Attempting to race the train at a railroad crossing. Why?

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Why do some people attempt to race the train at a crossing? That's stupid. Aren't virtually all accidents that happen at railroad crossings due to the driver inside being dumb?

It's probably a case of, "I don't see the train, so there's probably enough time to cross before it comes." Of course, that doesn't explain why the driver thinks that they do not have time to wait at the crossing for the train to pass. It is the same thing with people going through at traffic lights when it is not their turn.

There will also be some people who would do it for excitement, but these would be in a sharp minority I think.

I'd also add that there are probably people who see the train coming but are in a hurry or late for an appointment and don't want to have to sit and wait for it to pass so they try to beat it so they won't have to wait.

i see it all the time here aswell.. we have a trian that comes through the middle of town like every 12 mintues or so

I would never do that. We also have trains that pass through our city and there are tracks that pass by my neighborhood and I see Amtrak pass by on it every now and then.

My dad once told me a story that when he was young, these things came down and this guy he knew decided to drive around them thinking he make it, he didn't. I asked him why did he do that and his response, "Because he was stupid."

My great uncle died doing this... He tried to race a train on a motorcycle, beat it across at a crossing but did not make it.

That's sad. I wish people weren't so stupid with regards to the railroad crossings. No one needs to lose people close to them because they tried to beat the train.