Rule #1 (by law) the train ALWAYS has the right of way, NO EXCEPTIONS. The government realized almost 100 years ago that trains can't stop and so gave them the right of way. A loaded freight train will take a mile or more to stop.......can you see a car on the tracks from a mile away? And would you expect it to still be sitting on the tracks when you get there? The engineer would literally have to start stopping before he could even positively identify a problem. Obviously lower speeds would help, but the law was made when railroads were the lifeblood of the country and getting the loads from point A to point B was a high priority, so you didn't slow the trains. And people took responsibility for their actions back then. I mean how smart do you have to be to not park a parade float on the railroad tracks? And when the gates came down, why would you just sit there? The gates will break away, and although I didn't see much video, 99% of crossings have been engineered to be wide open for visibility, which also gives escape routes. I'm sure UP will see lawsuits out of this, but they did everything right, and legally the fault is with the float driver. but he's probably some average joe, and UP has deep pockets, so they'll be the target. Tragic incident.......not accident....an accident is something you can't avoid, which isn't the case here.