Freight train horns are federally mandated to be ear-shatteringly loud specifically because drivers keep ignoring flashing lights and getting obliterated on the tracks.

A closer look

Freight train horns are federally mandated to be ear-shatteringly loud specifically because drivers keep ignoring flashing lights and getting obliterated on the tracks. The government strict regulations require the horns to hit a minimum decibel level that can rattle windows miles away, ensuring maximum acoustic penetration into a modern soundproofed car cabin. Train engineers must blast this deafening sequence of long and short honks at every single public grade crossing, regardless of whether it is three in the afternoon or two in the morning. So if you live near a railway and constantly lose sleep to the blaring noise, do not blame the train operator. Blame the endless parade of impatient morons who continuously try to beat a three-thousand-ton freight train in a race