RaiRoad crossings discussion

[vince1612]

Hi everyone.

Local Champs recently agreed upon the following text for RailRoad crossings that are now possible to add in WME (L4+ feature):

[i]It is possible to add permanent alerts for level crossings as early as level 4 in WME. This functionality has been developed for many countries that do not always have automated safety systems.

As level crossings in Switzerland are, as far as we know, always clearly signposted, and most of the time have automatic gates and/or lights that are activated before a train passes, it was decided not to use this functionality in general, except in specific cases to be discussed.[/i]

Let’s discuss below about places where you think RRC’s can be useful.

[vince1612]

I’ve placed RRC’s in two locations in WME and I was able to test them today

Location 1:Here the crossing can stay closed a long time, so sometimes a long queue of cars can build up and since the road is in a curve (not a turn) people don’t usually slow down, despite the fact that there is no visibility of wether or not there is a queue of stopped cars ahead.
In my test today the RRC warning is given enough in advance to remind someone that there is a crossing ahead and that maybe they should slow down or be ready to stop just in case, it doesn’t distract the driver as it doesn’t warn too late or too close to the curve. I think it can potentially avoid people crashing in the rear of stopped cars.
N.B. I’ve placed the warning only on 1-side because the visibility is good from the other direction.

QUESTION: Do we create a general exceptions to use RRC for locations where the crossing is NOT visible in advance by coming trafic and can cause queues in curves or turns?

Location 2:At this location there is no visibility issue, I just tested the RRC because while it’s not obvious, the railroad created two bumps in the road. The limit is 50km/h but if you drive at that speed over it you can seriously damage your car while you’d not expect it because you cannot see the bump that the road makes until it’s too late.
Bumps are usually signaled by a triangle warning road sign with bumps in it, however that road signal is absent at this RRC, so people are not warned that they should slow down even if the barrier is open.

We already do not signal speed bumps so IMHO this is more an example that I tried but that could be dropped because RRC weren’t exactly made to notify of road bumps…