What to do at level crossings
When you are learning to drive you may well not come across a level crossing, depending where you live. But as a driver you certainly will come across level crossings and will need to know how to proceed safely when you encounter one.
There are various methods in which level crossings are controlled. Often there will be gates or barriers there and a lot of them have lights, but there are some where you must make the decision yourself to cross or stop.
Often a warning sign with a train will be displayed in advance and that tells you the level crossing you are approaching does not have a barrier or gate. There will also be a sign telling you there are lights, if there are lights.
When you see the lights for the crossing, look to see if they are on. If the lights are off, this tells you that there is no train coming, but before crossing still check just in case the lights are broken.
You will notice there are two red lights at the top and an amber one underneath. A steady amber light means you should stop unless it is unsafe to do so - just light on a normal traffic light.
Flashing red lights indicate that it is not safe to cross as the train is coming and therefore you must stop. Note that if a train passes you but the lights stay flashing, don't get impatient - there must be another train coming. Often on a line, for whatever reason, trains going in different directions may arrive at roughly the same time followed by a large gap, so you should just be patient and wait.
Related Articles...
What to look for when you see a vehicle
Here is a simple check list of things to take into account when you check a used vehicle that you are considering purchasing.
Firstly, look at the engine carefully, and see if you think it has...
Oil in your car and oil pressure
Oil is not something that you might think is essential to the operation of a car, but infact it is. Oil acts as a lubricant for the moving parts such as the moving parts of the engine, and it is...
How to deal with bus lanes
If you see a bus lane then you will see a range of different attitudes from drivers. Mainly there will be frustration that they are stuck in a huge queue and there is a perfectly good lane that is...
The automatic transmission explained
Whilst the automatic transmission system is very clever, you still need to have some control over it, and this is where the selector lever comes into play, which is in the place that you would have...
Vehicles that cannot be used for a practical test
The vast majority of drivers will of course use the vehicle of their instructor or driving school when they take their practical test and so will not need to worry about the vehicle.
However...
Before Learning to Drive
The minimum age at which you are allowed to learn to drive a car on public roads is 17. As you probably know, you are not allowed to drive legally on your own until you pass your test. This means...
More on Motorway Driving
Signs that let you know there is a motorway ahead are rectangular, and they have a green background. This shows that they are information signs on a primary road.
The part with the reference...
Driving Theory Test
Until relatively recently in driving history, there was no theory test. From the time the first person passed a driving test in the UK in 1935 through to 1996, there was no separate theory test. ...
Your engine temperature gauge
These days many of us get into a car without really understanding how any of it works, and even the engine and how it operates and powers the car is a mystery to many.
Well, essentially it...
What to do if horses are on the road
It may sound quite rare, but actually on country journeys you will from time to time encounter horses and their riders using the road. And you may also come across other animals too.
When you...
Back to home page of driving theory test questions
