A railroad crossing has a crossbuck sign but no lights and no gates. Who yields at that crossing?
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A.
Vehicles always yield to a train Correct
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B.
The train yields to road traffic
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C.
The first to arrive at the crossing goes first
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D.
Only if the driver can hear or see the approaching train
The answer is "Vehicles always yield to a train"
A vehicle always yields to a train at a crossbuck, even without lights or gates. Option D is the trap for drivers who treat listening and looking as the condition; the manual makes the yield unconditional, because a train needs far more distance to stop than a driver can judge by ear.
The traps in the wrong answers
B. The train yields to road traffic
A train cannot stop quickly; the manual assigns the yield to the driver, not the train. This answer reverses the yield direction, treating the road as the through movement rather than the train.
C. The first to arrive at the crossing goes first
Arrival order does not decide a rail crossing; the vehicle yields regardless. This answer applies the four-way-stop tiebreaker to a rail crossing, where the manual leaves no room for a tiebreaker.
D. Only if the driver can hear or see the approaching train
The manual makes the yield to a train unconditional at a crossbuck; sight or hearing is not the condition. This answer reads the crossbuck as a look-and-listen sign, when the rail crossing rule leaves the driver no discretion at all.
This question tests your knowledge of Right of Way in North Carolina. Source: North Carolina Driver Handbook, "Chapter 4 - Your Driving, Railroad Crossing Safety," p.61..
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