Phone before crossing sign: what it means
This blue sign at an automatic level crossing tells drivers of large or slow vehicles to phone and get permission before they cross.
What does the phone before crossing sign mean?
Know your traffic signs says that at automatic level crossings, drivers of large or slow vehicles must phone before and after crossing. The lower panel explains what counts as large or slow.
Rule 294 says a train could arrive before such a vehicle is clear, so you must obey the sign.
Quick quiz
What does the sign at the top of this page mean?
- A railway phone is here at the crossing.
- A railway crossing with gates or barriers is ahead.
- Large or slow vehicles must phone before crossing.
Show answer
C. Large or slow vehicles must phone before crossing. At automatic level crossings, drivers of large or slow vehicles must phone before and after crossing (Know your traffic signs). Source: Know your traffic signs: level crossing signs and signals, GOV.UK; The Highway Code, rule 294, GOV.UK; Traffic sign images, Department for Transport, GOV.UK
Where will you see it?
At automatic level crossings, beside the railway telephone.
What should you do?
If your vehicle is large or slow as the sign explains, stop, phone the signal operator and do what they say. Phone again once you are clear.
What do people get wrong?
Thinking it applies only to lorries. Slow vehicles, such as some farm vehicles, must phone too.
Common questions
Do car drivers have to phone?
Only if their vehicle counts as large or slow under the definitions on the sign, for example when towing something very long.
Why must they phone?
A large or slow vehicle takes longer to cross, so a train could arrive before it is clear (rule 294).
Compare with
Level crossing phone signA railway phone is here at the crossing.
Level crossing with barrier signA railway crossing with gates or barriers is ahead.
Want to test someone else? Play a road-sign quiz with friends and family.
Sources
Checked on 4 November 2026 against Know your traffic signs (level crossing signs and signals) and The Highway Code rule 294.
- Know your traffic signs: level crossing signs and signals, GOV.UK
- The Highway Code, rule 294, GOV.UK
- Traffic sign images, Department for Transport, GOV.UK
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Traffic sign images are Crown copyright, from the Department for Transport. Sources and image credits.