Driver's License Test Prep
US Road Signs Regulatory Signs

You are following a light rail vehicle on a shared street and see this R15-5a sign as the train stops at a station. What does it require of you?

Vertical white rectangle with the words DO NOT PASS STOPPED TRAIN stacked in four lines of large black letters.
  1. A.
    Pass on the left once the opposing track looks clear of trains.
  2. B.
    Wait behind the stopped train until it moves and passengers finish crossing. Correct
  3. C.
    Sound the horn and pass slowly once riders have boarded the train.
  4. D.
    Go around the train as you would any stalled vehicle blocking the lane.
The Why

The answer is "Wait behind the stopped train until it moves and passengers finish crossing."

The R15-5a marker forbids overtaking a light rail or transit train stopped at a station while passengers are loading, unloading, or crossing the roadway, so you hold position until the train pulls away and riders have cleared the street. Drivers who fall back on the everyday reflex of easing around a stalled vehicle in the lane are the ones who steer past a halted transit train and cross straight through the boarding zone.

Why the others miss

The traps in the wrong answers

A. Pass on the left once the opposing track looks clear of trains.

The sign prohibits overtaking a stopped transit train regardless of what the other track looks like at the moment. Borrows the two-lane passing check where a clear opposing lane means it is safe to overtake, and applies it to a rail corridor where the sign gives no such permission.

C. Sound the horn and pass slowly once riders have boarded the train.

Boarding finishing is not what releases you; the train itself has to move before you may proceed past it. Carries over the school bus routine where drivers may proceed once loading finishes and the stop arm retracts, treating boarding as the trigger to move.

D. Go around the train as you would any stalled vehicle blocking the lane.

A transit train halted at a station is not a disabled car, and steering around it puts you into the path of boarding riders or an oncoming train. Falls back on the everyday reflex of easing around a broken-down vehicle blocking the lane ahead, ignoring that a station stop is a scheduled halt with pedestrians in the roadway.

The Rule

This question tests your knowledge of Regulatory Signs on the roads of every US state . Source: Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, sign R15-5a (Do Not Pass Stopped Train)..

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