Your car stalls on the railroad tracks with no train approaching, and it won't restart. What does the manual tell you to try first?
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A.
Wave your arms toward any oncoming train from the driver's seat
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B.
Shift to a lower gear and try to bump-start the engine
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C.
Get out and try to push the car off the tracks Correct
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D.
Set the parking brake and stay inside while calling for help
The answer is "Get out and try to push the car off the tracks"
When your car stalls on the tracks and no train is approaching, the manual says to get out and try to push it off. If a train is approaching, the rule flips: leave the vehicle and move away from the tracks. Option D is the trap for drivers whose crash instinct is to shelter in the car and dial for help; the manual treats the car itself as the object to clear off the tracks, not a shelter to wait inside.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Wave your arms toward any oncoming train from the driver's seat
Signaling from the seat does not move the car off the tracks, which is the manual's step; and if a train did come, the manual says leave the vehicle and move away rather than signal from it. Assumes an oncoming train can slow for a distress signal at a crossing, when the manual states trains do not and cannot stop at crossings.
B. Shift to a lower gear and try to bump-start the engine
A stalled car on level tracks has no rolling momentum for a bump-start, and the manual's step is out of the car, not another attempt to run it. Carries the manual-transmission push-start trick over from a hill or shoulder onto the tracks, treating a stall there as a driveway breakdown rather than a hazard requiring immediate exit.
D. Set the parking brake and stay inside while calling for help
Staying in the car leaves you in the collision path when the manual's step is to get out and push it off the tracks. Treats the stalled vehicle as roadside shelter and borrows the general breakdown habit of staying visible to responders, when the manual treats the car itself as the hazard that must be moved off the tracks.
This question tests your knowledge of Emergencies in Texas. Source: Texas Driver Manual, "Additional Safe Driving Procedures at Railroad Crossings," p.22..
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