Why can't the train simply stop before hitting the vehicle at the grade crossing?
This is a simple matter of physics. For example, a 15,000 ton coal train traveling at 60 miles per hour has the kinetic energy equivalent of a small atomic bomb. To stop that mass requires converting that kinetic energy into heat energy through braking, and that can take a long time; a time during which the train may travel a great distance. Depending upon the terrain and the train's speed, it can take a heavy train over a mile and a half to make an emergency stop. Even a relatively short, light train takes a long time (when compared to a car or truck) to stop. What this means in practical terms, is that a vehicle driver cannot depend upon an approaching train being able to stop in time to avoid an accident--if the vehicle does not move off the crossing it is almost certainly going to be hit by the train and there is nothing the locomotive engineer can do to prevent it.
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