You wait in a line of traffic before a railroad crossing. The crossing lights are dark and the gates are up. Just past the tracks, a traffic light turns green. The car ahead moves forward, then stops with its rear bumper about 6 feet past the far rail. Your car is about 15 feet long. What should you do?

Correct answer: Wait before the tracks, even on green, until your whole car fits past the rails.

Why

Pennsylvania law (75 Pa.C.S. 3710) forbids driving onto a railroad crossing without enough space past it for your vehicle, even when a signal tells you to go, and section 3353 forbids stopping on the tracks. A traffic light close to the tracks often makes a line of cars stop across a crossing, so judge the space past the rails before you move. Most crossings have no gates, so apply the same rule at a crossing with only a crossbuck.

Verified against Pennsylvania Driver's Manual · Railroad Crossings · p. 59, 13