Why do school busses stop at train tracks

 Added on June 16, 2021  Morgan Pritchett  school bus history , school buses

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If you’ve ever ridden on or driven behind a school bus, you might have noticed that these yellow behemoths always stop at railroad tracks, regardless of whether there is an oncoming train. The driver stops, opens the window and the door, and listens before heading along. But have you ever wondered why?

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To some, the practice might seem like a waste of time, or at least like an overly cautious safety measure. But like many traffic laws, it was a tragedy that led to this one. To understand why school buses stop at railroad tracks, we need to go back to Sandy, Utah, on Dec. 1, 1938, when the worst school bus accident in U.S. history occurred.

The tragedy that led to the rule

A snowstorm had been raging in Sandy, where bus driver Farrold “Slim” Silcox was taking a group of 39 students to Jordan High School. When he arrived at a railroad crossing at 300 West and slightly north of 10600 South (which doesn’t exist anymore), he stopped to look for a train by looking through the windows. The law at the time only required bus drivers to stop and look, but it didn’t require them to open the door to listen for oncoming trains.

As Silcox began to cross the tracks, a train slammed into the bus. “The Flying Ute” had been heading north from Denver, running an hour late because of the blizzard. It collided with the school bus at 60 mph, dragging it for nearly half a mile before it could stop. Slim Silcox and 23 students died.

Results from the updated law

Since then, the law has required school bus drivers to not only stop at all railroad crossings, but also to open their door and side window to listen before proceeding. Even on sunny days where drivers can see clearly both ways for hundreds of feet, they are still required to stop, open, and listen. While there have been occasional accidents involving buses and trains in recent history, none have been as horrible as the Sandy, Utah, tragedy thanks to the updated law, which varies by state.

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Morgan has lived all over the USA and in Europe. Now residing just outside of Philly, Morgan often spends time at local sporting events, testing the limits of her caffeine tolerance levels, and playing board games with their wife. See more articles by Morgan.

Many of us grew up taking yellow buses to school. Depending on where you lived, you may have noticed train tracks on your commute. Oftentimes, the school buses would stop completely and even open their doors, regardless of whether a train was coming.

But why do drivers do that? Is there a law in place that makes stopping at train tracks a requirement for school buses?

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According to Mathew Cruz, a school bus driver in New York State, stopping at railroad tracks is mandated by the state's Department of Transportation. He explained to Distractify that drivers are required to stop their buses completely, about 50 feet away from the tracks.

Source: Getty Images

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After they stop, drivers are required to put their bus in park or to shift into neutral, depending on the vehicle.

Plus, bus drivers must open their window, the passenger-side door, and quiet things down inside of the bus (like the radio, AC and heater units, and kids) in order to hear whether a train is headed in their direction. All of this is required so they can stop safely and in accordance with the law.

Although this is the process mandated by New York State, the Head Start Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC) has recommended similar procedures for school buses on a national level. Each year, ECLKC writes, about 4,000 collisions happen between vehicles and trains. As a result, the center recommends that bus drivers follow a number of steps to ensure they are vigilant of their surroundings.

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"Use school bus hazard warning lamps, and tap the brakes to communicate to traffic that the bus is about to stop," ECLKC writes. "Take these actions far enough in advance to avoid startling motorists behind the bus, which could cause panic stops or rear-end collisions." ECLKC recommends taking these preventative measures regardless of whether there are passengers or kids aboard the bus.

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ECLKC notes that their recommendations, which "must be considered within the context of individual state laws and regulation," are in place to keep everyone on the buses — and on the roads, more generally — safe. Since school buses are primarily for children, other laws exist for regular drivers when they share the road with a school bus.

For example, stopping behind a school bus when it's displaying its stop sign, and stopping whenever a bus is picking up or dropping off children are just two rules other drivers need to follow when sharing the road with these large vehicles. Failure to do so can result in drivers facing fines of up to $1,000, and even months in jail.

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