If the horn or whistle fails on the lead engine en route, you must stop before each public highway crossing at grade and provide on-ground warning until the crossing is occupied, unless?

If the horn or whistle fails on the lead engine en route, you must stop before each public highway crossing at grade and provide on-ground warning until the crossing is occupied, unless?

• A. Automatic crossing warning devices are functioning properly.
• B. No traffic is approaching.
• C. The crossing is not equipped with warning devices.
• D. The train is not currently on the crossing.

Answer: (A)

If the lead engine’s horn fails, you lose the main audible warning to highway users, so you must stop before each public grade crossing and provide on-ground warning until the crossing protection is in place. The exception is when automatic crossing warning devices are functioning properly. In that case, those devices themselves warn road users, so you’re not required to perform the additional on-ground flagging. The other situations don’t provide a safe basis to skip the flagging, since they don’t guarantee that road users are being warned.

If the lead engine’s horn fails, you lose the main audible warning to highway users, so you must stop before each public grade crossing and provide on-ground warning until the crossing protection is in place. The exception is when automatic crossing warning devices are functioning properly. In that case, those devices themselves warn road users, so you’re not required to perform the additional on-ground flagging. The other situations don’t provide a safe basis to skip the flagging, since they don’t guarantee that road users are being warned.