You're stopped at a railroad crossing in Oregon and the gate has just started to lower. What may you do?
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A.
Drive around it quickly before it fully lowers.
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B.
Wait until the gate is fully up and the lights stop flashing. Correct
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C.
Drive under the gate if your vehicle clears.
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D.
Proceed across the tracks if you do not see a train approaching.
The answer is "Wait until the gate is fully up and the lights stop flashing."
It is against the law to drive around or under a crossing gate, whether the gate is down, being lowered, or being raised. The gate is operating because a train is approaching or has just passed, and trying to beat it is one of the most common ways drivers are killed at crossings. Wait until the gate is fully up and the lights have stopped flashing. Activated flashing red lights themselves require you to stop, even if you cannot yet see the train.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Drive around it quickly before it fully lowers.
Driving around a lowering gate is explicitly illegal under Oregon law. Misreading: Treats a lowering gate as still passable; the manual bars going around a gate while it is being lowered.
C. Drive under the gate if your vehicle clears.
Driving under a lowered or lowering gate is illegal regardless of vehicle height. Misreading: Reads the prohibition as a clearance rule; the manual bars driving under a crossing gate regardless of vehicle height.
D. Proceed across the tracks if you do not see a train approaching.
The flashing red lights and lowering gate require you to stop even if no train is yet visible. Misreading: Treats visual confirmation of a train as the trigger to stop; the manual requires stopping whenever flashing red lights are activated, regardless of whether a train is in sight.
This question tests your knowledge of Sharing the Road in Oregon. Source: Oregon Driver Manual, "Railroad Crossings," p.64..
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