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Railway crossings

The check asks what you must do before and while you cross a railway crossing. Accidents at crossings are often serious, so the rules are strict.

Key rules

• Stop just before the crossing (at the stop line if there is one) and check both sides yourself.
• Open a window and use your eyes and ears to check.
• If a crossing has a traffic signal, you may cross by following the signal without stopping first.
• After one train passes, another may come from the other direction, so check again.
• Do not enter while the alarm is sounding or when the barrier is down or coming down.
• Stop and check even when you are following the car in front.
• Do not enter if the far side is congested and you might get stuck on the crossing.
• On the crossing, do not change gear; cross at once in the same low gear, a little toward the centre to avoid dropping a wheel.
• If your car stops on a crossing, press the emergency button or use a flare to warn the train, then move the car off the crossing.

Numbers to remember

Common traps

• "You need not stop if no train is visible" is wrong: you must stop every time (unless a signal allows you to go).
• "You may follow the car ahead without stopping" is wrong.
• The stop is just before the crossing or its stop line, not at a distance.
• Once a train has passed, you still must check for a second train.
• The exception is a crossing with a signal, where you follow the signal.

In many countries you stop only when lights or barriers are active. In Japan you must stop and check at almost every crossing, even if the barrier is up.

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