[stanski]

It's possible he didn't see the train in time to fully stop.

Braking is important but steering to avoid something is probably the better option in most cases. It takes some distance to stop a fast traveling, heavy vehicle.

Imagine seeing an accident happen directly in front of you on the highway. You better be able to steer in time cause you sure aren't stopping before hitting anything.

This is also the reason to try and have both hands on the steering wheel all of the time, versus a relaxed one hand at 12 o'clock lounge while doing 70+ mph.