Many collisions occur at night between cars and trains because
- the car driver didn't see the train ✓
- the train driver didn't see the car on the track
- the car driver was sleepy
- the car got stuck on the tracks
Answer: A. the car driver didn't see the train
Many nighttime collisions between cars and trains happen because the car driver didn't see the train.
Why this is the answer
The handbook points out that at night, about half of the crashes between trains and cars are vehicles striking the side of a train, and it gives the reason: the driver failed to see it. It also warns that your eyes can fool you around trains, since they often look like they are moving slower than they actually are. So the collision usually comes from the driver not spotting the train in time, not from the train crew failing to notice the car.
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. the train driver didn't see the car on the track — The handbook describes the car hitting the side of the train because the driver didn't see it, so it puts the missed sighting on the car driver, not the train crew.
- C. the car driver was sleepy — Nothing in the passages says sleepiness is what causes these nighttime train collisions; the stated cause is the driver not seeing the train.
- D. the car got stuck on the tracks — The passages warn against stopping on the tracks, but they do not say that cars getting stuck is what causes nighttime train collisions.
Remember it
At night, look and listen twice at a crossing, because a train can look slower and farther away than it really is.