALSE
    At night, some drivers overdrive their headlights. This means that you drive so fast that you cannot stop in the distance illuminated by your headlights. Slow down when you see the advance warning signs and be prepared to stop.
13. TRUE
    Before proceeding across the tracks, be sure there's enough space for your car on the other side.
14. TRUE
    Don't fall into the trap of knowing a crossing too well. Trains don't always run on scheduled times. Extra trains may run at any time. Remember anytime is train time.
15. TRUE
    If your vehicle stalls on a crossing, get all the occupants out of the vehicle and away from the track immediately. Do not run! Walk quickly to a point at least 30 metres away from the track. This will prevent you from being struck by flying debris if the train hits the stalled vehicle.

ADVANCE WARNING SIGNS
These signs mean one thing: a highway/railway crossing ahead. BE PREPARED TO STOP.

SECOND TRACK
This sign tells you that there is more than one set of tracks at a grade crossing. THEREFORE, TRAINS COULD BE GOING IN EITHER DIRECTION.

CROSSBUCK
The crossbuck sign tells you that you are at a highway/railway crossing. You must yield to oncoming trains. SLOW DOWN and LOOK FOR TRAINS.