This is video from an Amtrak passenger train going through a far suburb of Detroit. It was released by the police from Canton Township, Michigan. The railway crossing barriers and lights were working, and the driver of the car entered the oncoming traffic lane to pass a car that had stopped for the lowered safety barrier.

The car's five occupants, all under the age of 22, died.

http://apps.detnews.com/apps/multimedia ... hp?id=3769

And the story from the Detroit News:

http://www.detnews.com/article/20090828 ... s-released

The video and the story tell all, but I found one thing interesting.. It looks like they are allowed to report the names of underage victims in the media, south of the border.

Before I could drive, I watched Dirty Marry & Crazy Larry (GREEEAAAT Movie! Shocking ending!!!). Then, when I was 16, I came across an accident scene where a classmate had been hit by a fairly slow moving train in his 70 Lemans. The entire passenger side of the car pushed him right up against his drivers door (cabin width = 2' +/-), but he lived (lots of yelling and delirious rambling, though, before the ambulance arrived).

Result?... I am probably in the top 1% of drivers who pay strict attention to railway crossings. I continuously show my kids the proper way of handling the various types of urban/rural crossings, sometimes even coming to a stop to be certain, even if no sign posted.

Trains win EVERY time!