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You cannot fix STUPID. Over 40 years ago I regularly took the SEPTA commuter train from Bucks County to Philly. The rails were shared with Amtrak. Every year one or two people were killed because they would try to cross the tracks instead of using the pedestrian underpass. The Metroliners were quiet and fast. You cannot fix this problem.

Gerry

 

Here’s a tongue in cheek suggestion; we require all citizens of southeast Florida who live with two miles either side of the Brightline tracks to begin wearing dog collars capable of delivering a mild electric shock.  When a train approaches a crossing or pedestrian crosswalk; an underground electrical wire is activated and anyone attempting to cross will receive a mild shock.  

This works to keep dogs in their yards; perhaps it would work to keep clueless people off the tracks.  😉

Curt

So,,,,,,after reading all this, just how has the subject trains been diverting off the tracks in order to "kill people"? As the current news media is proc to report, "The Amtrak train killed the elderly couple at the grade crossing in XXXXXXX!". Never mind the fact that those killed, in fact drove around the lowered warning gates with all the lights & bells activated. Those darned trains are simply killing way to many humans!

Well I'm just pointing out overall I think that it still falls to the train organizations to get a safety record that communities can live with.

Brightline is a great example of what appears to be a huge success overall, but they aren't likely to expand into say the Disney area if all they do is flatten tourist now and again -- at least at the rate that appears to be occurring right now in the Miami area...

Even if it's because the people ignore the signals, walk on the track and so forth.  Look at Disney and the alligators for a similar style issue, just for example.

This is not good.  Obviously hitting people is bad.  That goes to a degree without saying. They need to solve this problem -- keeping in mind that no system is perfect.  I don't know exactly what the issues are overall ... but partially of course in the ideal they'd have their own corridor ... which they do not have...  fencing and other features to the existing line perhaps can be added.  Again, people should not try to beat the gate and all that, yet people will try because that's what people do -- so maybe the gates can be changed to better protect against that etc...

But if you'd just rather take the car and I'm like this myself, if it's easier and faster to take the car even with taking into account half the time there are traffic jams... then the train will fail.

Last edited by Severn
Severn posted:

 

But if you'd just rather take the car and I'm like this myself, if it's easier and faster to take the car even with taking into account half the time there are traffic jams.

Yes. Although you can park your car at a Brightline station garage, you still need a taxi to get where you are going at your destination, unless you work or shop near a station (very unlikely in Ft. Lauderdale, at least). If you are going to Miami Beach, it's a fairly long distance from the station.

As far as the planned Orlando destination goes, you will need a rental car or a hotel/theme park pick-up bus. 

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.

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.

Last edited by Joe Hohmann

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.

Last edited by Former Member

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..........

Last edited by Tom Tee
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!

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.

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