Local media report that Amtrak hit a car today in North Carolina and killed two persons. A woman went around the gates and was hit by the Carolinian. The woman and one of her children died. Another child in the back seat survived, condition unknown. Will they ever learn?
No, they’ll never learn. Out here the Union Pacific has installed long crossing gates that come down from both sides of the road to totally block the roadway. That’s the only solution. Still, I see pedestrians run across the tracks to beat the train. One day I observed a moron on a bicycle come within inches of being hit by Amtrak, which was going through Benson, Arizona at about 50 MPH.
I pity the train crews who have to live with the thought that they hit and killed someone even though it was not their fault and they had no way of preventing it.
NO!
Too involved in their clock–too involved with the cell phone—too involved with their own little selves----do not realize that there is an out there out there—[|(]
You never hear about the ones that learn. They don’t get hit!
Just my [2c] here,
Tom, you do realize you are talking about today’s un-rail-educated society right. No they will never learn.
If she lived, she’d probably wonder why the Engineer didn’t slam on the brakes or swerve to miss the car.
It is sad that you can go into a classroom in Europe & Asia and ask the question; How are freight and people moved in the country, and they actually respond rail as being a major part of their society. Here its all highways and airways and the younger 2 seconds 2 slow generation are barely aware that trains exist in America.
We need to re-educate America about how we need to severely invest in rail-infrastructure and make them aware of the safety issues. Trains are only to get faster and be more of them out there.
Couple of things here. I’m starting to seriously think that the combination of closing up of public school based science and tech courses and the growing urbanization has contributed to an even further estrangement of urbanites from their very food sources as well as their transportation sources. I know of some farm groups that started teaching kids and adults about food production and how their food gets to their table. Maybe we need to put something together in that light----
Just some food for thought[;)]
I totally agree. I have seen programs like this in Kansas and Oklahoma public schools and they seem to be helpful to kids and some adults.
The problem is that are some people who would not want to bothered from learning something from some “farm hicks.” I have witnessed that first hand and can’t believe. If only closed minds came with closed mouths.
Is it really that hard to wait a little bit for the train to go past…[D)] NO [#dots]
you asked the wrong people if you ask them its yes
I particularly liked the reader response suggesting that Amtrak sue the driver’s estate for damage to their locomotive.
In Japan when I was there, the Diet passed a law that, if a road vehicle was involved in a grade crossing accident, EVERY PERSON inconvenienced by the delay to the train could sue the driver (or his estate) for damages. When you consider that the typical Japanese passenger train is loaded with several hundred people, all of whom are trying to reach a specific destination at or before a specific time…
Then add in the people waiting on the platforms ahead for that train to arrive on time…
In our automobile-addicted culture, such a bill would have about the same chance of passage through Congress as the nitrocelulose dog chasing the asbestos cat through a forest fire.
Chuck
The sad thing here is that in some larger centers—Toronto being one-- we tried a few questions out on both students at a couple of high schools and some adults and found a few knew anything about ANY type of transportation. The knew of trucks–enough to say that the trucks were in their way but trains? Nah.
If the schools were in fact closer to RR the ratio was much higher—closer ties to industrial past–
Please let us know when you have sold your car(s), thereby shaken your addiction in the process. Hopefully, they are gas sippers, like my Toyota Corolla, and not one of those big SUVs that get less than 20 mpg.
Unless the driving becomes prohibitive because of cost, most Americans are not going to give up their personal vehicle so that they can sit on a train or bus, next to someone who is shouting into a cell phone and has not had the benefit of a shower for a week.
Probably not,althought I think you would find that there are many trains, both here and abroad that would not be as unpleasant as you say. The main reason many folks HAVE to drive to work etc. is 50+ years of suburban automobile-oriented development. It is very hard, if not impossible to reverse that.
The sad thing is how unfeeling some folks (not in this forum, TG) can be about this and other grade crossing accidents. Another thread brought up a You Tube video with crude comments, as though it were a joke. It is a tragedy for both the victims and the loco engineer.
My mayor has the solution! He wants to make our “city” (pop.: 3,200) a “Quiet (no-horn) Zone”. To do this, quad-gates will have to be installed at our 2-MT BNSF crossing (we do have an overpass a hundred yards down the road, but it is off-limits to trucks). The cost? About $800,000! That’s about $1,000 / taxpayer*. No problema*! “Sam” will pay for most of it! Our new residents, that didn’t realize there was a railroad in town, won’t be disturbed by the train horns or bypass the single gates (unless they drive through them, which is a frequent event). They can sleep their days away, waiting for the welfare check to arrive, or their kids to get home from free day-care. The average train, at a mile-long, only takes about 75 seconds to clear the crossing @ 45 mph, the local (railway imposed) limit. Yar! No horns, i-Pods, cel-phones, etc. will be wunnerful!!!
Would something like this have helped?
http://www.cities21.org/cow_catcher.htm
I seem to recall this sort of idea mentioned by someone on some past thread about trains hitting cars and pedestrians.
Who’s going to pay for them to be installed on every locomotive. Not the railroads.
Have you ever priced the replacement of an air bag for your automobile? I’ve heard prices are close to $1,000 for some of them. A couple of years ago air bags were the targets of thieves.looking for quick money to buy drugs.
mmmm—maybe for you urbanites this statement may be true.[:-,] The areas that many of my friends/colleagues work in/from are MILES from any RR or bus route. That is a problem in that rural areas do tend to get forgotten in these discussions. This car addiction is fed by things like the Single Zonal System wherein retail is located miles from human habitation and industry is getting located such that it has NO relation to ANYTHING human etc—hence making people work hard to get to work/school/grocery shop/repairs etc PP so on and so forth—[sigh][:-^]