AARoads Forum

Regional Boards => Southeast => Topic started by: Brian556 on February 15, 2012, 12:11:45 AM

Title: Mississippi Railroad Crossing STOP Law?
Post by: Brian556 on February 15, 2012, 12:11:45 AM
Does or did Miss. actually have a law requiring all vehicles to stop at railroad crossings?
What is the story behind this "STOP STATE LAW" sign?
West Point, Miss. 1977
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.railpictures.net%2Fimages%2Fd1%2F8%2F6%2F4%2F1864.1306673472.jpg&hash=79f47a77fb2b0f84ea76ba077b328a629f08eb2c)
Title: Re: Mississippi Railroad Crossing STOP Law?
Post by: NE2 on February 15, 2012, 12:51:26 AM
There's still at least one in the wild: http://www.flickr.com/photos/boysquadxyz/6290798936/
Title: Re: Mississippi Railroad Crossing STOP Law?
Post by: froggie on February 15, 2012, 10:27:19 AM
Brian:  not to my knowledge.  State law dating back to 1938 (http://www.mscode.com/free/archives/2003/63/003/1009.htm) allows the highway commission to erect stop signs at railroad crossings.  Though it's a very strange version in this photo, that's basically what this is.
Title: Re: Mississippi Railroad Crossing STOP Law?
Post by: DeaconG on February 15, 2012, 03:14:02 PM
That picture had me thrown when I first saw it..."does that mean that ALL traffic has to stop at a railroad intersection INCLUDING THE TRAIN?" :-D :pan: :spin:
Title: Re: Mississippi Railroad Crossing STOP Law?
Post by: cbalducc on February 16, 2012, 04:32:58 PM
I remember seeing those signs back in the 1970s when I was a wee lad in the Magnolia State. :nod:
I think they were likely to be found where gravel roads crossed railroads.  Sometimes they may have been alone without the crossbuck shown in the photo.
I think there is one still in this county, although covered in black paint at a railroad crossing where the track is in place but hasn't been used in years.
Title: Re: Mississippi Railroad Crossing STOP Law?
Post by: agentsteel53 on February 16, 2012, 05:10:24 PM
Quote from: NE2 on February 15, 2012, 12:51:26 AM
There's still at least one in the wild: http://www.flickr.com/photos/boysquadxyz/6290798936/
neato!

I know of one in Alabama with similar intent.  standard yellow octagon that says "ALABAMA/STOP/LAW".
Title: Re: Mississippi Railroad Crossing STOP Law?
Post by: ClarkE on February 27, 2012, 04:15:54 AM
Quote from: DeaconG on February 15, 2012, 03:14:02 PM
That picture had me thrown when I first saw it..."does that mean that ALL traffic has to stop at a railroad intersection INCLUDING THE TRAIN?" :-D :pan: :spin:

Reminds me of the Kentucky law that says no vehicle can cut through a passing funeral procession, but then makes a specific exception that says the law doesn't apply if the vehicle is a locomotive!
Title: Re: Mississippi Railroad Crossing STOP Law?
Post by: cjk374 on September 19, 2012, 11:14:37 PM
I actually read the MUTCD concerning this topic.  Many new crossbuck installations in Louisiana have YIELD signs posted below the crossbucks instead of STOP signs.  The MUTCD states that the reason for YIELD instead of STOP signs is to not diminish the importance of STOP signs.  However, a STOP sign can be installed if sight distance of a train is limited (curves, adjacent tracks with other rail activity, etc.)
Title: Re: Mississippi Railroad Crossing STOP Law?
Post by: msubulldog on September 20, 2012, 12:26:10 AM
I may have noticed a couple in 1975 when my family was driving west on US 90 between Pascagoula and Gulfport, on our way to San Antonio.
Title: Re: Mississippi Railroad Crossing STOP Law?
Post by: The High Plains Traveler on September 24, 2012, 10:13:34 PM
Quote from: Brian556 on February 15, 2012, 12:11:45 AM
Does or did Miss. actually have a law requiring all vehicles to stop at railroad crossings?
What is the story behind this "STOP STATE LAW" sign?
West Point, Miss. 1977

My first trip through the southeast in 1976 took me through Mississippi. They had this sign even at crossings that had crossing signals. Nobody else stopped, so I didn't. That, and other Mississippi signage practices, had me convinced I had regressed 30 years (in which case I wouldn't have been born yet).