Racing train

[mike001]

I would rather be late for an appt. than try to beat a train. What's another 5 minutes wait in exchange for living.

[critter crazy]

Where I live I am surrounded by train tracks. No matter what Direction I drive, you have a great chance of being stopped at a Railroad crossing. One afternoon, on the way to my aunts, I was stopped at a RR Crossing for over 40 minutes! My aunt and I talked on the phone the whole time just laughing!! I had shut off the car, and just sat on the phone the whole time. I was only 2 miles from my aunts house, I could have walked there, in the time I waited for the train.

But there is no way in hell, that I would try to Beat a train!!! No matter what! I have been late to work because of the train, and my boss could care less. she knows the deal. It isnt something that one should get upset about, nor risk their life or others lives over.

[IRescue452]

Train accidents aren't common here either, and since we live in and around paper mill heaven, we have tons of trains and tracks. Almost all have the train track crossbar things that come down. We have rules that trains can't block the road for more than 10 minutes, and the train stations are always getting calls from the city to get out of the way because they sit for so long.

These people must not have had seatbelts. Another stupid thing, especially with kids.

[mike001]

IRESCUE-----Don't think seat belts would be of much help when a train rams you...lol. I think I would rather be dead than walk away from that kind of thing. Probably would be so badly injured you would be like a vegie.
I had to wonder if the woman was on drugs or drunk for doing this with 2 babies in the car. Might just be that she was an impatient idiot also. Why not sit back, listen to music or make a phone call as was mentioned. Why are people in such a rush today?

[G535]

Seat belts are compulsory here but they didn't save any of the idiots who tried to beat the trains. People need to know that trains can't stop immediately, even slow moving trains can take up to one kilometre to come to a complete halt and fully loaded freight trains travelling at track speed can take well over two kilometres to stop. Education might help some people but you can't educate idiots.

[dukedogsmom]

Here's the video
http://www.nwi.com/special/train/

[Catty1]

That last video shows she was racing that first train...IDIOT!

I hate it when stupidity incurs the death penalty...

I wonder if a billboard or large sign near crossings would help: "Slow trains take 1/2 mile to STOP."

[Lady's Human]

If someone is too ignorant to realize that a 7500-20,000 ton object is going to take a LOOOOOONG distance to stop, another sign ain't gonna help.

[dukedogsmom]

Speaking of trains, there's a bunch of dumb people in this video
http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=25244

[ramanth]

Stupid, stupid, stupid!


There's a track where I live. Typically the trains go through pretty fast. Today, the gate was down and I was the first car to it. Looked down the track and the train was pretty much sitting there a couple hundred feet away. I looked again and saw that it was moving, just very slowly.

If I waited there, I'd probably be late for work.

So I turned around and took a different route. I could of been across well before the train but no way would I dare.

[Cinder & Smoke]

<gasp>

Tell me she didn't ...

... the train was pretty much sitting there a couple hundred feet away.
I looked again and saw that it was moving, just very slowly.

If I waited there, I'd probably be late for work.
.
.
.
.
.
.

So I turned around and took a different route.

OMG!
I almost *died* between "IF I'd waited" ...
and "So I turned around ..."

GOOD GIRL!

I **HATE** diggin ex-people outta *smushed* cars & trucks at RR crossings.
The car / truck ALWAYS looses those contests!

[cmayer31]

I feel so awful for those train conductors . The train going in the same direction had to know what she was doing when she went racing past him, and he would have had no way to stop her from being so stupid. You can see that her complete attention was on the train to her right and she never even saw the train on the left.

[crow_noir]

There's something you could do if you ever won a small lotto

If I become rich remind me OK?

We have plenty of billboards near tracks around here.

I wonder if a billboard or large sign near crossings would help: "Slow trains take 1/2 mile to STOP."

[ramanth]

Gotcha Phred!

I never mess with trains. No way!

Once the gate was malfunctioning and even though there was an officer there directing traffic, I still was real uneasy about going around the gate to cross the tracks.

Creepy feeling.

[cassiesmom]

I wonder if a billboard or large sign near crossings would help: "Slow trains take 1/2 mile to STOP."

I don't think so ... at least not around here ... you know how Chicago is the Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler ... I know intuitively that trains need a long stopping distance, but that doesn't come to mind when I'm late and the gate is descending. When the tracks were laid there was not as much auto traffic, of course. People are more cautious for awhile after serious accidents like this, and then they start slacking off again. One thing that might help is more bridges and/or viaducts so that the trains can keep moving and the auto traffic can too.