Dominic Mazoch posted:OK, how many people are killed along the same section of I95 each year?
Drivers, or pedestrians walking into the traffic lanes?
Road deaths are very high 40k about per year in the US overall -- but we tolerate it (note that this exactly anything to proud of). Rail, train and bus don't have nearly so many -- but they also do not have the same level of tolerance for accidents by folks.
Hot Water posted:Dominic Mazoch posted:OK, how many people are killed along the same section of I95 each year?
Drivers, or pedestrians walking into the traffic lanes?
All total, with breakdown of type. In a way, both.
I'm not sure what you're looking for Servern. A way to prevent these deaths? You just can't. Too many people do too many stupid things. A way to keep the RRs out of court? Too many shar---uh, I mean lawyers. A fool-proof preventative? Too many fools.
Short of cocooning the entire race in bubbles and not letting them out, this sort of thing will happen. Find a more possible cause to crusade for, like ending poverty or building a bridge from LA to Honolulu.
People and vehicles have been hit by trains from almost day 1. The thinning of the herd.
The point is for this private venture to succeed, they're going to need community support. Perhaps right now their of idea of running on high(er) speed trains over existing freight track... isn't going to work out for them. Or perhaps they just need a few tweaks to crossings, and folks in these communities only need to adjust their behavior which they learned form the freight trains which are slower.
NEWS FLASH: According to today's South Florida Sun Sentinel, Brightline is now called Virgin Trains USA (I'll not comment 
). The article reports that new stations are being looked at...the airport, cruise ship port, and for the future Orlando line, Disney World (which would be 20 miles closer). The reporter makes no mention if the airport and seaport stations are in Ft. Lauderdale or Miami (so what else is new?). The new name is a result of the fact that the owner of Virgin Airlines is also a major money source for the train line.
It's not the train. The problem in South Florida is just that there are lots and lots of old people there and some of them get dumber and stupider the older they get. Have you ever driven a car around there? Broward and Dade counties have some of the absolute worst drivers in the world. They run red lights, ignore stop signs and obviously, railroad crossings are taken just about as seriously as cracks in the sidewalk. Whenever I'm driving down there I feel like I'm taking my life in my hands. I was in Deerfield last month and was going down a one-way street and had to dodge not one, but two cars going the wrong way! I didn't get a good look at the drivers but my wife told me she saw lots of white hair both times.
Are you referring to this? https://www.miamiherald.com/ne...rticle228474024.html
I think all this is a big deal really. It's a private venture, and I hope it succeeds. Might be "fun" to own some bonds.
Here's some biz related news:
https://www.law.com/dailybusin...eturn=20190227104827
Oh boy....back on point, HERE...the obvious problem really is the stupidity and inattentiveness of these people gambling with their life to beat a train. Cannot wait a few minutes? Please don't tell me you are driving and reading these words...
Brightline now is the deadliest RR/ mile in the US.
We have about one person killed per month by a train in the SF Bay Area. About half are suicides and the other half are just stupid as explained above. Unfortunately, many of the suicides are teenagers. It is really hard to fix both stupid and depression. NH Joe
Just a dumb thought, but how many alligators, snakes, dogs & cats has the train run over? No one has complained from animal rights groups? I guess mostly humans are the only creatures dumb enough to get in front of a train
... for any reason. 
We all are stewards of our time (money) and body. However, when something goes wrong we blame others. Personal responsibility is in short supply.
One could be led to believe that those trains did not have wheels with flanges, that they can veer off to one side at will just to hurt someone. I bet there are people who think the engineer has a steering wheel.
And to think that many of these people drive and vote. It's remarkable that we as a people have made it this far..........
Farmer_Bill posted:Miami New Times writes “Most railroad fatalities are the result of ‘trespassing,’ a technical term that some family members find cruel.”
Seriously?
Truth hurts. Then again, seems people do not understand the concept of private property.
Tom Tee posted:We all are stewards of our time (money) and body. However, when something goes wrong we blame others. Personal responsibility is in short supply.
One could be led to believe that those trains did not have wheels with flanges, that they can veer off to one side at will just to hurt someone. I bet there are people who think the engineer has a steering wheel.
And to think that many of these people drive and vote. It's remarkable that we as a people have made it this far..........
One of the Operation Lifesaver slides talks about the fact trains cannot steer like a car!
Seems sort of ironic to have something called the "brightline" in a state known specifically for it's residents not meeting that criteria...
People really are stupid. I use to live near the old Erie Pascack Valley line. People would walk on the track instead of the street or sidewalk because it was, apparently, a more direct route. Invariably someone would get hit once or twice every month. NJT put up a fence; morons cut holes in the fence so they could walk on the track.
The title of this thread is "Brightline hits people." That is not correct.
It SHOULD read, "Stupid People Keep Walking in Front of Brightline Trains."
I'm sorry, but there is NO WAY this is the railroad's fault.
Not to shake up the pot but If I had a back hoe on MY property and some little ones sat and somehow moved it and ran over and killed someone I be in trouble .. Point is if it happened on railroad property the railroad has to answer to the reason... why or how they are not to be blamed
