Does a school bus have to stop at every railroad crossing?

Question

I was ordered not to stop since it had traffic lights at that intersection. When I demanded to know why, I was accused of insibordination. I need proof to slam that ***** of a superviser that she was wrong.

Answer 1

yup dey supposed to stop and listen to make sure it is safe to proceed over rail crossin

Answer 2

as far as i no yes...you are supposed to stop and open the door and the look both ways just like crossing the road when you were a kid

Answer 3

Rich-

I would be interested to know what school district that is.  

I would suggest that you contact a group that I belong to called, Operation Livesafer, and you have them do a few programs at your districts schools.

Next, I would also write a full report, including the date and time, and report her to the County Superintendant of Schools in your area.  That was a huge violation of state law.

Being ordered to do this???  Well all I have to say is when you get hit by the train, and its time to get suied, you supervisor is going to cover her butt by stating she never told you that.

Let alone, if one of the parents just happens to be following you on the day you decide to blow through a RxR Crossing.  You will get into deep trouble for that.

You need to turn her in immediately.  

How do I know this?  My Father who is now retired was the Butte County Superintendant of Schools.  I would also forward the letter to the respective District Superintendant.  Let them handle it, and be sure to check with some of your other co-workers.  you never know, they may have been told to do the same thing.  The more folks you have willing to support your claim, the more credible it is.

She is not only wrong, but she is setting all of you up for serious liability.

You have it right.  Stop at those RxR intersections.  

Good Luck!

Answer 4

Mistress_Coleen_1 has it, as far as I know - you stop at all crossings except those marked "exempt".  Exempt crossings are those which are rarely used by the trains; usually freight spurs or other lightly trafficked lines.

Answer 5

DONT LISTEN TO THAT B I  T  CH YOU STOP AT ALL INTERSECTIONS FOR THE SAFETY OF YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN ON YOUR BUS...

YOU R DOING A GOOD JOB

BETTER SAFE THAN CHILDREN AND YOU LOSING THEIR LIVES

Answer 6

Every RR crossing, unless signed "EXEMPT"

Answer 7

Yes.....you do stop at ALL Crossings.  Your Supervisor is a nut.

She is determined to be stupid, especially where all Rail Traffic is thus involved.  If you do not stop, you will be annihilated by guided missiles called TRAINS.

Answer 8

As far as i know yes it's a law in every state.Buses as well as trucks hauling hazmat cargo's must stop at ALL rail crossings.As an engineer for 31 years i have seen crossing lights and gates fail.The only truly fail safe crossing device is an aware driver. Go take a look at the operation lifesaver site.It has a lot of interesting info about railroad crossing safety. Your supervisor is endangering childrens lives and needs to be set straight! Stop look and listen. Those laws are wrote in victims blood. http://oli.org/

Answer 9

Ordered *not* to stop? What the h**l?

As far as I know, school buses are required to stop before crossing railroad tracks.

Answer 10

Do they not have barriers for the crossings in the US? here they do, it is too dangerous not to. You should definately have stopped to cheak in case of trains! Imagine if you had been hit and the chlidren all killed and the company sued. Im sure the supervisor wouldn't like that, even if she doesn't care about the children's lives. The freak of nature!

Answer 11

well, first, what state do you live in?

cali

Watch for vehicles that must stop before crossing train tracks. These vehicles include buses, school buses, and trucks transporting hazardous loads.

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/hdbk/pgs19thr...

IL

State law requires all school buses to stop at railroad crossings

http://www.isbe.state.il.us/funding/pdf/...

NY

What vehicles are required to stop at all grade crossings?

any school bus

hmmmmm

However, no stop need be made at any such crossing where a police officer or a traffic-control signal or sign directs traffic to proceed.

http://www.safeny.com/rail-ndx.htm

even still if NY state law says its ok to stop if there's a signal near by, it doesn't mean you've broken a law by stopping. you've only taken into respect the idea of safety which I would prefer as a citizen over the other choice.

tell her if she has a problem with it, I'd like to challenge her in front of her superiors and a jury.

TN

In most states, school buses and commercial buses are required to stop at every highway-rail grade crossing. The driver must look and listen for trains approaching from either direction, and cross only when it is safe to do so.

http://www.tnol.org/key.htm

Answer 12

This is from a supervisor who is charged with school bus operations?

Dunno where you're at my friend, but you have either had close contact with an alien or one of the stUPidest sobs on the planet.

Twice in my career I operated at track speed (40 mph in one instance, 60 mph in the other) over crossings where the gates were inoperative.  I used to be able to refer you to a place for more in depth info, but that's forbidden now.

If you speak the truth, all you need do is print this page then take it to his/her supervisor.  If an elected position the person should be recalled yesterday.  What the person is doing is illegal in any sane State of the U.S. I know of, but ya never know about California.

However, that just shows how ignorant some people are about railroad safety, and why I and others keep banging away on the safety drum.  Believe it or not, there are still many who do not know.  Most of us assume all know of the dangers involved.  

The truth is, they don't.

If you don't tell them, who will?

Answer 13

Only at railroad corssings that are used to transport TRAINS.

Meaning yes.

You loony.