It's easy to forget that something is deadly, when you live with it for a long time. We especially might not notice that the danger increases over time. A familiar kitchen knife can still slice a finger, a stressed family dog can still bite, and the train you hear at a distance can still cause harm.

Some people think that train deaths are foreseeable. We wonder, how could you be accidently hit by something as big and loud as a train? So we take the dog for walks on the tracks, we cross them to our favorite spot on the river, we try to "beat it" by dashing a few yards through a crossing.

Bu...