This time railfans were on the scene when out of nowhere a car appears in the frame, right across the tracks as the train swats them into eternity.
A witness, (not on this program), said that it was a "Union Pacific" Train, and surely those were Union Pacific locomotives, but the town is Louisville KY, and I did not think that UP went there. It must be a NS or a CSX train with UP power.
Or does UP actually go there. The LION does not know.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Run-through power more than likely, UP doesn't go to Kentucky.
Two people were nailed by trains in New Jersey this week as well, one on New Jersey Transit's Pascack Valley Line, and one by a Norfolk-Southern freight in Union.
Suicides by train? More than likely. Sad.
At least the train crew and the bystanders made it through unharmed.
Sadly, without crossing arms, I'm sure folks will be ready to spin this one around as being the fault of everyone except the driver behind the wheel of the car because that protection wasn't provided here.
Not related to the accident, but the younger fan is standing a little close to the tracks, inside the signals. If the one fan is a former conductor, he should know better.
Let's be careful out there.
Another almost fatality.
Sometime around 3PM Sunday afternoon a CSX intermodal on the Ga RR subdivision hit a car. Driver seriously injured. This crossing is another where the crossing road intersects a road very closely paralleling CSX. Driver was coming up to parallel road, got stopped by traffic light, she had pulled onto tracks, Crossing arms came down, and she was " trapped " by the arms (quad 4 ).
Am beginning to think that the installation of quad 4 crossings need very careful thinking. Even my wife as rail aware as she is did not know the crossing arms are frangible and / or will swing away if pushed upon. That apppears to be a well kept secret only rail community knows ?
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/woman-seriously-hurt-after-train-strikes-car/nkXPB/
And another close encounter.
http://www.wgrz.com/story/news/2015/03/15/tonawanda-car-suv-vs-train/24805321/
Quad gates are hardly a new idea, although I will concede that it has been over 40 years since I've seen a grade crossing that was equipped with them. In my youth, there were several manned grade crossings nearby that were equipped with quad gates, and one or two of them also had a watchman on the ground.
blue streak 1Am beginning to think that the installation of quad 4 crossings need very careful thinking. Even my wife as rail aware as she is did not know the crossing arms are frangible and / or will swing away if pushed upon. That apppears to be a well kept secret only rail community knows ?
As discussed in another crossing thread, some sort of notice on the track side of such arms has been done elsewhere. I can't see that it would be a bad idea to do here, just a matter of logistics (and a certain amount of money) - having suitable reflective decals made, then installed on the appropriate gates.
Then you have to hope that the motorists will read them. Perhaps they need to be printed in large enough type to be read from behind the other gates, so at least the motorist who is stopped there while the gates are down might see them and the knowledge will get tucked away in a corner of their brain for future reference...
Not having been to a "general public" OLI presentation (usually there with the fire service), I don't know if the topic is discussed there.
It doesn't do away with cases where the driver can't move because they are trapped in traffic, but that's when not going onto the tracks until you can clear them comes into play.
Going forward, I'd opine that several things need to happen: first, the railroads need to embrace installing the warnings at "four arm" crossings. Second, when such incidents occur they need to emphasize that the arms are not immovable barriers and will swing away or break if pushed. Further, OLI and the railroads need to make that point in classes and other public relations activities (if they don't already).
In the end, there will probably always be folks who get smacked at such crossings, even with the warnings and clear road ahead. For many, their first instinct will be not to scratch up the ol' Rolls Kanardly by running through the gate arm, even though not doing so will result in significantly more damage...
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
And we had yet another grade crossing fatality up here in IL this weekend when the Amtrak Texas Eagle northbound to Chicago hit a pickup truck in far southern IL when the driver reportedly drove around the lowered gates...very stupid and senseless action that cost him/her their life.
Just thinking out loud here. I wonder if more drivers knew that the gates had some "give" to them, that some might just drive right through them? Especially at crossings with medians or lane dividers.
Jeff
CSSHEGEWISCH Quad gates are hardly a new idea, although I will concede that it has been over 40 years since I've seen a grade crossing that was equipped with them. In my youth, there were several manned grade crossings nearby that were equipped with quad gates, and one or two of them also had a watchman on the ground.
Take a drive down I55 and you'll see lots of them on the St.Louis line.
jeffhergert Just thinking out loud here. I wonder if more drivers knew that the gates had some "give" to them, that some might just drive right through them? Especially at crossings with medians or lane dividers. Jeff
Jeff: That might just work in SOME cases of incursion on an active crossing.
My thought is that many incidents happen because drivers think that THEIR schedule is so important, and their time so valuable; that 'rushing the crossing' is a legitimate risk for them.
The other part of thatmight just be a motorist who is afraid to risk damaging their vehicle; they rationalize that action out of their needed reaction to the problem/ incident.
There is a crossing just up the road at Mulvane,Ks (Ks. Hwy 55) where two subs of the BNSF diverge. A short double track segment of the Ark City Sub and the double tracked Southern Transcon, towards Winfield. On occasion you will see two trains on the crossing, most of the traffic is local with traffic going West is towards the Kansas Star Casino. The local PD patrols it prety heavily, so they seem to have less incidents involving that Crossing. Plus train speed there is a bit intimidating for alot motorists.
Maybe more enforcement presence is the key at high activity crossings, where there are multiple incidents of crossing incursions by motorists? Not sure if higher fines would be a sort of carrot and stick approach?
May be a case for photo enforcement.
Local authorities are so gung ho about 'Stop Light Cameras' - Why not Railroad Crossing protection cameras? Especially in locations where cars are KNOWN to stop on tracks for Red Lights ahead.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
BaltACD Local authorities are so gung ho about 'Stop Light Cameras' - Why not Railroad Crossing protection cameras? Especially in locations where cars are KNOWN to stop on tracks for Red Lights ahead.
Just make sure there are hefty fines attached - they'll love the revenue source. Especially since red light cameras only seem to have an effect on the people they catch. Otherwise they'd be redundant by now...
There are some out there. Ames, IA had at least one crossing in it's quiet zone (the one that doesn't have lane dividers) equipped with enforcement cameras. I think it was put in with the automated horn system. I don't know if they left it when they removed the horn system and went to a regular QZ.
The first car it took a picture of, after it was in service, was of an Ames police car.
jeffhergert The first car it took a picture of, after it was in service, was of an Ames police car. Jeff
Ding Ding Ding - we have a winner!
samfp1943 jeffhergert Just thinking out loud here. Maybe more enforcement presence is the key at high activity crossings, where there are multiple incidents of crossing incursions by motorists? Not sure if higher fines would be a sort of carrot and stick approach?
jeffhergert Just thinking out loud here.
Just thinking out loud here.
So how blind do you have to be to miss a train since it's as big as, well, a train?
Approximately twenty years ago two Michigan State Police troopers were killed when they tried to beat a train to the corssing.
Norm
LensCapOn So how blind do you have to be to miss a train since it's as big as, well, a train?
Obstructions (buildings, plants, etc) notwithstanding, sometimes the biggest impediment to seeing trains is not looking.
The Kentucky incident involved four young adults - in their early 20's. I have little doubt that there was conversation going on in the car, to the extent that the driver was not actually driving, but was simply keeping the car "between the lines." I think most of us have experienced that, whether we want to admit it or not.
The crossing (N 38.19403 W 85.64397) does not appear to be on a major thoroughfare. In fact, it doesn't even look like a good shortcut, so we don't know why they were there, unless they lived in the area.
I'm betting they drove over that crossing on a regular basis without seeing trains, so the idea that they might encounter one there may not have occurred to them.
There may have been a cultural issue as well, based on the names of the victims that have been released.
Based on the video, gates might have prevented this incident, as they would have been down well before the car reached the crossing. This wasn't a case of someone stopping and then driving around the gates/over the crossing. They just blew right through.
To answer the above question: here is another way it can be done...Unfortunately
From this linked story from Post-Tribune of this date 3/18/2015 @ http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-cedar-lake-train-death-st-0318-20150317-story.html
"Boy, 13, walking home from school struck, killed by train in Cedar Lake"
FTA:[snipped] "...Investigators believe Jeffery, was using the tracks as a shortcut home from Hanover Middle School. He was wearing earphones when he was struck.
According to witnesses, the boy was walking north along the side of the tracks with a hooded sweatshirt pulled over his head. The engineer tried to alert the boy by blowing the train's horn, police said..."
samfp1943He was wearing earphones when he was struck.
I recall reading a while back of a deaf beauty queen who was walking on the tracks with her back to the oncoming train. Predictably, she was struck and killed.
tree68 samfp1943 He was wearing earphones when he was struck. I recall reading a while back of a deaf beauty queen who was walking on the tracks with her back to the oncoming train. Predictably, she was struck and killed.
samfp1943 He was wearing earphones when he was struck.
Something similar happened years ago in nearby Slidell, La. A man was struck and killed while walking on the tracks. It turned out he was not only deaf but full of heroin. The family sued, but I don't know the outcome.
_____________
"A stranger's just a friend you ain't met yet." --- Dave Gardner
Report of local college girl struck and killed by a vehicle while running with headphones on.
Take the headphones off - what you hear may save your life!
Reminds me of high school driver's ed. Our teacher had to leave early from our last period class. He split us up into several groups, and sent us to intersections near the school, telling us to write down the names of people we recognized who ran the stop signs. You guessed it. We hadn't been at our appointed corner very long before Mr. Prentice came barreling through the stop sign. Another group was excited because they saw the principal run the stop sign at their corner.
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
Randy Vos
"Ever have one of those days where you couldn't hit the ground with your hat??" - Waylon Jennings
"May the Lord take a liking to you and blow you up, real good" - SCTV
Have you brought this to the attention of the RR, or G-P, or the Green Bay traffic dept.?
Tom
Fitness guru fouls track, is struck, killed.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/03/19/personal-trainer-killed-train-shooting-youtube-video/25007365/
"Misjudged the width of the train..."
Idea #1 A white stop line before the grade crossing. A giant neon sign over the crossing that is surrounded by flashing lights with a big lighted arrow pointing to it that says "Do not stop on the tracks". Perhaps augmented by a sensor in the crossing that detects the presence of vehicles that are not moving which triggers an alarm and a flashing sign that says "Get off the tracks, dummy".
Idea #2 Replace the current gates with those pop up barriers that the government uses on all their driveways in DC. They could drop down if someone drives onto them from the track side.
Idea #3 Stop creating NEW grade level crossings and begin a 100 year program to gradually eliminate the existing crossings beginning with the ones with the worst accident history. People are too stupid to allow them to drive across the tracks. Only grade separation will stop the carnage.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
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