Life is all about decisions. We make so many every day that we almost do it subconsciously.

Jeans or khakis? Skirts or pants? Tie or not? What’s for breakfast? What about lunch and dinner? Weekend plans or staying home? Vacation or “stay-cation” this summer?

Then there are the big decisions.

Who do we date? College or trade school? Where do we live? Where do we send our kids to school?

No matter what you decide on any of those possibilities, chances are you’ll live to tell about it.

But some decisions can prove to be the last we ever make if we aren’t careful.

Railroad crossing gates are there to warn motorists, cyclists and pedestrians that a train is approaching. Never go around those gates when they’re down and the accompanying lights are flashing.

If you approach a crossing in that situation and you elect to save some time and drive around the gates, you’re gambling with your life and the lives of your passengers. Perhaps even the lives of those in nearby vehicles or those on the approaching train.

It might appear that you have enough time to get through and on your way, but you could be wrong.

Dead wrong.

Trains cannot stop in time when someone decides to tempt fate. A sobering reminder of that happened in the area a few days ago.

A 45-year-old Salem man lost his life early Friday when he reportedly went around gates that were down at the Pittsburgh Street crossing in Columbiana. The man’s vehicle was struck by an eastbound Amtrak train. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Vehicle-train collisions and related deaths have decreased sharply — by about half in both categories — from the 1980s and 1990s. But still, an average of about 2,200 such collisions and 250 deaths occur each year, according to statistics from Operation Lifesaver, a nonprofit organization that specializes in rail-safety education.

We get it. You’re on your way to work or school or wherever and the last thing you want to do is sit in stopped traffic waiting for a long and sometimes slow-moving train to clear that crossing so you can be on your way.

Anyone who has driven in a region with significant train traffic has been there. But gambling with your life to save a few minutes isn’t worth the risk.

Don’t let one bad decision become the last one you ever make.