School Bus: Railroad Crossings

3 questions in the bank cover this topic. Everything below is drawn from the sources those questions cite.

Sources: 49 CFR 392.10

What you need to know

392.10 fixes the band for every bus, loaded or empty.

Closer than 15 feet puts your nose in the path; further than 50 feet puts the track too far away to see along.

Stops the commercial motor vehicle within 50 feet of, and not closer than 15 feet to, the tracks

49 CFR 392.10

A shift on the crossing risks a missed gear, and a missed gear on a crossing is a stalled bus full of children on the tracks.

Pick the gear before you start across.

in a gear that permits the commercial motor vehicle to complete the crossing without a change of gears. The driver must not shift gears while crossing the tracks.

49 CFR 392.10

Listen AND look, both ways.

School bus practice adds opening the door and window, which is what makes the listening possible.

thereafter listens and looks in each direction along the tracks for an approaching train; and ascertains that no train is approaching

49 CFR 392.10

Check yourself

• Where must your school bus come to a stop at a railroad crossing?

• What does the rule require of your gear across the tracks?

• What does the rule require you to do while stopped at the crossing?

Answers are in the practice test for this topic.