C
ChrissyDFW
Guest
I was driving down the a 4-lane road yesterday. I saw the railroad crossing lights/bells were on, but the crossing gates were not down. An Amtrak train was stopped completely just a couple of feet in front the crossing. I could see the train driver staring at me and smiling. The nearest Amtrak station was 40 miles away, so this was not a stop.
I stopped for a couple of minutes. All the other cars just kept on going without stopping. The Amtrak driver waved as if telling me to go ahead. It was a surreal experience when a train driver told me to go ahead of him. The lights and bells were still on, but I just drove across like the other dozen or so cars. It was kind of obvious that there was some sort of malfunction at this crossing. Last year, at this crossing, I sat for almost 30 minutes because the gates wouldn't come up... finally the cops came out and redirectly traffic in the reverse direction.(not an easy task because it was in the middle of rush hour)
Does anyone know if that was wrong or illegal? I flipped through the driver's manual for my state.(the booklet that they give you to study for driving test at the DMV. It said if any ONE of the conditions is present at the railroad crossing, the driver MUST stop: (1) crossing gates down, (2) bells or lights are one, (3) driving a school bus or any other vehicle required to stop, (4) directly by a law enforcement officer, or (5) train on the track(duh!).... However, there was no mention of what to do in a crossing malfunction like the one I encountered.
Also, was the Amtrak driver supposed to wave me across like that? What is their policy for the driver in those situations?
I stopped for a couple of minutes. All the other cars just kept on going without stopping. The Amtrak driver waved as if telling me to go ahead. It was a surreal experience when a train driver told me to go ahead of him. The lights and bells were still on, but I just drove across like the other dozen or so cars. It was kind of obvious that there was some sort of malfunction at this crossing. Last year, at this crossing, I sat for almost 30 minutes because the gates wouldn't come up... finally the cops came out and redirectly traffic in the reverse direction.(not an easy task because it was in the middle of rush hour)
Does anyone know if that was wrong or illegal? I flipped through the driver's manual for my state.(the booklet that they give you to study for driving test at the DMV. It said if any ONE of the conditions is present at the railroad crossing, the driver MUST stop: (1) crossing gates down, (2) bells or lights are one, (3) driving a school bus or any other vehicle required to stop, (4) directly by a law enforcement officer, or (5) train on the track(duh!).... However, there was no mention of what to do in a crossing malfunction like the one I encountered.
Also, was the Amtrak driver supposed to wave me across like that? What is their policy for the driver in those situations?