United States Permit Test Coach
Railroad crossingsQuestion 204 of 223
Red and white striped arm lying across a road, with a signal post that has a lit red lamp beside it

A gate arm at a railroad crossing is down. When does it go up again?

  1. After one minute has passed
  2. After the front of the train passes the road
  3. After the rail traffic has completely cleared the crossing
  4. After the first car waits ten seconds
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Correct answer: After the rail traffic has completely cleared the crossing

A gate arm stays down until the rail traffic has completely cleared the crossing. Wait until it goes up and the lights stop.

Source: Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways (MUTCD), 11th Edition with Revision 1 (FHWA, December 2025), Section 8D.03 Automatic Gates, page 1060

Practice railroad crossings

Questions last reviewed: 18 October 2026