Cite as: 529 U. S. 344 (2000)
Opinion of the Court
more or different crossing devices were necessary at a federally funded crossing is therefore preempted." Id., at 24.
Thus, Easterwood adopted the FHWA's own understanding of the application of §§ 646.214(b)(3) and (4), a regulation that the agency had been administering for 17 years.
Respondent and the Government now argue that §§ 646.214(b)(3) and (4) are more limited in scope and only apply where the warning devices have been selected based on diagnostic studies and particularized analyses of the conditions at the crossing. See Brief for Respondent 16, 24; Brief for United States as Amicus Curiae 22 (hereinafter Brief for United States). They contend that the Crossings Program actually comprises two distinct programs—the "minimum protection" program and the "priority" or "hazard" program. See Brief for Respondent 1-7; Brief for United States 15-21. Under the "minimum protection" program, they argue, States obtain federal funds merely to equip crossings with advance warning signs and reflectorized crossbucks, the bare minimum required by the MUTCD, without any judgment as to whether the signs are adequate. See Brief for Respondent 5-7, 30-36; Brief for United States 15-21. Under the "priority" or "hazard" program, in contrast, diagnostic teams conduct individualized assessments of particular crossings, and state or FHWA officials make specific judgments about the adequacy of the warning devices using the criteria set out in § 646.214(b)(3). See Brief for Respondent 5-7, 34-35; Brief for United States 18-21. They therefore contend that (b)(3) and (4) only apply to devices installed under the "priority" or "hazard" program, when a diagnostic team has actually applied the decisional process mandated by (b)(3). See Brief for Respondent 16; Brief for United States 18-25. Only then has the regulation prescribed a federal standard for the adequacy of the warning devices that displaces state law covering the same subject.
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