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(13,612 posts)BigmanPigman
(51,651 posts)crickets
(25,990 posts)ShazzieB
(16,636 posts)By the time the engineer can see something (vehicle, etc.) on the trcks, it's usually way too late to slow down, much less stop.
For example, an 8-car passenger train moving at 80 miles an hour needs about a mile to stop.
In addition, when you see a train approaching, an optical illusion kicks in that makes the train seem like it's farther away and moving more slowly than it really is, making it very to misjudge a train's speed and its distance.
Don't ever assume you can beat a train. It's a good way to get killed.
https://www.minnesotasafetycouncil.org/facts/factsheet.cfm?qs=858251BECECF1976F908D7D68B570E85
The pilot in this story made an emergency landing and unintentionally ended up on the tracks, si it wasn't his fault he was where he was. Unlike those who ignore RR crossing signals and try to speed through because they don't want to wait for the train to pass.