7.2 School Buses & Railroad Grade Crossings

7.2 School Buses & Railroad Grade Crossings

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The school bus stop rule

RCW 46.61.370(1): "The driver of a vehicle upon overtaking or meeting from either direction any school bus which has stopped on the roadway for the purpose of receiving or discharging any school children shall stop the vehicle before reaching such school bus when there is in operation on said school bus a visual signal as specified in RCW 46.37.190, and said driver shall not proceed until such school bus resumes motion or the visual signals are no longer activated."

Three elements: the bus is stopped on the roadway, it is loading or unloading school children, and the required visual signal is operating. When all three are present, traffic in both directions stops.

The release condition is precise: you may proceed when the bus resumes motion or the visual signals are no longer activated. Not when the last child reaches the kerb, and not when the driver waves you past.

The two exceptions

Two cautions on those exceptions:

1. Both apply only when meeting a bus travelling the opposite direction. A driver overtaking a stopped bus from behind must always stop, on any roadway.
2. The three-lane exception is stated as "three or more marked traffic lanes." It is not framed as a centre-turn-lane rule; the statutory test is the number of marked lanes on the highway.

Duties of the bus driver

RCW 46.61.370(4): the school bus driver "shall actuate the visual signals required by RCW 46.37.190 only when such bus is stopped on the roadway for the purpose of receiving or discharging school children."

RCW 46.61.370(5): the bus driver "may stop completely off the roadway for the purpose of receiving or discharging school children only when the school children do not have to cross the roadway," and must actuate the hazard warning lamps as defined in RCW 46.37.215 before loading or unloading at such stops.

That pairing is worth teaching: hazard lamps at an off-roadway stop mean children are not crossing; the red stop signal means they are.

Penalties and cameras

RCW 46.61.370(6): a person found to have committed an infraction of subsection (1) "shall be assessed a monetary penalty equal to twice the total penalty assessed under RCW 46.63.110. This penalty may not be waived, reduced, or suspended." Fifty percent goes to the school zone safety account.

RCW 46.61.370(7): an infraction detected through an automated school bus safety camera under RCW 46.63.180 "is not a part of the registered owner's driving record" and "must be processed in the same manner as parking infractions," with the fine capped at twice the monetary penalty under RCW 46.63.110. A camera ticket is an owner-liability civil matter; an officer-issued stop-arm citation goes on the driving record.

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Railroad grade crossings

The general stopping duty

RCW 46.61.340(1): a driver approaching a railroad grade crossing "shall stop within fifty feet but not less than fifteen feet from the nearest rail of such railroad, and shall not proceed until the crossing can be made safely." The duty applies when:

• (a) a clearly visible electric or mechanical signal device gives warning of the immediate approach of a train or other on-track equipment;
• (b) a crossing gate is lowered, or a human flagger gives or continues to give a signal of the approach or passage of a train; or
• (c) an approaching train or other on-track equipment is plainly visible and is in hazardous proximity to the crossing.

RCW 46.61.340(2): "No person shall drive any vehicle through, around or under any crossing gate or barrier at a railroad crossing while such gate or barrier is closed or is being opened or closed."

The 50-foot / 15-foot window is the number to memorise, and note its direction: no closer than 15 feet, no farther back than 50 feet.

Vehicles that must stop at every crossing

RCW 46.61.350(1)(a) requires certain drivers to stop "before the stop line, if present, and otherwise within fifty feet but not less than fifteen feet from the nearest rail" regardless of whether a train is approaching:

• a school bus or private carrier bus carrying any school child or other passenger;
• a commercial motor vehicle transporting passengers;
• a cargo tank, loaded or empty, used for transporting hazardous material as defined in 49 C.F.R. Parts 107 through 180;
• a cargo tank transporting a commodity under exemption in accordance with 49 C.F.R. Part 107, Subpart B;
• a cargo tank transporting a commodity loaded above its flashpoint; and
• a commercial motor vehicle required to be marked or placarded with any of the listed hazard classifications in 49 C.F.R. Part 172.

RCW 46.61.350(1)(b): while stopped, the driver "must listen and look in both directions along the track ... and may not proceed until he or she can do so safely."

RCW 46.61.350(2): after stopping, the driver "must cross only in a gear that permits the vehicle to traverse the crossing without changing gears," and "may not shift gears while crossing."

RCW 46.61.350(3) lists six situations where the always-stop rule does not apply: traffic controlled by a police officer or flagger; a functioning traffic control signal transmitting a green light; tracks used exclusively for a streetcar or industrial switching; a crossing where the utilities and transportation commission has approved an "exempt" sign under RCW 81.53.060; an abandoned crossing marked out-of-service; and a crossing the commission has identified where stopping is not required.

Stalled on the tracks

The protocol is short because time is short.

1. Everyone out of the vehicle immediately. Do not attempt to restart it first.
2. Move away from the tracks at an angle toward the direction the train is coming from. If the train strikes the vehicle, debris is thrown forward along the track; walking toward the train and away from the crossing at roughly 45 degrees keeps you out of the debris path.
3. Call the emergency notification number posted on the blue-and-white sign at the crossing, which reaches the railroad directly and can stop trains, then call 911. If no sign is visible, call 911 and describe the crossing location.
4. Never go back for possessions.

Teach this before a student ever crosses a track on a lesson. It is a low-probability, high-consequence procedure of exactly the kind that must be rehearsed in advance.

Coaching at crossings

• Roll the window down and turn the audio off on approach where practical, so the student can hear.
• Teach the "never stop on the tracks" rule as a space-management rule: check that there is room for the whole vehicle on the far side before entering the crossing.
• Multiple tracks mean multiple trains. A passing train can mask a second one on the adjacent track.
• Cover the brake through every crossing.

[!WARNING] Exam traps in this section

• Stop within 50 feet but not less than 15 feet from the nearest rail.
• Overtaking a stopped bus from behind always requires a stop; the exceptions apply only when meeting one.
• Three or more marked lanes, or a divided highway with separate roadways, are the two meeting exceptions.
• Proceed only when the bus moves or the signals go off.
• Camera-detected stop-arm infractions are owner-liability, processed like parking infractions, and do not go on the driving record.
• Placarded and passenger-carrying vehicles must stop at every crossing unless one of the six exceptions applies.