And yet another tragedy on the rails here in Australia....in South Australia.....again.
https://www.9news.com.au/natio...b6-99ca-8b8d886bfc47
Peter....Buco Australia
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How are more signs going to keep people from walking in the gauge? I feel for the engine crew who had to witness this.
@Buco posted:And yet another tragedy on the rails here in Australia....in South Australia.....again.
https://www.9news.com.au/natio...b6-99ca-8b8d886bfc47
Peter....Buco Australia
Peter, you can't fix stupid!
Yeh John....but it was one of you guys (an American) that "bought his last ticket to ride"
Peter....Buco Australia.
@gunrunnerjohn posted:Peter, you can't fix stupid!
While that was my first thought, at 87 years of age who knows what could be going on? Dementia, disorientation, or any other host of issues that eventually affect us all with age.
I was on a NJ Transit train from Asbury Park to Newark in 2017 when the power suddenly got cut and the train drifted to a stop just south of Hazlet station. I thought perhaps the ALP-46 dropped a pan or something. We came to find out that an 81-year-old man had run the gates in his car and struck the cab car just behind the lead truck and was killed. We didn't feel the crash and it did not derail the train. We were merely inconvenienced for about three hours while they investigated and finally connected a second train to the front of the cab car to get us to our destination. I also thought "you can't fix" stupid. It turned out after an investigation he had some kind of seizure, and it didn't appear intentional. He did not survive the crash.
Just like any other railroading incident that involves a loss of life, we won't know until there is a proper investigation. At the end, it could be plain stupidity. I know I walked my share of tracks as a teen when the trains were running 60-70 mph and didn't think twice. That was stupid and I am lucky.
Peter, does Australia have an equivalent of an NTSB for these incidents or is this case considered closed?
Food for thought Jonathan....and yes we do have a national rail safety organization here in Australia:
https://www.onrsr.com.au/about...ie%2DAnne%20Schafer.
Seems they can do almost anything.
Peter.....Buco Australia
@GG1 4877 posted:While that was my first thought, at 87 years of age who knows what could be going on? Dementia, disorientation, or any other host of issues that eventually affect us all with age.
I'll allow that could be the case. I will say if he's that prone to do stuff like that, someone should be watching out for him.
He was 87? .......Hope I live that long.
Happened here a few years back in Colorado. Woman was taking video of the 844 and lost perspective and it hit and killed her.
@Dougklink posted:Happened here a few years back in Colorado. Woman was taking video of the 844 and lost perspective and it hit and killed her.
Right! And,,,,,,,as a result the UP immediately informed the Denver Post Newspaper that there would be no more "Cheyenne Frontier Days Special" trains, plus UP has not run an "excursion" since. The only "passenger trips" the UP has run are "one-way fund raisers" with a bus return, and passengers are never allowed off the train, i.e. no photo run-by, until they exit to the busses.
Very true. When you go see the 4014 Ed uses the cylinder cock steam to get people to back up. Course Brightline seems to hit a person a week here in Florida.
@B rad posted:He was 87? .......Hope I live that long.
If you have to go, I guess there's worse ways to go.
Watching the video, there were several calls for more signage.
I don't see how someone having an "I'm Stupid" sign hanging about their neck will fix anything.
Seriously:
Tragic result.
If the accident took place at that pedestrian crossing in the video, and the deceased elderly fellow was simply attempting to cross at same... then that sort of thing (hard of hearing, dementia, whatever) COULD likely be helped by making a high risk pedestrian crossing a "stop and flag" crossing.
Andre
Signs and warnings and government controls are not going to replace personal responsibility. My parents taught me not to play in the street or on RR tracks when I was a little kid. Getting caught caused undesirable personal consequences, so I learned.
I agree 100% with Jonathan's (GG1 4877's) post. One thing, I would add is that most people are unaware that trains are wider than the track.
@Buco posted:And yet another tragedy on the rails here in Australia....in South Australia.....again.
https://www.9news.com.au/natio...b6-99ca-8b8d886bfc47
Peter....Buco Australia
Stupidly is just not Australian here in the US the Brightline wacks and idiot a month walking on the tracks. They have alerts/flashing lights/signs that light up. You guessed it, they still get hit.
in the end it’s the crew the news forgets but they suffer the most and it lasts a lifetime.
Note that one commentator eluded to the fact about questioning the trains future. This is fairly common today where the solution is to stop anything that has the potential to cause harm when whatever it may be is totally blameless, and the victim is affected by their own carelessness or ignorance.
