Why do Buses Stop at Railroad Tracks?
Being a child once, ‘Stop, Look and Listen, is one of the many rules of thumb that we would often hear from many adults. If you have taken a bus to school, you would be sure to notice the same behavior from any bus driver upon coming across a railroad track. So why do buses stop at railroad tracks? For the most apparent reason, the answer to this question is for road safety. As you know, it takes over a little than 2 kilometers to come to a full stop even under full emergency breaking, therefore buses have to stop right before each railroad track and open the door and listen to make sure that there are not any trains in close proximity about to by. It’s a safety precaution that any bus driver, or anybody in a moving vehicle for that matter, should take.
For less obvious reasons, there is another explanation as to why buses stop before railroad tracks. It is because it is a convenient way for passengers to alight from a train and transfer to a bus to get to their destination and vice versa.
As part of the handful of safety protocols in crossing the tracks and regulations in train transportation, ministries of transportation all over the world have developed railway safety crossing protocols and regulations to prevent any uncalled for accidents from happening on railway crossing and also to make the lives of commuters more convenient. This includes putting bus stops near train tracks and stops and also coming up with safety tips like slowing down as you come to a closing and looking both ways before crossing the tracks, stopping 5 meters away from the nearest rail or gate, never racing a train to the crossing and a whole lot more.
All these safety precautionary measures are all for keeping motorists from crossing the tracks whenever a train in closely coming. So regardless of how simple these rules and regulations seem, they should be taken as a serious matter to make better the lives of commuters and motorists alike.
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