After wasting a lot of my life sitting at crossings, I try to beat them out, too. Railroads seem indifferent to the traveling public. Trains block crossings way over time limits with obvious impunity.
Trains also creep along at a few miles per hour.
It takes a while for a hundred or more cars to pass. Sometimes, the trains just stop for 10-15 minutes. I think that people will continue to be injured or die trying to beat trains to crossings. Impatient drivers are the cause of most crossing accidents, but at least some of the blame is with the railroads for long blockages. If the public knew that the crossing would be blocked only a few minutes, it would cut down on these risk takers.