Which of these vehicles must always stop before crossing railroad tracks?
- Tank trucks with hazardous materials placards. ✓
- Motor homes or pickup trucks towing a boat trailer.
- Sport utility vehicles carrying four or more persons.
Answer: A. Tank trucks with hazardous materials placards.
Tank trucks with hazardous materials placards must always stop before crossing railroad tracks.
Why this is the answer
The handbook says vehicles with a diamond-shaped hazardous load sign must stop before crossing train tracks. It also tells drivers to watch for vehicles that must stop, and it lists buses, school buses, and vehicles marked with a hazardous materials placard among them. A tank truck carrying a hazardous materials placard fits that group, so it must stop before crossing the tracks. The other choices are not described as vehicles with that stopping requirement.
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. Motor homes or pickup trucks towing a boat trailer. — Motor homes and pickup trucks towing a boat trailer are not listed among the vehicles that must stop before crossing railroad tracks; the handbook names buses, school buses, and hazardous-placard vehicles.
- C. Sport utility vehicles carrying four or more persons. — Carrying four or more people in a sport utility vehicle does not make it one of the vehicles the handbook says must stop before crossing tracks; only the listed types have that rule.
Remember it
When you see the diamond-shaped hazardous load placard, expect that truck to stop at railroad crossings.