Railroad Signs for Safer Crossings - Page 2

The MUTCD requires the use of railroad crossing "crossbuck" signs whenever railroad tracks intersect a public roadway or pathway. Along with crossbuck, there are more than 40 other regulatory signs and plaques for grade crossings. MUTCD specifies that signs should be located on the right-hand side of the highway, signs should be located to optimize visibility and should not be obscured by parked cars, foliage, roadside splatter, or snow, and signs should be retroreflective. Each sign comes with its own set of requirements for design, size, and mounting. Refer to Part 8 of the MUTCD for a detailed specification for each of the signs.

Identification of a railroad crossing can be done by using two major types of railroad crossing signage. Passive signs alert motorists that they are approaching a highway-rail grade crossing. Advance Warning Signs are a round, yellow advance warning sign that must identify a public highway-rail crossing, specifically for side streets. Pavement Markings are the warning painted on the road surface, generally starting at the advance warning sign and ending with a stop bar near the crossing. Active signs are electronic devices that warn drivers about an upcoming rail crossing. Installation of flashing lights, or flashing lights with gates, at a crossing along with the railroad crossing signs (Crossbuck, Stop, Yield, Number of Tracks) makes for Active Warning Signs. Individual states decide which crossings require active warnings, and the devices can include flashing red lights, with or without bells, to alert the driver of an approaching train, flashing red lights and gates that lower to block the track, or a barricade of flashing lights designed to reach across the entire road and all traffic lanes so all drivers on multi-lane roads are aware a train is approaching.

A public railroad crossing is a location where railroad tracks meet a roadway that falls under the general system of public streets and highways maintained by a public authority. A private railroad crossing is on a private roadway. It might connect to a part of the general system of public streets and highways but is not maintained by a public authority. Generally, there is private property on at least one side of the railroad tracks, and private crossings are usually intended for the exclusive use of the property owner and the property owner's family or staff for residential, farm, recreation, cultural, industrial, or commercial purposes.

The Crossbuck Sign shall have a design as shown in MUTCD R15-1. The sign shall be composed of two horizontal rectangular white signs placed one on top of the other at a 90-degree angle to form an "x," denoting a crossbuck. The width of each piece must be 9 inches, and the length must be 48 inches. In black letters, the word "RAILROAD" must be printed on the piece running from northwest to southeast, and the word "CROSSING" on the piece running from southwest to northeast. The lettering must be 7 inches high. The center of the X is to be at least 9 feet off the ground.

Not necessarily. A Crossbuck Railroad Sign may be passive or active. When the sign is supplemented with red flashing lights, or red flashing lights with a pivoting gate that lowers down, it is called an active crossbuck. Whether or not to install the lights and gates along with the crossbuck railroad sign at a grade crossing is determined by the state Department of Transportation. Usually, the active warning devices are installed where trains run at medium to high speed, train traffic is frequent, highway traffic is high, the crossing is accident-prone, the crossing is near a school zone, or sight distance is restricted for motorists.

The LOOK sign (MUTCD R15-8) reminds road users of the regulatory requirement to look both ways for trains before a grade crossing. One should never assume that trains will always come from the same direction, since trains can arrive at any time from any direction. The LOOK Sign can be mounted as a supplemental plaque below the Crossbuck sign or on a separate post near the grade crossing on the railroad or Light Rail Tracks right-of-way. As per Chapter 8 Figure 8B-1 of MUTCD, the sign must have black letters on a white background, and the LOOK sign must be a horizontal rectangular sign with a horizontal two-direction arrow above the word "LOOK."

The Exempt sign (MUTCD R15-3) tells certain vehicles, such as school buses and vehicles carrying hazardous materials, that they are not required to stop at a specific railroad crossing even though the law would otherwise require it. Exempt signs are typically posted at crossings that are permanently out of service, protected by an interconnected traffic signal, or otherwise determined safe enough by the state Department of Transportation to waive the standard stop requirement.

The Number of Tracks sign (MUTCD R15-2) is a supplemental plaque mounted below the crossbuck sign to tell drivers how many separate railroad tracks they need to check before crossing. Number of Tracks signs are required whenever a grade crossing has more than one track, since a driver who stops and checks only for a single train could still be at risk from a second train on an adjacent track.