Railway Crossings
Always full stop, look both ways, no gear shifting on crossing
A flashing red light at a railroad crossing means a train is approaching and you must not enter the crossing.
🚂 Railway Crossings Cheat Sheet
Key facts from this topic. Print this page for quick offline reference.
TRUE: In Japan, you must always come to a complete stop before a railroad crossing, even when the barriers are up and no train is approaching.
Japan requires a FULL STOP at ALL railroad crossings, regardless of whether barriers are up, lights are flashing, or a train is visible.
TRUE: After stopping at a railroad crossing, you must check both left and right for approaching trains before proceeding.
After coming to a complete stop, you must look both left and right to confirm no train is approaching.
TRUE: You should not shift gears while crossing railroad tracks.
You should not change gears while crossing railroad tracks.
TRUE: Railroad crossings have emergency buttons that can be pressed to alert approaching trains to stop.
Many railroad crossings in Japan have emergency buttons (marked in red) that send a signal to approaching trains when pressed.
TRUE: Before crossing railroad tracks, you should ensure there is enough space on the other side for your entire vehicle.
Before crossing railroad tracks, confirm there is enough space on the far side for your entire vehicle.
TRUE: If a railroad crossing has no barriers or warning lights, you still must stop before crossing.
The requirement to stop at railroad crossings applies to ALL crossings in Japan, including those without barriers, warning lights, or any warning devices.
TRUE: When stopped at a railroad crossing, you should stop on the stop line or, if there is no line, before the nearest rail.
Stop at the stop line painted on the road.
TRUE: At a railroad crossing with multiple tracks, you should stop only once before the first track.
At a multi-track crossing, you stop once before the first track, verify safety, then cross all tracks without stopping in between.
TRUE: A flashing red light at a railroad crossing means a train is approaching and you must not enter the crossing.
Flashing red lights at a railroad crossing indicate a train is approaching.
TRUE: Manual transmission vehicles should cross railroad tracks in a low gear to avoid stalling.
Manual transmission vehicles should select a low gear (first or second) before crossing railroad tracks to provide enough power and reduce the risk of stalling.
FALSE: You only need to stop at a railroad crossing when the warning lights are flashing or the barriers are down.
In Japan, you must ALWAYS stop at railroad crossings, not just when warnings are active.
FALSE: If your vehicle stalls on railroad tracks, you should try to restart the engine multiple times before taking any other action.
If your vehicle stalls on tracks, you should immediately: 1) Try to push the vehicle off the tracks, 2) Use the emergency button at the crossing to alert trains, 3) Move away from the vehicle.
FALSE: If the crossing barriers start to come down while you are on the tracks, you should stop and wait for them to go back up.
If barriers start descending while you are on the tracks, you must proceed forward immediately and clear the crossing.
FALSE: A bus must stop at railroad crossings, but cars do not need to stop in Japan.
ALL motor vehicles must stop at railroad crossings in Japan, not just buses.
FALSE: You may follow closely behind the vehicle in front when crossing railroad tracks.
You should maintain a safe following distance when crossing railroad tracks.