Hi Product Hunt 👋 We’re a small group of friends who finally stopped saying “later” and started building our own apps. Crossbuck is the first, because more than once one of us sat at a crossing with the gates down and a stopped train, with no idea whether to wait or turn around.

If you drive across freight tracks, you know the moment: the arms come down, the train stops, and you have to guess. Usually you find out too late, when you’re already in line.

Crossbuck tries to give you that heads-up earlier:

• Spoken warnings. Once it’s watching (tap Start watching before you drive, or let it start on its own), if the crossing you’re heading to may be blocked, Crossbuck says so out loud, even with Google Maps or Apple Maps on screen.
• Crossing history. Look up any US crossing; 21,000+ have a history of when they’re reported blocked most, from 160,000+ public reports people filed with the Federal Railroad Administration.
• The way around. The nearest bridge or underpass on the same line, with directions in your maps app.

A few principles: it’s free, there are no ads, there’s no sign-up, and your GPS trail stays on your phone. Crossbuck shares only the crossings you stop at or are warned about, and when. Never your route.

Honest limits: Crossbuck doesn’t track trains. Live warnings come from Crossbuck drivers stopped at a crossing, so they’re strongest where more people use it. The history works everywhere from day one. And it’s US-only for now, because the crossing data comes from US federal reports.

What’s next. Crossbuck gets better as more drivers join, so here’s what we’re working on:

• Quieter alerts. Choose when a saved crossing can notify you (the school run, the commute), and skip short closures.
• Report it in a minute. Open the FRA’s report form with the crossing already filled in, so your wait counts in the federal record.
• Your impact. See the minutes your waits saved other drivers, and get a thank-you after the drive.
• Cities, counties and neighborhoods. We’re reaching out to city and county offices and community groups in the places with the most blocked crossings, starting with Houston’s East End, so more of their neighbors hear about Crossbuck and live warnings get stronger where they’re needed most.

We’d love your help with two things:

Which crossing in your town is the worst? Look it up at crossbuck.app and tell us what you see.
What would make you keep this on during a daily commute?

Thanks for checking it out. We’ll be here all day answering questions.