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And thus the presumably unstoppable forces meets the immovable object.

this movie meme is so tired, and doesn’t even apply. trucks are by no means unstoppable, and bridges obviously can be moved.

Is the goal to reduce crashes or increase them?

The goal is to protect the bridge behind the barrier.

Is it? Shouldn’t the goal be to protect the driver?

If the goal was to protect the driver then the bridge would be removed. The bridge carries a railway so many more lives are at stake if it's damaged.

Sure more lives are at stake, but I think the probability of physical harm to them is pretty low because

a) The bridge has been hit tons of times, and I don't think anyone in a train has been hurt yet.

b) The bridge is probably a lot stronger than the truck, so while the bridge may take damage and need to be repaired, the damage is probably not enough to harm train traffic.

c) If the bridge is damaged enough to harm train traffic, there's probably not a train coming immediately; any on-route trains can be likely stopped before they reach the bridge.

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