Signs such as this, in whatever form, will keep the honest folk honest. Generally, that's about 90 percent of us. It's that other 10 percent who will ignore the obvious and turn themselves into statistics.

I spent 10 years volunteering as an Operation Lifesaver presenter and, every time I spoke, I brought out those stats: about 500 people each year killed while walking on or crossing railroad rights-of-way, and about the same number killed in grade crossing collisions. And that doesn't even include the thousands of serious injuries.

Here's a photograph I took, also at Oceanside, in November 2003. This is at the grade crossing just north of the transportation center, and clearly shows another of the safety-related signs at this busy location.

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