Plano Tesla nearly hits DART train after crossing gate break

A Plano driver says his Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system accelerated through a lowered gate at the 18th Street railroad crossing, forcing him across DART’s Red Line tracks just as a train approached.

Joshua Brown said the car had been stopped at the crossing when the warning lights were flashing and the gates were down. He told FOX 4 News that he believed the Tesla would remain still, but it suddenly moved forward on its own, leaving him to push through the barrier to avoid being hit by the train.

Brown was not injured, but he said broken glass filled the windshield area after the crossing arm snapped against the car. FOX 4 said the incident was captured on multiple cameras mounted on the vehicle, giving investigators a detailed look at how the close call unfolded in real time at a familiar North Texas rail crossing.

Brown said he had logged more than 40,000 miles using Tesla driver-assistance software without a problem before the Plano incident. Tesla had the vehicle for repairs and was investigating, according to the report, while the company continues to market Full Self-Driving as a supervised system rather than a fully autonomous one.

Tesla’s owner materials say Full Self-Driving (Supervised) requires drivers to remain attentive and be ready to take immediate action at all times, including in intersections and other narrow driving situations. The company’s support language says the system can navigate around vehicles and objects under a driver’s supervision, but it still places responsibility on the human behind the wheel.

The near-miss lands in a region where rail safety remains a serious concern. DART says its rail system stretches 93 miles, serves 65 stations in nine cities, and is one of the longest light rail systems in the country. Texas Department of Insurance safety materials say Texas led the nation in highway-rail collisions in 2022, with 241 incidents that caused 80 injuries and 31 deaths.

The crash concern also comes as federal regulators keep a closer watch on Tesla’s driver-assistance system. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a preliminary evaluation in 2025 into Full Self-Driving maneuvers that may violate traffic safety rules, underscoring how much is at stake when automated driving meets railroad crossings, lowered gates and an oncoming train in Collin County.