getting hit...on foot

Most cases the person(s) were distracted by something else (MP3, phone) and on rare occasions the train literally comes out of no where because of curves or blind spots.  I've had two cases where I was "surprised" by equipment that was moving pretty fast for the circumstance and the wind was carrying away the sound away from me.  Train tracks are not terribly safe to hang around and you should be very alert when in close proximity.

It's called stupidity. Unfortunately, it's a growing epidemic.

In a perfect world there would be no accidents of any type. But humans are far from perfect. Every case is different, with varying degrees of blame to be placed. Generalizing serves little purpose.

I was in England for a wedding in the spring.  We used the rail system to get around the area.  I noticed that the ROW is very much protected and there is very limited access other than at stations.

 

Posting signs is cheap but obviously not very effective.

The sight of railroad tracks should be a warning enough, themselves; the tracks I mentioned are straight and are easy to see.

 

On the other-hand, if you're illegally walking along them... not being mindful of your surroundings, then you could have a problem...

 

It's an approximate 6' wide place(including the track bed) to avoid; surly, that's not too difficult or burdensome.

 

Would you run across a busy street... not paying attention to the traffic?

 

 

BTW, years ago, I was walking along some tracks, in a more remote location... frequently checking behind me, but, a fairly quiet train got pretty close... without me hearing it; I discovered it... when I turned to check.

 

 

Rick

 

 

Flatonia TX, is a Quiet Zone town.  Depending on the winds, trains are VERY QUIET without any warning sounds.

People continue to describe tornadoes as "sounding like a freight train." That may have been apt during the days of steam locomotives, but a tornado is much more noisy than a modern freight train, and trains can and will "sneak up" on a person, if the person is not wary. The addition of sound-deadening distractions, such as ear buds or a car's sound system, only add to the problem. The only way to avoid tragedies is to stay off the ROW and be aware of your surroundings at all times. There will always be people that fail to do so.

In the suburbs of Chicago, people regularly get hit by the very train they are trying to catch to go to work.

 

They run across the tracks without looking, trying to get to the station, so they won't be late.

 

It doesn't get much worse than that, you know a trains comin,' thats why your there, and you still get hit.

 

This happens several times a year.

most times, people walking the ROW are in the MIDDLE of the tracks. Coupled to distractions [outside noise, headphones, ear plugs, etc. when they realize- if they are not surprised- it's too late to clear the tracks.

 

Remember, just like a plane, the object appears FIRST before the noise!

I've noticed some joggers in my area to be totally oblivious to their surroundings, including severe weather.

Rusty

In this day and age - with all the public safety warnings in place etc. - there's not much more you could do...

 

It's actually pathetically ridiculous - for a life to end this way - for this stupid reason.

 

All the recent train related deaths seem to have human failure... involved.

 

 

Rick

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rusty

I am embarrassed to relate this shameful tale of my careless youth, but I confess it here, in the hope that it will serve as a warning for others:

 

 

One day in the summer of 1978, my cousin and I were exploring a freight yard near Newark, DE. For those who don't know, that's ex-PRR electrified territory.

 

Suddenly, as we crossed the tracks toward a row of parked boxcars, we were startled by the urgent blare of a locomotive horn, alarmingly close.  It was the Metroliner, rounding a curve and blasting along at full speed.

 

We sprinted for the shelter of the boxcars as the cab of the Metroliner grew like a falling meteor.  We just made it, between two of them.  As the high-speed train roared past on the adjacent track, the suction of its passage tried to suck us out, but we held on to the grab irons for all we were worth. 

 

Shaken, we called a halt to any further train-watching for that day.

 

The point of all this is that trains can be very silent, even when they're quite near; even when they're easily visible.  As my cousin and I learned on that long-ago day, you've got to keep your head on a swivel when you're near a railroad, and never take anything for granted.

 

The bottom line here is this- unless you are working for/with a railroad, with proper permission AND protection, you should NEVER be on the tracks. If you're crossing them- stop, look and listen and for God's sake, DON'T try to beat a train. Not difficult.

The notion that trains are big and noisy on approach is certainly a misconception--I wonder if momentary panic/uncertainty also plays a part for those who find themselves face to face with an oncoming train, and valuable escape time is lost.

 

Not an "on foot" example, but yesterday evening I was approaching a crossing in Orlando just as the OUCX train was passing through.  There were two vehicles ahead of me.  As I neared the grade, the lights came on and the gates began to move down.  The drivers in both cars ahead of me panicked--hit their brakes, then the gas, then their brakes again.  When they both came to a stop, one was sitting on the tracks and the other was inside the gates.  A few frightening seconds passed, then both drivers threw it into reverse and started to BACK UP into the gates!  Eventually both were able to do hard u-turns off the tracks to my left and move back in the opposite direction they'd been traveling.  All they had to do was drive FORWARD a dozen feet and both would have been clear.  It was a case study for how poor some decisions can be when we're surprised.

In life, there are "significant" critical split second moments that define...

 

everything that follows:

 

where there, once, was a future; now, that's gone, or the possibilities/opportunities  have been permanently changed...

 

up to that critical split second... there was life!

 

Our species possesses numerous abilities... for it's survival; some choose to ignore these gifts.

 

 

Rick

Getting hit on the tracks seems like a near impossible event to those of us with even the most basic rail knowledge. (my 3 yo grand daughter knows the rules) BUT.....the general public, getting closer and closer to the image portrayed in the film Idiocracy, are getting dumber and dumber.  I saw a 'new' invention shown on the news the other day. A MP3 music player the fits INSIDE the ears....no wires or external device. Now you can blast music into your head and will totally block ANY good or bad outside noise like horns, vocal warnings and bothersome loud mechanical noise. Think how easy getting hit by a truck or train will be.......

 

Sad....but SOP today.....