Was told today in class that

I would say that only if there is a train coming and you have no choice but to get off of the track or get hit. This would be an emergency situation.

 

Umm I've never seen this in a reg anywhere so I'd have to say False.

If it we're me in the truck I'd be laying on the horn till they moved there butt out the way. But I think that trying to push a car out the way with a truck would be a quick way out of trucking!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7G5aXTYn7I

American Trucker

 

I would stop short of the tracks / gate if you are worried about getting caught at the light. You shouldn't be past the gate if you can fit anyways. I've never heard of the nudging of other cars. There's no law about stopping on tracks. A lot of cities will have a sign posted that reads " Don't stop on tracks", I'm not sure if that's a violation or not.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgGrL3n_Z80

 

Don't believe it when someone says there is a law or regulation saying XYZ until they tell you exactly which law or reg says XYZ and you have read the law or reg and you see it really says XYZ. This industry is lousy with all of the people elevating their personal preference, habit, company policy, or good idea to the rank of law or regulation.

Before you turn off your computer go and bookmark the FMCSA regs for trucking and then use some time to learn how to search them. Your instructor isn't likely a lawyer and his opinion is not going to get you out of trouble, even when he might be right. The regulations are the easiest thing in the world to locate, pretty easy to search, and they are the yardstick by which you will be measured. Don't assume anyone older or more experienced than you is a substitute for the regs. In my experience 90% of old-timers telling you about the regs just have a longer history than the newbies when it comes to guessing or making things up to win an argument.

I'll assure you the federal regs don't give you permission to push cars out of the way to avoid a train. The judge may eventually rule in your favor but the regulations will not be that specific.

Also, if someone tells you a cop ordered them to run over a car for some reason you might call "bovine scatalolgy." That's another old-wives-tale of the industry.

 

Those are all gonna be decisions you make when you get behind the wheel. There are no hard fast rules about shifting in a turn or over tracks. I've never heard of anyone getting let go for shifting in a turn or over tracks. Those are just scare stories super truckers like to lay on new jacks.

As for the train questions. If you get caught behind a car who stopped short of the light and that leaves you on the tracks, just wait it out. There is no need to blow the horn unless the train is coming. Usually the gates and light are all timed together. The train comes, the gates go down and your light will be green to clear the traffic for the train. i'm sure there are guys on here that run through a certain RR track on Route 1 in Bum F--k Egypt everyday and there are no gates / lights. In the big city metro, trolley and subways thats how they work.

 

I think if you nudge some one, that some one will call the police and get you pulled over. Not only that, it will probably cause the police to go at you in the worst way.

If the light has stopped and it looks like you could fit while your safely on the other side? Stay where you are and dont be the ninny in the above video.

 

This is from the FMCSA web site:
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/documents/outreach/railcrossing/CDL-Manual-RRX-pages.pdf
Section 2.15.5
Never permit traffic conditions to trap you in a position where you have to stop on the tracks. Be sure you can get all the way across the tracks before you start across. It takes a typical tractortrailer unit at least 14 seconds to clear a single track and more than 15 seconds to clear a double track.​

Do not shift gears while crossing railroad tracks.

-SgailDreugan

 

Originally Posted by jron619
... There's no law about stopping on tracks. A lot of cities will have a sign posted that reads " Don't stop on tracks", I'm not sure if that's a violation or not

If you are dumb enough to believe the OP on that statement, then go in your truck and stop on the tracks in front of LE and see if you don't get a ticket. Not only will you get a ticket, you will get your CDL suspended for 90 days by the MVD and if the company you work for has a Zero Tolerance Policy on those type of violations you will find yourself out of a job as well.

It happened it to a Company Driver at the company I am contracted to and she is looking for a job now, and she was not a Newbie driver either. She had about five years under her belt.