A railroad crossing light detector system is disclosed. The system includes determining a first signal indicative of the amount of light emitted from an illuminated railroad crossing light source and determining a second signal indicative of the orientation of the crossing light. The first and second signals are transmitted to a signal determination module that compares the first and second signals to predetermined stored values. The compared signals are then provided to a railroad crossing controller for relaying to a central/remote monitoring location. In the event that at least one of the signals is out of range relative to the stored value, then an inspection request signal together with information on the location of the crossing light is provided to the central monitoring location. In this manner, the number of in-person inspections to the crossing light may be significantly reduced.