No of course I'm not condoning. I said it was a "big mistake" entering the crossing without being able to get out. Although to be fair, her car was under the crossing arm when it came down. Whether staying put would have saved those who perished or avoided a collision altogether I do not know--but this driver ended up driving 15 feet forward into the crossing AFTER getting out of her car to try to fool with the crossing arm.

As you point out, even firefighters who should absolutely be trained in how to deal with rail crossings did something that nearly led to a disaster. Lucky you reacted quickly and slowed the train.

I read that if you do get stuck in a crossing you should just drive through the gates, they will break.

I was equating either, I was comparing. The last thing anyone wants to do is end up in the middle of an intersection in commute traffic stuck there by a red light as the traffic you are blocking is steaming at you and honking. The fact that it still happens just points out the various drives and concerns going through a typical humans' head as they navigate in traffic.

I think the firemen and this woman show that, often, people in railroad crossings simply do no appreciate how deadly serious a situation they are entering. And catastrophes happen quite often. People die at railroad crossings every day in this country. They are very dangerous places. Unfortunately, the average driver may not be prepared to either avoid getting caught in a crossing or getting out of it once caught.

I appreciate your stance on this as a locomotive driver with personal experience and I'm sure you would make a good speaker for Operation Lifesaver presentations, and perhaps you have done so?