Did you ever try beating a train?

Caught these pictures on my way to work yesterday after getting caught by the crossing arms coming down on 601. It's that moment some people do what to me is the unthinkable...make a run for it.

The Federal Railroad Administration keeps track and says last year there were 2,280 train/car collisions with 832 injuries and 267 fatalities in the United States. Here is a shocking video from the train engineer's perspective of a fatal collision in which 5 young people lost their lives on impact. That video is NSFW.

I have never even considered driving around a crossing arm and trying to beat a train. This makes me either a coward or a genius or both. Actually, it makes me neither! I think it simply makes me normal. Then again, I've heard so many people say they've done it at least once so I thought I'd ask.