I was at RR crossing yesterday, to funny, guy had no clue gate was coming down, the car was next to him at the beginning, when he heard gate come down on van he inched forward.
Guy never moved till gate went up, me and the guy next to me were laughing at this driver, in a nice way…
Tom h
Thats good! I guess if he/she had stopped at the white line the van wouldn’t have been hit. LOL
I don’t understand idiots that always have to creep over the line. If that’s their solution to competition I give them the Darwin award - Winner!
It could be that some people are so short that they can’t see over the hood where the white line is.
Every so often the CP cops run a routine at one specific crossing in SA where they cleverly tuck out of the way and nail the clowns for the same reason. Seems to be the only way to make an impression. $$$$$$
Many people drive like that by default. They are always right in the middle of it all so they get their way.
A triple header express can make a big impression too…
Andrew
In North Carolina (and possibly the whole US), The minimum distance the white line is to be marked is 15 feet from the track. Now remember track is 4’-8.5" and rail cars are normally 10’ wide, so that is roughly 2’ overhanging the rail. I dont know how far crossing gates are normally placed from the track. Common sense needs to be more common.
In fairness to both drivers, the tracks are crossing at an angle away from their side of the road, and they’re plenty far away from the tracks. We can laugh at their inattentiveness, but at least they didn’t make it worse by doing something rash in a moment of panic. While not the “ideal” stopping point, at least both drivers knew they were safe where they were stopped. I’ve been to a scene where a driver was caught in a similar situation (caught under the gate, well clear of the tracks), but he panicked and pulled forward to try to cross. Fortunately, he walked away from what was left of his car, but I’m pretty sure his skivvies went straight into the trash when he got home. (He declined our request for an interview…)
Later,
K
Regardless of how tracks are angled with the roadway, or how far the tracks are from the gates… The white lines are the ““Stop”” lines… Same as when the white lines are at a traffic light, or a stop sign… Most drivers bring instances like that on themselves, because they all want to do is ““Cheat the system””… They don’t pay any attention to the white lines anymore…
It’s all a ““Rules don’t apply to me”” attitude running rampart thru the whole country…
CL Beeson said:
… Common sense needs to be more common.
Someone please let me know when that happens. 
Here’s MY railroad crossing story:
One cold winter morning, I was on my way to work. Everything was dry and salty. No precip for a long time.
As I came to the UP track in Rondout the lights came on and the gates started to come down. “Cool, I get to be right up front!”
I went to stop, and there was ABSOLUTELY NO GRIP. The Anti-Lock brakes were anti-locking. The car wasn’t slowing down the slightest bit.
“Right, I’m a railfan and a model railroader. I’m supposed to be aware of these things, and now I’m going to get schmucked by a train.”
I decided there was no way I was going to be on this side of the track, so I decided I’d better make sure I was on the other side. I slid Sophira to the left, then back to the right, around both gates and then off the road into the metal junk place. Fortunately, it was the Metra that always creeps through Rondout. Hate to think if it had been the Hiawatha that comes blasting through at about 79.
I have something a bit different. When I lived in Florida and was working swing shift and getting off at 3 in the morning - I lived out in the country and crossed over double tracks of a RR that will remain nameless to protect the engineer. RR Crossing was protected by gates and lights. It was close to the limits of a block. Many times when the train was stopped for extended times, they would turn the lights off and have the gates and lights turned off. I should mention that was also the place where if a crew timed out, they would bring the replacement crew out. I was well aware of this because I would see this about once a week.
Then one night I’m coming home - see the engine stopped with his lights off. Thinking nothing of it I started across the tracks. Lights came on, Horn blasted and I went home and threw my underwear out. I know it had to be an engineer who saw me frequently at that time of night. Now I think it is funny - then I thought I was going to die.
Yep the white lines are there for a reason. I see to many folks pulling over the line at intersections which makes it hard for a car trying to make a turn. Seen a few cars get clipped account of tyring as you say cheat the system. Doubt if that is what they where trying to do they just plain do not know the rules of the road. If folks now days actually had to do a real driving test we would have 90% of the population no longer driving. Later RJD
In Hyannis the Cape Cod Central has double tracks that cross a very busy 4 lane road which includes a turning lane. There is enough room for 3-4 cars in each lane on the other side of the track and it seems like everyone but me don’t even consider parking on the tracks while waiting for the lights to turn. Now the CCC isn’t moving very quickly at this point nor do they run alot of trains and I think it even stops at that intersection but when the lights start flashing and those gates come down I bet alot of folks get a good scare.