What 392.11 means in plain language
FMCSR 392.11 requires commercial truck drivers to reduce speed when approaching a railroad crossing. The regulation exists to prevent collisions with trains, which can be catastrophic at any speed given the mass and momentum involved.
When you receive a citation for 392.11, it means an inspector or law enforcement officer observed your vehicle approaching a railroad crossing without adequately slowing down. "Adequately" is determined by the conditions at that crossing—some are marked with advance warning signs, others are passive crossings with only a standard railroad crossing sign. The expectation is that you recognize the crossing and adjust your speed to a safe level before entering the intersection of the rails.
This is an unsafe driving violation, not a mechanical defect or hours-of-service issue. It reflects judgment and speed management in a specific high-risk scenario.
What our enforcement data actually shows
Across our 13 million+ inspection records, 392.11 has been cited only 26 times all-time, with 1 citation in the last 12 months and 0 citations in the last 90 days. This makes 392.11 ranked #1848 out of 3,036 FMCSR codes by citation volume—extremely rare in the enforcement landscape.
None of the 26 all-time citations resulted in an out-of-service placement. The OOS rate for 392.11 is 0.0%, compared to an all-FMCSR average of 31.4%. This low OOS rate reflects two realities: first, the violation is infrequently cited, and second, when it is cited, inspectors have not deemed the vehicle or driver condition severe enough to immediately remove the truck from service. The single citation in the last 12 months occurred in June 2025.
Who gets cited most
Our inspection records show citations for 392.11 are too sparse to identify geographic clustering. The 26 all-time citations are distributed across multiple carriers, each with one citation: Greenwood Motor Lines Inc, Old Dominion Freight Line Inc, Ziegler Inc, Smokey Point Distributing LLC, American Builders & Contractors Supply Co Inc, Iowa Motor Truck Transport Inc, N W White & Company, Ready Mix USA LLC, North Sky Communications LLC, and Tyson Foods Inc. The distribution suggests this violation occurs randomly across carrier types and regions rather than being concentrated in any particular fleet or state.
Vehicle makes cited include Kenworth and Peterbilt models, as well as various trailer configurations. No particular vehicle type dominates the citation history.
How severe is this compared to similar codes
392.11 sits in the Unsafe Driving category alongside codes that carry far higher enforcement volume. For example, 392.2 variants cover operating a CMV while ill or fatigued. The main 392.2 code alone has 1,208,164 citations all-time with a 0.8% OOS rate. Even the least-cited 392.2 variant (392.2-SLLTCD) has 85,391 citations.
The contrast is stark: 392.11 represents an extremely narrow, situation-specific violation—one inspector encounter at one railroad crossing. By comparison, fatigue and illness violations affect millions of driver-hours annually and reflect systemic risks. A 392.11 citation, while serious in intent, is statistically uncommon and has not resulted in any out-of-service actions in our database.
How to avoid it
Railroad crossing safety depends on awareness and intentional speed management:
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Recognize advance warning signs. Railroad advance warning signs (the yellow diamond with a red X) appear 500–1,000 feet before passive crossings and 750–1,500 feet before active crossings with gates or lights. Spot them early and begin reducing speed.
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Shift down before the crossing. Use engine braking or downshift to reduce speed smoothly and demonstrate control. This is particularly important for loaded trailers where air brakes alone may not provide the deceleration feel or feedback an inspector observes.
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Come to a complete stop if gates are down or lights are flashing. Federal law requires vehicles to stop if active warning devices are operating. Treat this as a hard stop, not a rolling slowdown.
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Maintain vigilance on unfamiliar routes. Passive crossings (no lights, no gates) are easy to miss. Slow to a safe speed well before any railroad tracks, even if no signs are visible.
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Conduct a pre-trip that includes route knowledge. If your load or route takes you through rural or industrial areas with rail infrastructure, confirm crossing locations and conditions before departure.
A 392.11 citation is rare in our data, but it reflects a serious safety principle: railroads are one of the few road hazards a truck cannot survive through speed management alone. Slowing down is the only control that works.