Grade crossing accidents

U

UP5521

Tidewater Western owner
I was watching the news when they was talking about some drivers who does not wait for trains to pass and try to cross the tracks before the train/s gets there and I only have 4 questions:

1.why do these motorists continue to push their luck and suddenly find themselves in the path of a speeding locomotive that can't stop in time?

2.How many unprotected grade crossings do we have?

3.Do you think it would great to go ahead and upgrade those several grade crossings with lights,bells, and the most important the gates.

4.and where are the police, emts,and fire fighters when you need them by the time these accidents occur?

Any driver who thinks they can beat a train to any grade crossing should be fined and/or relieved of their drivers license because of their reckless driving and this is not a game that should not be played in any way that is tresspassing and that costs the railroad time,money and sometimes locomotives which needs repairs.:cool:
 
Good people...oftentimes do dumb things. Soccer-mom's, lawyers...etc... included will try anything, without thinking twice, in order to beat the system, and get ahead, and will risk certain death not to be late because of a train. There are some very unsafe RR grade crossings that need some protection devices:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szYZkctl_AQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4AmM9ddb1Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBO9fu_c6dQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6spxhyadsmw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHm6NSM_9AE
lol: I had to include this unrelated one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpL6hHf6w8I
 
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Oh my god! That is what I'm talking about, as I said in the last post if you see a train coming do not try to beat it because even if the train is long or short that does not mean go through, those gated grade crossings are there to give drivers a warning that a train is approaching, and those flashing red lights are saying stop and wait! Gambling with your life and others is not worth it and it seems to me that some people do not care what other people do they continue to push the bar to it's limits and I think its only a matter of time before someone gets hurt or killed because of their recklessness then they will finally get the message to wait for the train to pass!:eek:
 
UP5521 said:
I was watching the news when they was talking about some drivers who does not wait for trains to pass and try to cross the tracks before the train/s gets there and I only have 4 questions:

1.why do these motorists continue to push their luck and suddenly find themselves in the path of a speeding locomotive that can't stop in time?

2.How many unprotected grade crossings do we have?

3.Do you think it would great to go ahead and upgrade those several grade crossings with lights,bells, and the most important the gates.

4.and where are the police, emts,and fire fighters when you need them by the time these accidents occur?

Any driver who thinks they can beat a train to any grade crossing should be fined and/or relieved of their drivers license because of their reckless driving and this is not a game that should not be played in any way that is tresspassing and that costs the railroad time,money and sometimes locomotives which needs repairs.:cool:
Click to expand...

1. Dumb people do dumb things.

2. Lots and lots.

3. Yes, but who will pay for it?

4. Probably on their way, if you live to call for help.
 
Forget about updating the unguarded crossings. Eventually people will learn there lesson. There is no need to be in a hurry to cross the tracks(especially around here where the train takes 1 minute tops to cross) Why spend all that money on something that doesn't even 100% resolve the problem. Even with gates, bells, lights flashing, people STILL go around the gates,and under them.
 
Yes I agree to what you are saying is true that the fact that some people who is not as patient continue to drive around lowered gates and the worst thing to do is have the unprotected crossings upgraded is a waste of money but unless something is done to prevent such actions as described, I guess the fatality rate will continue to rise and the ones who get hit by powerful locomotives blames the railroad for the dumbness they display which is not good in my opinion.:cool:
 
If you want to die, by all means, do so! But don't involve the railways! There are better ways of doing it.
 
I like to watch trains go by as well,but I don't know about some people because of the dumb actions being taken which should not have involved the railroad in the first place and if its anyone to be blamed it should be the driver's fault because they should be able to hear and see the train coming so the smart thing to do[even though] you may not like it is to wait instead of risking everyone's and/or your own life trying to cross before the train.
 
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It is my humble opinion that the best way to eliminate train/car accidents is to eliminate cars entirely. In fact the private automobile has long been one of the leading causes of accidental death here in the US. However this seems to be rather impractical, therefore I believe the most economic way to reduce these accidents is education. There are instances where the crossing itself is inherently dangerous due to the physical layout of the crossing, these should be dealt with as any problem intersection. However if you look into the history of grade crossing incidents you will find that the railroads used to hit pedestrians and horse drawn vehicles with a shocking regularity so it appears that the ultimate problem may lie with the decisions made by people, therefore my belief in education as a solution.
 
TSwenson said:
It is my humble opinion that the best way to eliminate train/car accidents is to eliminate cars entirely...
Click to expand...
Or to eliminate trains entirely and let the cars hit each other. It's quite true that to eliminate conflict between two technologies, eliminating one of the two technologies will eliminate the conflict, but that may not be the best solution.
I agree, education is the best solution. But part of that will be to realize that the best public education programs won't eliminate stupidity in decision making. For that select few who think that they are exempt from the basic rules of the road, we should follow the Japanese educational system.
If someone sneaks around the barriers and gets caught, they, or their estate, should be billed for the cost of repairs to the train and track.
If they make it, get a picture of the license plate and bill them for the extra maintenance costs of engaging the brakes needlessly.
It shouldn't take long before some people get the message. Live or die, you still have to reimburse the railroad for the costs you cause.

:cool:Claude
 
Since I have been away awhile I thought I would pop in and say hello:

1) In reviewing crossing accidents that have happened it is not always that
the driver was trying to beat a train per se.

a) Some people drive into the side of trains. Impairments such as drinking and driving and texting while driving are most certainly a factor in some of these
accidents.

b) In accidents involving crossings with no active warning devices it can be difficult to spot trains at some of these crossings and judge the approach of trains and their speed.

2) There have been identified in aviation hazardous thought patterns that all of us are capable of falling into.

1) Impulsivity-- I just want to get there already. Certainly, this mindset has resulted in numerous accidents not just at railroad crossings. At the spur of the moment someone does something without thinking it over.

2) Macho; Others can't do it but I am better than others and I'll show them.

3) Resignation--well there is really nothing I can do. I am to close to the crossing to stop so I might as well go thru and get killed.

4) Anti-Authority-- The rules are too strict and they sure don't apply to me. I'll do what I want to do regardless of the consequences.

5) Invunerablity- It might happen to others but not to me.

It should be pointed out that the above thought patterns can happen to anyone at one time or another by actually studying them and thinking about this one can begin to recognize when we ourselves are falling into one of these patterns.
 
How it is for me.

Here is just a story that got my dad a slap in the face from mum and also a safety penalty of $500(out goes the arcade machine we were gonna buy.)

We had finished camping and off in the the distance I saw a massive cattle train going atleast 60km/h and it had about 20 containers full of cows behind it. We drove off until we found a level crossing, then my dad stopped on it.
We all shouted at him, and I kicked him up the bum so hard he was forced to drive off. 30 seconds later, that same cattle train rushed by.

A nice little warning was found in our letterbox the next day.
 
Oh,that has got to hurt! well, lets hope someone else learns a lesson if not a hard one from all of this, if not then it is their fault and not the railroad itself!:cool:
 
Here's a video from a camera mounted to the front of an Amtrak train that hit a car with 5 young people in it. The driver of this car had a suspended license and was late for work. 5 young people, ranging in age from 14 to 21, were killed. You can see that the gate is down and the car going around it. At the moment of impact, you can see glass flying and the camera dips.
Besides the video from the train camera, there's also another one taken from a surveillance camera near the crossing.
http://www.freep.com/article/200908...g-could-stop-deadly-Canton-crash--video-shows
 
you see? that is what I'm talking about,5 people killed not including the driver who was trying to beat a amtrak train to the crossing is not logical thinking at all I don't care if trees and or bushes were there or not but the sound of a train should grab your attention and like I said trying to beat a train to the railroad crossing because you were late for something is not worth it! Like I said is your life you are gambling with and roll the dice and they will have severe consequences for such actions and it is only a matter of time before they finally get it but yet again it will be too late,now the same should be said if there was a steam locomotive on the rails today the outcome will remain the same and I still don't thing racing a train to a crossing is not a smart move at all and for all of those drivers who think they can win: use the previous post as a warning to the 5 people who died because of a reckless driver which resulted with the driver's license taken away!:o
 
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