This may be a case of expectation, or lack of it. Its not uncommon for log truck drivers to be on a repetitive route between the loading and unloading points. Coupled with the excursion railroad trains would not be that frequent, so its possible that this driver had been across this crossing hundreds of times without ever seeing a train. There are no gates which make the crossing a bit less visible. After a while the brain will just fuzz over those "non-essential" items which contributes to the potential driver safety issue (this is why you are more likely to be in a crash near your home - familiarity breeds complacency). Now if the truck was overweight as well this this vehicle safety issue would just add to the potential/contributing factor for a crash (but could be at any intersection or curve) but it wouldn't be the cause. This driver didn't "see" the train until it was too late , could have been travelling too fast for conditions or for the vehicle weight. We'll just have to see where the crash investigation determines where or if the brakes were applied and how fast it was going initially.
Peter
