Railroad crossing rules — West Virginia Permit Test
Railroad crossing rules on the West Virginia permit test — 5 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.
The rules
Where a stop is required at a railroad crossing, a driver stops within 50 feet but not less than 15 feet from the nearest rail.
Closer than fifteen feet is inside the overhang of the train; further than fifty and the driver cannot see down the track.
A driver must yield to all trains, and failing to stop when the lights are flashing or a barrier is down brings a citation.
A train can neither steer around a car nor stop in the distance a driver leaves it, so the crossing is where the conflict has to be settled.
A driver should not enter a railroad crossing until the vehicle ahead has moved far enough forward to leave room to clear the tracks.
A driver trapped on the rails by the vehicle ahead has nowhere left to go.
Where a crossing has two or more tracks, a driver must watch for a second train on the other set of tracks.
The first train hides the second, and it clears the crossing just as a driver decides to move.
If a vehicle stalls on railroad tracks, everybody should get out and move to a safe place away from the crossing.
A car can be replaced, and a driver who stays to restart it usually runs out of time.
On the test
Where must a driver stop at a railroad crossing when a stop is required?
Within 50 feet but not less than 15. Closer than fifteen feet is inside the overhang of the train; further than fifty and the driver cannot see down the track.
How this works
Most practice tests hand you a bank of questions and leave the manual somewhere else. This one puts them together.
You read one law and the reason behind it, then answer a question on that law while it is still fresh. Get it right and you move on; get it wrong and you have found the gap while it is cheap to fix, not on the morning of the exam.
Learning one rule at a time, and proving it immediately, is what turns a manual you skimmed into something you actually know — and it makes studying feel like getting somewhere rather than like waiting to find out.
All West Virginia permit topics
Where these come from
Every rule here is checked against West Virginia Driver’s Licensing Handbook, published by the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-01.
- https://dmv.wv.gov/driver-services/drivers/drivers-licensing-handbooks
- https://webapps.transportation.wv.gov/TWS/DMV/Drivers_Licensing_Handbook.pdf
- https://dmv.wv.gov/graduated-drivers-licensing-gdl
- https://dmv.wv.gov/driver-services/drivers/sample-drivers-test
- https://code.wvlegislature.gov/17C-5-2/
- https://code.wvlegislature.gov/17C-6-1/
- https://code.wvlegislature.gov/17C-8-8/
- https://code.wvlegislature.gov/17C-12-2/
- https://code.wvlegislature.gov/17C-12-7/
- https://code.wvlegislature.gov/17C-13-3/
- https://code.wvlegislature.gov/17C-13-4/
- https://code.wvlegislature.gov/17C-14-9a/
- https://code.wvlegislature.gov/17C-14-15/
- https://code.wvlegislature.gov/17C-15-2/
- https://code.wvlegislature.gov/17C-15-46/
- https://code.wvlegislature.gov/17C-15-49/
- https://code.wvlegislature.gov/17B-2-3a/
- https://code.wvlegislature.gov/17C-4-6/