You are approaching a railway level crossing fitted with full barriers, a steady amber light, and twin flashing red lights with an audible alarm. As you near the white stop line, the amber light is showing steadily and you have not yet reached the line. What must you do?
- Continue at normal speed, since the amber light at a level crossing only becomes significant once the barriers have started to lower
- Stop behind the white line, because the amber light is the first stage of the warning sequence and you have not yet crossed the line; only a driver who has already crossed the line when amber appears may keep going
- Sound your horn and cross quickly before the red lights begin flashing
- Reverse away from the crossing immediately, since amber at a level crossing always means a train is already on the crossing
Why B? And why not the others?
Correct answer: B. Stop behind the white line, because the amber light is the first stage of the warning sequence and you have not yet crossed the line; only a driver who has already crossed the line when amber appears may keep going
At a crossing controlled by lights and barriers, the sequence begins with a steady amber light, followed by twin flashing red lights and an audible alarm before the barriers lower, and the governing principle mirrors an ordinary traffic light's amber phase: a driver who has not yet reached the white stop line when amber appears must stop there, while only a driver already committed beyond the line may continue rather than stopping in a dangerous position on the crossing itself. Continuing at normal speed and treating amber as insignificant until the barriers move is wrong and dangerous, since the amber phase itself is the driver's first and clearest warning to stop if not already past the line. Sounding the horn and hurrying across is also wrong, since level crossings must never be rushed; once amber or the flashing red lights appear before the line has been crossed, the correct response is to stop, not accelerate through. Reversing onto or over a crossing is expressly prohibited regardless of the stage of the warning sequence, and amber does not itself confirm a train is already on the crossing, it is only the first warning stage, well before a train reaches the crossing point.
Source: The Highway Code, Rule 293 (level crossings, GOV.UK)