A. Except as set forth in Subsection D of this section, a driver of a vehicle carrying passengers for hire, a school bus carrying school children or a vehicle carrying hazardous materials, radioactive or explosive substances or flammable liquids as cargo or as part of its cargo, before entering a railroad-highway grade crossing, is required to stop no more than fifty feet and no less than fifteen feet from the nearest rail of the railroad.

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B. While stopped, the driver shall:

(1)     look and listen in both directions along the track for an approaching train and for signals indicating that a train is approaching;

(2)     determine it is safe to proceed completely through the railroad-highway grade crossing before entering it; and

(3)     set the vehicle in a gear sufficiently low that gears will not need to be shifted before exiting the railroad-highway grade crossing.

C. A driver shall not shift gears while in a railroad-highway grade crossing.

D. A driver of a vehicle carrying passengers for hire, a school bus carrying school children or a vehicle carrying hazardous materials, radioactive or explosive substances or flammable liquids as cargo or as part of its cargo is not required to stop at:

(1)     a railroad-highway grade crossing where a police officer directs traffic to proceed;

(2)     a railroad-highway grade crossing where a stop-and-go traffic light controls movement of traffic;

(3)     a railroad-highway grade crossing used exclusively for industrial switching purposes, within a business district as defined in Section 66-1-4.2 N.M. Stat. Ann.;

(4)     a railroad-highway grade crossing where use of the railroad has been abandoned and there is a sign indicating that the railroad has been abandoned; or

(5)     an industrial or spur line railroad-highway grade crossing marked with a sign reading “exempt crossing” that has been designated as exempt by appropriate state or local authorities.

E. Penalties for violation of this section are included in Section 66-8-116 N.M. Stat. Ann..