A. The driver of any motor vehicle designed to carry ten (10) or more passengers, or of any school bus carrying any school child, or of any vehicle carrying explosives or hazardous materials as a cargo or part of a cargo, or of any vehicle designed to carry flammable liquids, whether empty or loaded, before crossing any track or tracks of a railroad, shall stop the vehicle within fifty feet (50') but not less than fifteen feet (15') from the nearest rail of the railroad and while so stopped, shall listen and look in both directions along the track for any approaching train and for signals indicating the approach of a train, except as provided in subsections B through E of this section inclusive, and shall not proceed until the driver can do so safely.
B. After stopping as required in this section and upon proceeding when it is safe to do so, the driver of any vehicle described in subsection A of this section shall accelerate so that the vehicle or the driver does not shift gears while crossing the track or tracks.
C. No stop need be made at any railroad crossing where a police officer or a traffic-control signal directs traffic to proceed.
D. When stopping as required at a railroad crossing, the driver shall keep as far to the right of the roadway as possible and shall not form two (2) lanes of traffic unless the street or roadway is marked for four (4) or more lanes of traffic.
E. The stopping requirements set forth in subsections A and B of this section shall not apply where it has been determined by this City or the State that trains are not operating during certain periods or seasons of the year and an official sign carrying the legend "Exempt Crossing" has been erected giving notice when posted that the crossing is exempt from the stopping requirement. (1968 Code §6-4-3; Ord. 75-86; Ord. 01-42)