1. (1) A person commits the offense of improper movement of heavy equipment across a rail crossing if the person operates or moves any equipment described in this section upon or across any tracks at a railroad or rail fixed guideway public transportation system grade crossing without complying with any of the following:

   1. (a) Before moving across the tracks, the person must give notice of an intended crossing to a responsible officer of the railroad or rail fixed guideway public transportation system in time for protection to be given.
   2. (b) Where the railroad or rail fixed guideway public transportation system has provided a flagger, the person operating or moving such equipment shall obey the direction of the flagger.

   3. (c) The person operating or moving such equipment must do all of the following:

      1. (A) The person must stop before making the crossing at a clearly marked line or, if there is no clearly marked line, not less than 15 feet nor more than 50 feet from the nearest rail.
      2. (B) While so stopped, the person must look and listen in both directions along the tracks for approaching trains or other on-track equipment.
      3. (C) The person may not proceed across the tracks unless the crossing can be made safely.
2. (2) This section applies to the operation of movement across railroad or rail fixed guideway public transportation system tracks of any crawler-type tractor, steam shovel, derrick, roller or any equipment or structure having a normal operating speed of 10 miles per hour or less or a vertical body or load clearance of less than one-half inch per foot of the distance between any two adjacent axles or in any event of less than nine inches, measured above the level surface of a roadway.
3. (3) The offense described in this section, improper movement of heavy equipment across a rail crossing, is a Class B traffic violation.

[1983 c.338 §651; 1985 c.16 §319; 1995 c.383 §73; 1997 c.249 §233; 2001 c.522 §7; 2017 c.46 §8; 2017 c.176 §5]