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tdmidget,  <o:p></o:p> You raise some interesting points.  First of all, no, I am not a lawyer.  <o:p></o:p> That excerpt you posted from the Nevada driver’s handbook may be referring only to so-called passive crossings (non-signalized crossings).  But, in any case, yielding per se does not necessarily require a driver to slow down.  <o:p></o:p> I can see two different reasons to slow down at a signalized grade crossing.  One is the requirement to yield to a train even if the signals are not activated.  But, as I say, yielding does not necessarily require a driver to slow down.  It does require drivers to look for trains and to make sure none are approaching.  The only reason the yield requirement would require a driver to slow down is if there is limited sight distance.  That Nevada crossing has ample sight distance to see if a train is approaching without slowing down.  <o:p></o:p> The other reason to slow down is to be able to stop short of the crossing should the lights happen to activate upon approach.  Most state laws require a driver to stop for the red flashing lights.  Some state laws allow a driver to proceed against the flashing lights under certain circumstances, but only after first coming to a stop.  Yet it is impossible to stop for the lights should they happen to activate when a driver is say 100 feet away at 55 mph.  The only way a driver could comply with the requirement to stop for the flashing lights would be to come to a complete stop, and then cross if the lights are not activated.  <o:p></o:p> I can tell you that the Minnesota Highway Patrol does not want drivers to slow down in order to yield at signalized crossings when the signals are not activated.  And they certainly do not want drivers to slow down in order to yield to the signals in case they happen to activate upon approach.  Some officers have even told me that they see no reason for drivers to yield at signalized crossings when the signals are not activated.  They don’t see the point.  Many will tell you that the signals are fail safe, and they believe that means that the signals are infallible, which of course, there are not.  The Minnesota DOT has also told me that the signals cannot fail.     <o:p></o:p> If the Nevada law says to always slow down and listen, I guess that is the requirement, but I have found conflicts between the state laws and other directives.  The Nevada law (according to the driver’s manual) requires a driver to slow down.  How much should they slow down?  The law also requires a driver to listen.  Listen how?  The only way listening is going to accomplish anything is to stop, shut off the engine, and roll down the windows.  Is that what the law requires?  I’ll bet the Nevada state patrol does not want drivers to do that.  And suppose you listen and hear a train, but it is several miles away and not yet in sight.  Then what do you do?      <o:p></o:p> I asked the UMTCD how a driver can be expected to stop for the flashing red lights should they happen to activate upon approach when the driver is too close to stop.  This is what they told me; however, I do not know what authority grants this.  It clearly violates state laws:  <o:p></o:p> “An approaching road user who is so close to the stop line for the active grade crossing when the flashing-light signals are activated that a safe stop is not possible will be forced to travel past the stop line while the lights are flashing.  This road user will have no other choice because of the laws of physics.  An approaching road user who is far enough from the stop line that a safe stop is possible is expected to come to a stop at the stop line.  Although the various State statutes might say that it is a violation of the law to cross the stop line when the lights are flashing, a law enforcement officer who is present at the site and witnesses the violation would have to use professional judgment to determine if a stop would have been physically possible.  It is unlikely that a ticket would be issued to a driver who is obeying the speed limit for the roadway who was physically unable to stop because of the proximity to the crossing when the lights began to flash.  There is no need for approaching road users to decelerate to a very slow speed so that they can quickly stop if the lights are suddenly activated.”
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