Mr. Hanscom:  There is little evidence that sounding those horns does anything to enhance safety at crossings already protected by cross arms, swinging lighted signals with bells and flashing lights.  Most (virtually all) individuals who are struck by trains at such crossings knew a train was coming....at such crossings you'd have to be blind, deaf and stupid to not realize a train was nearing the crossing.  Those folks simply thought (obviously mistakenly) that they could "outrun" the train and drove, rode or walked around the barriers to "save some time and not have to wait for that damn train".   Those loud, obnoxious horns are redundant warnings.

To be sure, they are appropriate at rural crossings with no barriers and some without even the swinging signals.  They are not necessary in the city.  What is necessary is for people to honor the existing warnings and not jeopardize their lives to save a few minutes.