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James, I was wondering about that too.  If the lights come on 25 seconds before the train reaches the crossing, that translates into a half mile warning to a vehicle approaching at 70 mph.  Those lights would be visible for a half mile, but I doubt that most drivers would notice them come on from a half mile away.  So it may be reasonable to assume that most drivers would be somewhat into the 25 second warning before they realized the lights were flashing.  Say they fail to notice the lights for the first 10 seconds.  That leaves 15 seconds to realize the warning and stop the vehicle.  Paul has calculated that it would take 6.4 seconds to stop, so the 15 second warning seems adequate.  But that all assumes a 70-mph speed.  If the truck was traveling at 80-100 mph, then the warning and the required stopping distance get closer together.
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