What do flashing red lights at railroad crossings mean?
All US states require that you stop prior to entering the
crossing, and a train is approaching the crossing. If there are
also crossing gates, you must not go through the crossing when the
gates are either being lowered or raised. If there are no gates,
you are allowed to proceed through the crossing after stopping only
after you have looked and determined no train is approaching and it
is safe to cross. If there are gates, you are not allowed to go
around the gates legally unless a railroad employee or a police
officer instructs you that it is safe to do so.