Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
[quote user="Dakguy201"]How many people know precisely what crossing associated lights mean?  I've had a driver license in several states, and I do not recall ever seeing the subject in the study book nor on the examination itself.   [/quote] There have been studies on this matter, and some of them get right down to the fundamental core of the problem.  Fixing that problem would require changing the ingrained collective mindset of drivers approaching grade crossings.      <o:p></o:p> It has been widely observed that many drivers believe the crossing protection devices are advisory as opposed to regulatory.  Advisory means the activated crossing protection signals and gates tell a driver that a train is nearby and that they should act according to the potential danger of the train.  Regulatory means that the activated crossing protection signals and gates tell a driver to stop and wait until the protection system deactivates.   <o:p></o:p> In terms of the laws, crossing protection systems are a confusing blend of advisory and regulatory, with a tradition of historical precedent of crossing protection being 100% advisory.  Today, it is only the lowered gates that are 100% regulatory.    <o:p></o:p> Part of the reason for blending advisory with regulatory is that grade crossing protection is activated by approaching trains, and this can send a false signal if a train does not actually intend to cross.  It can also send an unnecessarily long warning if the train is approaching very slowly.  Sometimes the signals are false-activated and prohibiting traffic when no train is present.   <o:p></o:p> So drivers naturally feel a need to decide for themselves whether an activated crossing signal is actually indicating a danger from an approaching train.  And if there are no lowered gates, that is exactly what the law permits drivers to do.  Moreover, because of this deep historical background culture of the crossing protection being advisory, most drivers do not realize that the lowered gates are 100% inviolable, or 100% regulatory.      Approaching a grade crossing with the mindset of deciding whether it is safe to cross is looking at grade crossing protection through the advisory lens.  That does not mean that these drivers think the warning does not need to be heeded if there is danger.  It is just that they believe it is up to them to decide if there is danger.  So they approach activated crossings with the conscious consideration of whether or not they should stop.  If they think there is time to get across, they may go around the gates.  In their minds, they are proceeding when it is safe to do so.
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag