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Gates do not prevent stupidity UPDATE: VIDEO

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[quote user="MP57313"] About 15-20 years ago there was a collision somewhere in the Southern California area, where a minivan (driven by a mom with 2 or 3 kids) crashed into the side of a train.  All in the car were killed; the crossing had flashers and gates.One of the things they looked for was skid marks on the road - were there any?  In this case 15-20 years ago, according to the news reports at the time there weren't any skidmarks.  No one knew for sure why she hit the train - they ruled out murder/suicide. The best "guesstimate" they came up with is that the mom could have been distracted by one of the kids and took her eyes off the road for that one fateful moment.  [/quote] When someone drives into the path of a train and gets hit, it may be due to distraction, but I suspect that it is far more often due to trying to beat the train to avoid a delay.  I think that often the imagined delay is exaggerated in the mind of the driver, and thus artificially raises the stakes in taking the risk.  Then add to this formula that there are specific optical reasons why an approaching train always appears to be moving slower than it actual is, so the risk taker always miscalculates.  Part of what has helped create this delay aversion risk taking to beat the train is that trains have well demonstrated that they can cause a manly delay.  You don't see drivers taking a risk because they worry about a delay from trucks or buses.In the case of run-into-train crashes, risk taking cannot possibly be the cause.  The only possible causes are inattention and suicide.  Thus there are often no skid marks.  Skid marks would indicate that the lapse of inattention expired before the driver struck the train, but not soon enough to stop in time.  Inattention comes from impairment, sleep, or distraction.  In the case of a distraction cause, it is interesting to note that the odds of running into the side of a train are far greater than being struck broadside because of the greater time available for the former of the two events.
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