Eleven passengers died when the train slammed into a semi-trailer carrying a load of heavy steel that was sitting in the grade crossing. Don't even try.
Trains are unable to stop quickly.
Texas, with more miles of railroad track and more miles of highways than any other other state, is all too often the scene of such collisions. I first became aware of the need to focus on this safety issue when I was Acting Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board in 1978. I helped to create a national organization, Operation Lifesaver, to educate drivers about the dangers of highway-rail crossings. For more than two decades now, Operation Lifesaver has been spreading the word. And, although highway-rail crossing deaths are slowly declining, the numbers remain significant.