PackRatTDI, with a load of HAZMAT, you WILL STOP before the tracks, not just slow down, unless the tracks are labelled "EXEMPT".

Hobo, if you told anyone at the company about your "HAND-UP" on the tracks, you could have a SERIOUS VIOLATION on your record now.

With the more recent rules from DOT, getting hung-up on railroad tracks or even failing to slow down and look, and listen, before crossing constitutes a SERIOUS VIOLATION. Yes, you will slow down... Yes, you will roll your window down, and listen and look for a train before crossing the tracks.

I don't know what reg it is, but I saw a poster in the safety director's office about it. It was also covered in our most recent safety meeting. So there should be something on DOT's website too.

new laws now in effect, say that if you get your landing gear caught on the tracks or intersection, or fail to slow or look you can have your cdl suspended for 60 days first offense.

I know you're supposed to stop, I thought he said "stop". I now realize he just said "slow down".

60 days!!! Wow!!!

I slowed.... I looked.... I had my vent window open cuz I smoke! This was a crossing with a guard arm!

Don't know what else I could've done. Besides, they try to take ME to court over it, they'll find theirselves facing a road engineer telling them how they FAILED to meet code on the grade level of the crossing!

But, all this info is good to know! I'll be even MORE carefull next time!

They're getting down-right SERIOUS about it. I don't have any idea what the driver from CRST is looking at. I've seen trailers cut in half because a train hit it, fuel tanks on the tractor explode because of the impact with a train. It can take up to 6 miles to stop a train, depending on speed, number of cars, and the weight of the cargo. If you get stuck on the tracks and there's a long train moving fast about 3 miles away, you've got less than 3 minutes to get off the track because that train WILL NOT BE STOPPING FOR YOU.

You may not know when the train is coming, how long it is, or how fast it's moving, but a set of railroad tracks means a hazard at any time. It's the LAST PLACE IN THE WORLD that you want to be stopped on.

A few years back, in Kansas, a train impacted the fuel tanks on a truck. The resulting fire burned for a number of hours. I also know that one of the firemen hit a deer with the firetruck on the way back to the firehouse. He was so fatigued, he didn't even know where he was, much less what to do about it. The driver of the truck was killed instantly.

Oooopppsss...... Sorry about that. I didn't think it went through the first time.