European Railroad Discussion > Horn blowing

I'm from Maryland, USA. I've been watching lots of cab ride videos on You Tube from all around the world. One thing that is very conspicuous is that the train driver rarely blows the horn at a grade crossing, gated or not. Many of these trains are going well over 100 MPH. Why do they not blow the horn? Thanks.

Guitartrain Wrote:
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> I'm from Maryland, USA. I've been watching lots of
> cab ride videos on You Tube from all around the
> world. One thing that is very conspicuous is that
> the train driver rarely blows the horn at a grade
> crossing, gated or not. Many of these trains are
> going well over 100 MPH. Why do they not blow the
> horn? Thanks.

Not required by their rules. The North American practice of blowing the horn all of the time is the exception, not the rule.

All road crossings in the UK have barriers with lights and sounds... so no need for the train to blow the horn. Foot crossings (where a footpath crosses the track) are different, so a 'W' sign tells the train driver (engineer) to blow the horn. 
There are farm crossings that are gated but not barriered - here the farmer is told to phone the signaller prior to crossing with any slow vehicles.