You are already on the tracks when the railroad warning lights begin to flash. What should you do?
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A.
Turn off the engine and step out of the vehicle.
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B.
Stop where you are and wait for the train.
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C.
Keep moving forward and clear the crossing. Correct
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D.
Reverse quickly to back off the tracks.
The answer is "Keep moving forward and clear the crossing."
If you are already on the tracks when the warning lights start flashing, the manual says to keep moving forward and clear the crossing. Option B is the trap: stopping is a driver's default response to a flashing red, but on the rails it puts the car directly in a train's path.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Turn off the engine and step out of the vehicle.
The manual tells you to clear the crossing, not to leave the car on it. This answer abandons the vehicle in a panic response instead of clearing the tracks as directed.
B. Stop where you are and wait for the train.
Stopping on the tracks leaves the car in the train's path. This answer applies a stop-at-flashing-red habit at the one spot where stopping is worst.
D. Reverse quickly to back off the tracks.
The manual explicitly says do not back up; keep moving forward. This answer reverses the manual's forward-only instruction on the guess that retreat is safer.
This question tests your knowledge of Warning Signs in North Carolina. Source: North Carolina Driver Handbook, "Railroad Crossing Safety," p.61..
Related North Carolina questions
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