Why do trains sound their horns even at controlled crossings?

Question

I live in a small town where the train goes through the main intersection. There are barrier beams and signal lights and bells at this intersection, so no cars can get around when a train is coming. But the train still sounds the horn when it comes through. Is this neccesary? I can understand the need to do it at uncontrolled intersections.

And why are they SO loud, even when they've passed? The trains that come through our town still sound the horns after they have passed, and sound just as loud going as they do coming! Can they have "directional" horns where most of the sound is projected forwards?

Answer 1

All of the above are good answers, but I'll just add a couple of words since this is an extremely important safety issue.

Despite all the protection that can be provided, all the information disseminated through programs like "Operation Lifesaver", the death toll at public crossings at grade continues to rise. This is a fact I cannot understand, nor one that I cannot mention enough.

If one looks at "three chime" horns, one will note that one does point toward the rear. This done so the horn projects better to the rear when the engine is running backwards and, lesser known, so that when running in snowy conditions, one chime doesn't fill up with snow and continues to operate. Keep this in mind when near the tracks during snowy conditions, as the horn's volume is significantly impaired.

Grade crossing protection, even with battery back up, can and does fail to operate under certain conditions. Twice in my career I have operated trains over grade crossings where the protection was INOPERATIVE. THESE THINGS ARE NOT FAIL-SAFE!!!!
Granted, encountering one that isn't working properly has the same odds as of hitting the big lottery jackpot. But, every once in a while, someone hits that jackpot.

It is true that in most instances motorists do have the car windows up and the stereo playing. But pedestrians need warning as well, with curved track playing a large part in the mix.

Quiet zones are death and destruction waiting to happen. The town in which I live is trying to establish a quiet zone, and I am fighting it tooth and nail. In this instance, the area to be "silenced" has a high volume of foot traffic, as well as including a popular spot for people riding dirt bikes, ATV's, snow mobiles, etc. A train can be on top of you in nothing flat if not forewarned. It is time that the engine's horn buys for potential victims, and where life is on the line, time counts, even if measured in the thousandths of a second.

Finally, engineers are not fond of blowing the whistle. On many locomotives, we're sitting right under them. But ask one if he would rather kill someone or endure the whistle. To the last man, we would rather hear the horn.

It is in fact a law, as per the FRA, as well as being a part of the consolidated code of rules. If an engineer kills someone at a grade crossing and it can be proven that the horn was not sounded, the bell not ringing or the headlights or ditchlingts not turned on, then that engineer is subject to indictment on charges of manslaughter, at the worst, and criminal negligence at best.

Answer 2

Because it is the law and there are people that just don't care about the rails or the lights. They are always trying to beat the train.
I was coming up to a train crossing and the lights and bars started going down so I stopped and the next two cars behind me went around me because the train was going slow. To me it does not matter what speed the train is going if the signals go off stop and wait and live.
From what I have found out the trains have to honk the horns four times at every crossing, two long honks one short and another long.
If you are at a crossing listen to the horn and you should hear hoooooonk hoooooonk honk hoooooonk.
Thanks for reading.

Answer 3

It is a federal law that can only be exempted after a safety study has been done, to understand the frequency of trains, hours of operation, examine the safety barriers, lights, bells and signage which will warn the motorists who cross the tracks.

We had a situation in San Jose which delayed the opening of a new light rail extension by two months, during which the safety study was performed, public meetings held, and comments were taken.

Even so, with all the bells, whistles, lights and signs, there are still people who insist they can cross the tracks whenever they want to.

In a collision between a train and car, the train never loses.

Answer 4

Trains sound their horns {I still like to call them whistles} at every crossing due to FRA {Federal Railroad Administration} rules. Actually cars can go around the gates, { believe me, I've seen it happen} there are even cars that have gotten hit while doing so. The reason the horns are so loud is so that you can hear it coming, even if it's around a curve or obscured from your sight. I mean, if a train's haulin' a load of several thousand tons and goin' sixty miles an hour, it ain't gonna exactly stop on a dime, and that's bad if your caught in front of it. And no, trains CANNOT have "directional" horns, because they operate in both directions, they pull trains in both forward and backward "gears" {the engineer's seat swivels to allow this to happen}, and if you're goin' backwards, a forward facing horn isn't going to do a lot of good.

Answer 5

They do it for safety reasons. There could be a problem with the electronics that control the crossing. If it were malfunctioning, there would be no warning for cars crossing the tracks. It is self explanatory about the loudness of the train's horn. People have their stereos on in cars, they are on the phone, they are talking to passengers, etc. The horn has to be loud enough to alert everyone that it is coming through the crossing. If it were directional only to the front of the train, only people in front would hear it. The crossing is not directly in front of the train.

Answer 6

yeah, its the law. i used to live in San Marcos, TX. 23 trains go by out of the 24 hrs of the day. seriously.
"Locomotive engineers are required by state law to blow their horn as the train approaches a public road or street. The horn will be sounded from a point about ¼ mile from the crossing until the train enters the crossing. The horn is part of the overall safety system used at all crossings to alert highway users of the approach of the train. Keep in mind that environmental conditions such as fog, wind, snow and rain, as well as a curved track or noisy vehicle traffic near the crossing, can make it more difficult to hear the horn. Noise inside vehicles such as radios or passengers will also affect one’s ability to hear a horn, so these factors should be minimized when approaching a crossing. See also the answer above referring to quiet zones."

Answer 7

It's pretty much a final warning. Here in the big city, we have idiots that eve though they see the lights & the beams come down to block you, they will still try to get through if they thnk they can beat the train. Let me just tell you they don't beat the train. My co-worker & I were just discussing an incident yesterday where a young man went around the arms that come down & did not get thru before the train came, 2 of the 4 people in the car died instantly. People in big cities can get selfish & impatient, but they end up paying wtih their life sometimes.

Answer 8

The reason they sound at every crossing is because even at the so-called "controlled" crossings, sometimes people get in the way. Anyways, it's the law.

As for the loud "omni-directional" horns they have, they are the way they have made them for years, so I don't think they are in too much danger of being changed, no matter how much the rest of our ears happen to suffer for it. Take care, and have a great day!

Answer 9

first of all its not the law its set down in the rule book. the rule book is written by network rail if there is a bad incident the rules will be change .ie on entering a tunnel you was required to blow the horn on entering and leaving a tunnel the rule book now states if you can see through a tunnel you need not not sound the horn as i say its not the law.also there are whistle boads were the rule book requires the horn to be sounded hope this helps

Answer 10

First it is what the law requires them to do.
Secondly it is for the safety of those who drive over the tracks.
Lastly there are some people who think that they do not have to wait till the train passes and try to go around the barriers.