Most of the crossing booms these days are made of fiberglass reinforced with metal. They're actually made to stop or at least slow vehicles that strike them.

He lost his truck because he tried to cross the tracks even though the warning lights told him not to.

seeing what short work the train made of the boom makes me think he could have snapped it and gotten the truck across, I could be wrong...

Did you see the short work the train made of the truck?

Trains are fucking badass. Do not mess with trains.

That, we definitely agree on.

The "No Trucks" sign would hint that this crossing might have too much of a hump to get a long vehicle across without high centering, he could very well be stuck there

What are you, some kind of sign-reading pussy?