A public crossing must not be blocked for longer than how many minutes?

• A. 5 minutes
• B. 10 minutes
• C. 15 minutes
• D. 20 minutes

Answer: (B)

Roadway safety and traffic flow set the rule: a public crossing should not be blocked for more than ten minutes. This limit provides a practical window for a train to clear the crossing while preventing road users from being trapped for too long, which could create dangerous situations or block emergency access. If a crossing might exceed that window, the crew should coordinate with the dispatcher to minimize the hold time and, where possible, protect the crossing while arranging traffic control or alternate routing. The other time options would either be too short to realistically accommodate a typical train movement or would cause unnecessary and unsafe delays for road traffic.