With the enjoyment we’re having on the “train vs truck” crash thread, I thought it might be interesting to examine the other big no no, parents that allow their children to play on the tracks:
A couple who are friends of mine engage in a strange hobby (as a railfan I am aware I’m throwing stones at my glass house) called “Geocacheing” which involves using handheld GPS navigation systems to locate little containers with messages /“treasures” etc. secreted in various locations. Recently their adventures took them up into the Berkshire mountains in Western Massachusetts where they encountered a large group of Railfans set up to observe Pan American Railways/Guiford Transportation’s ex Boston & Maine Hoosac tunnel. A number of these people were families with young children who in some cases were allowed by their parents to play on the tracks while waiting for an approaching train! The parents were confidant in having scanners to warn them of approaching traffic and were apparently set up far enough from the tunnel portal that the felt they would see an approaching train in plenty of time. So these folks are teaching the kids to ignore one of the primary tenants of railroad safety. IMHO people like that just further enhance negative opinions of railfans held by some RR officials, train service employees, and police…
You make a great point but that video has been discussed here before many timnes.
Chico
That…was estupido.
“It takes an entire village to raise one child”- Hillary Clinton
Unfortunately a few parents took that to mean it’s o.k. to sluff off raising your kids on everyone else and think it’s the job of either big business or the government to raise their kids. And then they have the stones to wanna sue when this ends badly.
Didn’t realize that, sorry to raise old business [V]
It surprised me, and I was just hoping to lighten the moment with the surprise ending.
I thought at the very least this would raise a rant about idiots tresspassing to make a movie , it looks to me like the kicker put himself at undue risk, just for a stupid gag.
Wonder what percentage of these parents would send their kids out to play on a Interstate highway?
On the other hand these are probably the same parents that would pose their kid on a buffalo for a vacation picture or allow them to reach down into a prairie dog hole.
Off topic, but a true story.
One of the northern Chicago suburbs (I believe it was Glenview) was trying to preserve its rural “heritage” by maintaining a diary herd at public expense on public land. They had 16 cows and one bull.
They had to get rid of the bull after some after some one stuck his young son on the back of the bull and took a picture.
The origanal movie was definetly fake!
It always bugs me when I’m near tracks and people are tresspassing, racing trains, etc.
I think this whole thing is a highly modified video using some clever editing, and was meant only to be funny.
Exactly. The same thing in the REAL world isn’t funny, but oh well.
Nothing wrong with geocaching. I do it when there is a lull in trains in the Tehachapis. Great way to get off your duff and get outdoors. There is even a cache overlooking the Loop.