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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;">While there is a consensus among most authorities that the railroad crossbuck means the same as a yield sign at non-signalized crossings, various sources indicate there is a fair amount of confusion over whether it means yield when it is applied to a signalized crossing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moreover, surveys have shown that very few drivers realize that a crossbuck means yield with either type of crossing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here is a link to an authoritative white paper by The Committee on Railroad-Highway Grade Crossings that discusses the state of the art today and where it is headed in the future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Amazingly the authors seem to be demonstrating the same ignorance of the lawful meaning of the crossbuck that surveys indicate most driver have:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/millennium/00096.pdf"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;">http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/millennium/00096.pdf</span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;">At the bottom of page two, it says this:</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #3366ff;">“The primary purpose of the crossbuck sign is to identify and direct highway users’ attention to the location of an at-grade crossing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Legal obligations imposed upon the driver relative to behavior or conformance are minimal.”</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;">As a matter of fact, the obligation imposed upon a driver by the crossbuck is to yield to trains in order to avoid getting killed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That hardly seems minimal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;">Furthermore, it is flat-out incorrect to say that the primary purpose of the crossbuck is to direct drivers’ attention to the location of a grade crossing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is the secondary purpose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The primary purpose is to inform the drivers of the requirement to yield to trains.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And since surveys show that most drivers understand the secondary purpose but are not aware of the primary purpose of yielding, yield signs are being added to all crossbucks in the U.S.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;">On page one of the linked paper, it says this:</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #3366ff;">“Engineering and operating practices from the highway and rail modes alone cannot achieve the level of safety desired.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Education of the public and enforcement of laws to encourage desirable driver behavior are also major factors.”</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;">From reading what they say about the crossbuck, it appears that that the authors of this paper too need a little more education about the laws.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></p>
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