This afternoon I saw a news story in which a person was killed by an Amtrak train in San Clemente,CA. He was hit while crossing the tracks. The newscaster reported “The gates were down but the person didn’t know a train was coming”!If he didn’t know a train was coming,why were the gates down? Here’s your sign.
Definately a Darwin Award candidate.
I know that I had once told this story in another thread, but it is worth repeating.
When my youngest brother was in high school several years ago, and I think the year might have been 1982, he and the rest of his high school band were out on the football field at Lincoln Sr. High practicing their marching drills. At that time, Burlington Northern operated a stretch of trackage that ran past Lincoln High. The BN switch crew was in that vacinity when they were headed back to the main yard. They encountered this DUMB BROAD jogging down the middle of the track…they blew the horns at her but she absolutely would not get out of the way. The engineer had slowed his switcher to barely a crawling speed and when they finally came to a dead stop, this DUMB BROAD and the BN engine crew were exchanging obscenities with each other. I know who this girl is, and although I’ve never asked her about this incident, I would be willing to bet that in her mind, the track was “abandoned” and that she had a right to be jogging right down the middle of the track.
This one ranks right up there with stupid pedestrians.
CANADIANPACIFIC2816
This doesn’t surprise me, sad though it is. I recall riding a steam train at a museum over here a couple of years ago - the consist being a little 0-6-0 tank loco, a couple of open wagons (gondolas) with seats, and a brake van (caboose). On the way out, they propel the train with a crew member standing in the brake van holding a flag out - this is used to signal to the driver (engineer) to stop, start, continue moving, etc. The first section of the line is paved in dockside track which is open to the general public while the later stretch is fenced off and laid with conventional track. Despite near continuous whistling from both the loco and the crewman in the van, and shouts from all aboard, we still had two idiots attempt to cross directly in front of us leading a small child - what kind of example are they setting? Even moving at walking pace there’s no way we’d have been able to stop if they’d not come to their senses and got off the line!
It’s kind of a self correcting problem. The avg intelligence of the planet just went up a tad too.
She’s dam lucky she wasnt jogging out here. We get this kind of Stupidity at least once or twice a year. Only the trains here are going 60mph and cannot stop. The results have never ended with them cussing each other out, just with scraping the jogger off the front.[V]
BTW heard this kid was likely wearing headphones…dumb way to die[:(]
Hm.
**Roots around in the story box… aha… here is one…
It was mid morning in PA in some large city. My problem was a left hand turn with a 18 wheeler in a typical large city intersection.
I was midway thru my turn when I spotted a man looking to his rear and walking very fast forward. I stopped on his white marked crossing with the tractor and waited.
He got to about 2 feet from the door still looking backwards and sensed something very big in front of him. Spun around was confronted by a waist high steer tire, driver’s door, fuel tank and me hanging out the window yelling Ha ha ha ha in some devili***one.
He took off running back thru the crowd of people yelling about how I almost ran him over. It took about 1 minute for this whole thing to resolve itself and the blockage of traffic wasnt too bad.
It was worth it too. I just hope that man did not have to seek medical attention for his heart or something he he.