Boy stops train with van, takes pictures of emergency stop

[coalminer3]

Just think! Old enough to vote and to procreate................

work safe

[espeefoamer]

QUOTE: Originally posted by rrnut282

It does give proponents of a "parenting license" (you can have children only if you qualify) ammunition, doesn't it?
Anybody want to vote for 10 lashes on the public square for both kids and their parents?

A big YES! vote on this one.

[pmsteamman]

Maybe these kids should be givin community service by teaching how dumb this stunt was. Operation lifesaver needs to be more in your face to the public,,but im sure that takes $$$$$ the organization may not have.

[espeefoamer]

These "kids" should be made to pull the dead body(ies) out of the next car hit at that crossing.[:(!]

[Anonymous]

I think the railroad should pu***he issue on this. I don't believe it would be bad PR for them to do so - it might just make some people think, "Gee, if I cause this train to stop, and I'm sure they've got ways to find out who I am, it's going to cost me big." Push it, and make it stick - NO PLEA BARGAINING! These kids knew exactly what they were doing. If mommy and daddy have to start whupping *** to get them into line, so be it.

This goes in line with the issue of graffiti that I brought up a few weeks ago - they have no sense of propriety or what it costs the railroads because they wanted to have some fun or were doing it in the interests of academics.

When I was in the Navy, we used to get a weekly bulletin from the Naval Safety Center describing all the stupid things sailors and marines used to do to themselves on or off the job. This stunt ranks up there with some of the stupidest I've ever read about.

[Kozzie]

The irony is overwhelming! Such a stupid and unsafe action - so much for the safety classes ! [banghead]

[Anonymous]

Just two more kids who need to be "drained" from the gene pool...........Maybe next time the engineer will NOT see them. I wonder how THAT video will turn out???

[Anonymous]

Whoever the kid was, he needs some common sense pills and stupidity anti-venom quick.

[locomutt]

The boys do need to be punished, not just repremanded. They and their parents
(if the boys were underage) need to accept responsibility for their action, and
pay the piper, so to speak.

[RudyRockvilleMD]

1 boy = 1 brain
2 boys = 1/2 brain
3 boys = 1/3 brain
. .
. .
. .
n boys = 1/n brains

[Anonymous]

I think I'll add to that RudyRockvilleMD:

1 spoiled little brat boy=1 brain that's occasionally useless
2 spoiled little brats=1/4 brain with stupid ideas being made
3 spoiled little brats=0 brains with nothing but trouble

[kenneo]

The comments about goin into the big hole in these situations.

A hoghead that is now retired, former AMTK, also a real good man on long and heavey ones --- this man could stop a train faster than anyone I ever knew of.

How did he do this. First, he never ever made a straight emergency application. First, he streached the train by giving a 5-7 pound reduction, letting it propogate for at least 5 seconds. Then he took 10 more pounds making a reduction of 15-17 pounds. While the 5 pounder is going back to start the braking process, this 10 pounder is going to thow out the anchor.

Since he only as 5-8 pounds left (freight), he would leave the set at this point unless he thought he could stop prior to collision. For passenger, he would then, after about 5 seconds at 15-17, make a maximum reduction in as many pieces he figured he could manage so that he would avoid throwing people down and skidding the soup off the table.

Where most hogheads would simply clean the clock and still hit whatever it was, the amazing thing is, this man had only 3 times (that I know of) he was not able to stop - over a time span of 40 plus years.

Simply amazing.

He also said something else as to why he stopped this way. It got the train streached so if he did derail, there was all that slack streached out to absorbe stopping distance and therefor, fewer boxcars got bent up. To say nothing about HAZMAT loads. Each car was, therefor, stopping only itself and not every car behind it too.

[Roadtrp]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Mookie

QUOTE: Originally posted by Roadtrp

I wonder how many of the people here blaming the parents have teenaged children (or had them) themselves? Anyone who thinks you can control everything a 16 or 17 year old does is either incredibly naive or runs their family like Saddam ran Iraq.

Edited to add...

Hello all. This is my first post on this forum, though many of you probably know me from the MR forum.

-Jerry

I raised a daughter - alone - she is all grown and has a family of her own. I didn't expect to know where or what 24/7 - but by golly I made it my business to know a good share of that 24/7. It is called paying attention and listening.

Mook

Mookie,

First off, raising a teenage girl is absolutely NOTHING like raising a teenage boy. I know -- I've done both. Teenage girls can be moody and make you miserable, but teenage boys are independent as heck and have much more testosterone than brains. You can try to keep track of them as best you can and it does you little good.

Dad: Where you going?

Kid: I'm just going over to the mall for a couple of hours with Pete.

Dad: OK -- Make sure you're home on time.

Kid meets Pete, then picks up Scott and Jason. The four of them get a wild hair up their rear and decide to stop a train. They know it's wrong. They know if their parents ever found out about it they would be in deep doo-doo. But the don't give a rip -- they are teenaged boys. So they go off on their half-baked adventure.

Kid gets home...

Dad: How was the mall?

Kid: You know, the usual... kind of boring.

Dad: Well, glad you made it home on time.

Kid: Hey -- no problem.

Now just where in this scenario would paying attention and listening have stopped this from happening?

[?][:)]

Throw the book at the kids... THEY are the ones responsible.

[Big_Boy_4005]

QUOTE: Originally posted by pmsteamman

Maybe these kids should be givin community service by teaching how dumb this stunt was. Operation lifesaver needs to be more in your face to the public,,but im sure that takes $$$$$ the organization may not have.

NOW THERE'S A SOLUTION I LIKE!!!! Just make the boys fund it by selling the van. Send them around to the local schools, and let them tell everyone how stupid they were with that stunt.

[Mookie]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Roadtrp

QUOTE: Originally posted by Mookie

QUOTE: Originally posted by Roadtrp

I wonder how many of the people here blaming the parents have teenaged children (or had them) themselves? Anyone who thinks you can control everything a 16 or 17 year old does is either incredibly naive or runs their family like Saddam ran Iraq.

Edited to add...

Hello all. This is my first post on this forum, though many of you probably know me from the MR forum.

-Jerry

I raised a daughter - alone - she is all grown and has a family of her own. I didn't expect to know where or what 24/7 - but by golly I made it my business to know a good share of that 24/7. It is called paying attention and listening.

Mook

Mookie,

First off, raising a teenage girl is absolutely NOTHING like raising a teenage boy. I know -- I've done both. Teenage girls can be moody and make you miserable, but teenage boys are independent as heck and have much more testosterone than brains. You can try to keep track of them as best you can and it does you little good.

Dad: Where you going?

Kid: I'm just going over to the mall for a couple of hours with Pete.

Dad: OK -- Make sure you're home on time.

Kid meets Pete, then picks up Scott and Jason. The four of them get a wild hair up their rear and decide to stop a train. They know it's wrong. They know if their parents ever found out about it they would be in deep doo-doo. But the don't give a rip -- they are teenaged boys. So they go off on their half-baked adventure.

Kid gets home...

Dad: How was the mall?

Kid: You know, the usual... kind of boring.

Dad: Well, glad you made it home on time.

Kid: Hey -- no problem.

Now just where in this scenario would paying attention and listening have stopped this from happening?

[?][:)]

Throw the book at the kids... THEY are the ones responsible.

I could write volumes on this one - but I won't. Suffice to say - you start them very young and you are involved in all aspects of their lives. You meet their friends, you don't let your children "go to the mall" - what is out there for them - they don't shop! Involve yourself more in one on one activities - don't "take them places and drop them off".

Do this when they are young and know everything about what they are doing - even in the other room and you won't have children making bombs in their bedrooms and hiding war weapons in the garage. Going to the mall is just an excuse to get out of the house and into mischief.

You forget - girls have children - and now days - they raise as much dust as boys if they aren't carefully watched. The dialog you offer sounds exactly like I said - they are so much furniture. "go play and don't get into trouble"..............

Mookie

[dstill]

When I was young I would have got a beat for something like this, but it a crime to discipline children today.

[tree68]

I did a little looking around on the web yesterday to see if I could find any more info on the story (ie, local newspaper, etc). I discovered that there are several Elk Rivers around the country. Where did this incident occur? Is there any more to know? Has the boys' reason for their actions come out at all? I know it was apparently for a safety report, but did they really plan to have the train go into emergency?

We've already discussed our feelings on their actions, so no need to reha***hem. I'm just curious what's happened/been discovered since the initial accident, reported as April 6th.

[edblysard]

I am going to run with Larry on one this, after they have their drivers license, they pretty much are free to decide where they go and what they do when they get there.
All parents can do is hope what they taught their kids early in life sticks.

But Mookie was right on too, as parents, it is our job to keep tabs on them, who their friends are, and what they and their friends are doing.

My 17 year old dosnt hang out at the mall, or cruise with her boyfriend.

She has a set time to be back from dates, and if she aint home by then, she dosnt go out with that yong man again.

No stricter that the rules my parents had for my sisters.

But not any less strict, either.

She is well aware that what she does, in certain circumstances, is my responsibility, and well aware of the concequences of breaking the rules.

Before she goes out with anyone, boy or girl, I meet that kid, and in the case of boys, his parents.
Depending on the parents attitude, the boy can take her out on a date, and depending on that attitude, said date may happen in my livingroom a few times.

From a legal standpoint, depending on what state you live in, the age of emancipation can range from 18 to 21.

Most states allow children to get drivers licenses as early as 16, which means mom and pop (or their insurance company)can be held legally responsible for any damage their child does or causes with the automobile up to the age of emancipation.

And, depending on which state you live in, whoever owns the automobile can also be held partialy liable.

Most courts will, in certain instances, will make a ruleing on wether the children should be tried as adults, and in those instances, the kids are pretty much on their own.

Thats one of the perils of parenthood, at some point, you have to trust them enought and hope they listened and learned from you, but you still have to turn them loose, and hope for the best.
If they screw up, you have to pay for it, until they become legally an adult.

All thats said, I am with Larry, hope they still have their bike, because when, or if I let them out of the house again, un-supervised, before they turn 21, its either pedal, or use the mares shank...

Most of what happens to these boys will depend on how much damage was really caused, and what the railroad wants to do.
They could be charged with a host of crimes, ranging from interferring with interstate commerce, to tresspassing and reckless endangerment.
But I would bet the railroad would not want the bad PR, so most likely will either not press charges, or ask a JV Court judge to make the boys do community service.

If it was my railroad, and I could chose their punishment, I would make them attend a Opperation Lifesaver program, then ride with the local police, on traffic patrol, take em to a few highway accidents and grade crossing accidents, and let them see first hand what really happens.

We dont have all the info on what really happened, and why these young men did what they did.
I hope they were just dumb, and didnt realize how dangerous this was.
If they did know, they should face the stiffest punishment the courts can hand out.
If they didnt know, now is the time to teach them, before they find out the hard way.

Ed

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Mookie

QUOTE: Originally posted by Roadtrp

I wonder how many of the people here blaming the parents have teenaged children (or had them) themselves? Anyone who thinks you can control everything a 16 or 17 year old does is either incredibly naive or runs their family like Saddam ran Iraq.

Edited to add...

Hello all. This is my first post on this forum, though many of you probably know me from the MR forum.

-Jerry

I raised a daughter - alone - she is all grown and has a family of her own. I didn't expect to know where or what 24/7 - but by golly I made it my business to know a good share of that 24/7. It is called paying attention and listening.

Mook

Goes to prove my point even further - Girls are fundemantely different then Boys, and i'm not jsut talking about Breasts- I'm talking mentality. boys have a nack for getting into trouble more often then women, And women aren't as big a risk takers.

I don't want to sound sexist- But only a boy.guy/male could have thpught about parking his car on the tracks!

Find a woman that does that, and i'll give you 5 bucks..*

Theres a famous Socio-pshycologist ( i still can't spell that word in English!!!) I can't rememebr his name, but names are irrelavent. He came up witha now famous "Group mentality" theory.

Any child, will behave differantely with a group of people, almost to the point where you won't Recognize your children, now believe it or not Women are actually more vunerable at this level- many of them will practicly go along with anyhting jsut so they can save-face.

But Get a group of men together, the Iq level plumits fater then Nortel stcoks- straight through the floor, It turns into a daring game quite often when we so who will stoop lower then the other.

Now believe it or not parents, your children are holding deep dark secrets, that you will enevr find out about, and that they will bring them to the grave, or tell anyone else but you.

Ever see the movie with steve martin And Queen lateefa, can't remeber the title now- But the parental messages hit close to home-

it is not Stictly defined in your parental book to be solely the parents of this child. Rememebr, not only should you be a parent, you must remain your shilds BEST Friend, someone they can turn too if they fudge up and they need to talk to someone-

If they are slightese bit worried you may casr Judgement or even punish- theres not an ice cubes chnce in Jamaica your going to hear what is happening in your Childs life, and you will always be distant, or KEPT AT a distance in many apsects.

Now thats easy to deny that, people who deny that DONT ACTUALLY realize this very thing is happening right in front of their nose, plus your denying it because you Don';t know what your child is holding back.

But i got Sidetracked, Next theory, Freud came up with a very clear concept- Ego, Superego and Id.
Ex:
Ego: that candybar looks good but i don't have the money.
Super Ego: It's wrong to steal the candybar, so it'll have to wait
Id: That candybar is mine Right now, come hell or high water, i'm having it.

Now women have quite a good balance between Id, Ego, and Superego (commonly referred to as concience) But men often tend to be overuled by their Id, and there Super Ego is powerless to stop the momentuom of Id.

I coudl write another 87 pages on this topic, but i'll leave it be and see what responses i haul in.
---------------------
*that does not mean, in a last ditch effort to get 5 bucks of me, that you get your wife/significant other on the forum and post that she would stop her van on the tracks.

[edbenton]

Those kids have to be as dumb as a box of rocks to pull a stunt like that. I never have been behind the controls of a locomotive but I have had i happen to me when I drove truck over the road. The favorite trick they like to pull is dive across 3 lanes to make thier exit. Wonder if they learned their driving habits from watching their parents after seeing them do it to a truck. [soapbox]

[Roadtrp]

QUOTE: Originally posted by kevinstheRRman


Goes to prove my point even further - Girls are fundemantely different then Boys, and i'm not jsut talking about Breasts- I'm talking mentality. boys have a nack for getting into trouble more often then women, And women aren't as big a risk takers.

I don't want to sound sexist- But only a boy.guy/male could have thpught about parking his car on the tracks!

Yes, guys are fundamentally different from girls. And Kevin is right -- if you rule with an iron hand you aren't keeping your kid from doing anything. You are just making him hide it from you. I went as far as recording the mileage on the car before my son went out and then recording it when he got back. If the miles were more than I thought they should have been based on where he was going, I gave him hell. You wanna know something? I was WRONG!

Our daughter was seven years younger, and as most people do I had mellowed with age a bit. Now girls ARE definitely different, so the task was much easier with her. But I TRUSTED her. I didn't constantly check on where she was going. If she was back when she said she would be back and was in good shape, I didn't need to know where she spent every single minute. I trusted her, and in return she respected me.

I think I must have done something right. Her High School GPA was 3.999. Her college GPA after two years is 4.0. She has never tried alcohol, drugs or tobacco. She has truly never given me heartache in the 20 years she has been on this earth. Part of it is the fact that she is a girl. Part of it comes from her having a very different personality from my son. And I truly think part of it is due to the fact that I was LESS strict with her than I was with my son.

I am firmly convinced that you should treat your kids like YOU would like to be treated. [:)][:)]

[tree68]

QUOTE: Originally posted by kevinstheRRman

Goes to prove my point even further - Girls are fundamentaly different than Boys, and i'm not just talking about Breasts- I'm talking mentality. Boys have a nack for getting into trouble more often then women, and women aren't as big a risk takers.
<SNIP>

Alas, as any parent who has had a daughter start driving lately can probably tell you, the girls are catching up to the boys as risk takers, as well as many other areas. And girls are just as likely to suffer from the group mentality syndrome. I've seen it. Equal opportunity doesn't just apply to the workplace... Used to be it wasn't lady-like to pull the stunts the boys did. Now they don't care.

I have no trouble picturing a van full of girls stopping on a RR crossing, then tearing off in a fit of giggles as the engineer looks to change his shorts.

[Mookie]

QUOTE: Originally posted by tree68

QUOTE: Originally posted by kevinstheRRman

Goes to prove my point even further - Girls are fundamentaly different than Boys, and i'm not just talking about Breasts- I'm talking mentality. Boys have a nack for getting into trouble more often then women, and women aren't as big a risk takers.
<SNIP>

Alas, as any parent who has had a daughter start driving lately can probably tell you, the girls are catching up to the boys as risk takers, as well as many other areas. And girls are just as likely to suffer from the group mentality syndrome. I've seen it. Equal opportunity doesn't just apply to the workplace... Used to be it wasn't lady-like to pull the stunts the boys did. Now they don't care.

I have no trouble picturing a van full of girls stopping on a RR crossing, then tearing off in a fit of giggles as the engineer looks to change his shorts.

My point exactly! But my bottom line was if you work with them at an early age - by the time they are 16 or 17 - you will have a better chance of them not doing something really stupid, than if you just treat them as, well you know.

Mook

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Mookie

QUOTE: Originally posted by tree68

QUOTE: Originally posted by kevinstheRRman

Goes to prove my point even further - Girls are fundamentaly different than Boys, and i'm not just talking about Breasts- I'm talking mentality. Boys have a nack for getting into trouble more often then women, and women aren't as big a risk takers.
<SNIP>

Alas, as any parent who has had a daughter start driving lately can probably tell you, the girls are catching up to the boys as risk takers, as well as many other areas. And girls are just as likely to suffer from the group mentality syndrome. I've seen it. Equal opportunity doesn't just apply to the workplace... Used to be it wasn't lady-like to pull the stunts the boys did. Now they don't care.

I have no trouble picturing a van full of girls stopping on a RR crossing, then tearing off in a fit of giggles as the engineer looks to change his shorts.

My point exactly! But my bottom line was if you work with them at an early age - by the time they are 16 or 17 - you will have a better chance of them not doing something really stupid, than if you just treat them as, well you know.

Mook

I don't know Larry, i jsut can't picture women doing this kind of thing. Howveer, Group mentality doesn't solely affect men it affects women aswell, But I think i'm repeating myself now.

If anyone really wants to work with their children the golden years are 3, 4 and 5. That is the age where they are the most perceptive and will learn;

How to socialize

How to society functions

Taboos, and things that are not appropriate.

Those three years are when a child is the most receptive of all of them.

However, however, however.

Id is powerful, And it unbalanced Can reign. Raising Girls and Raising Guys are very different. I sometimes wonder what it would of been like having a brother- the competion, it's like 2 males bucking their head, would there be fights? I doubt it, I don't resolve any of my issues using violent actions. But thats jsut me-

i know what it's like to live with a girl- Shes you know- a girl. Nothing as hard as expected, I jsut have to haul out my bomb shelter once a month, but thats about it. Once you get used to the fact everyhting is my fault, it's simple simple stuff.

Women are much easier to raise, to teach, then men will ever be, they are more perceptive for longer periods of their life, and benefit much more from a school environment.

[Anonymous]

I THINK THAT THEY WATCH TO MUCH FEAR FACTOR, AS A ENGINEER I WOULD NOT PUT MY TRAIN IN A E.B.A. BECAUSE HAZ MAT DOES MORE DAMAGE AND THIER PARENTS DONT HAVE THAT KIND OF MONEY TO BAIL THEM OUT. MY UNCLE TOLD ME A STORY A BOUT A MAN ON A SUB THAT NEEDED MEDICAL TREATMENT BUT THE CAPTAIN COULDNT RISK THE REST OF THE MEN ON THE SUB AND THE MAN DIED. READ BETWEEN THE LINES....

[Anonymous]

http://www.erstarnews.com/2004/April/13badboy.html

It appened in Elk River, MN 55330

I cannot find any other follow-ups

[tree68]

Thanks CSX!

Kev - I can't see women doing such a thing either. Of course, I don't see most men doing something like that, at least not on purpose. Boys and girls, on the other hand...

[espeefoamer]

[:(!] Any kid of mine who did this wouldn't drive again until he could buy his own car,insurance(which would be astronomical with something like this on his record)and all other related expenses.[:(!]

[Mookie]

QUOTE: Originally posted by espeefoamer

[:(!] Any kid of mine who did this wouldn't drive again until he could buy his own car,insurance(which would be astronomical with something like this on his record)and all other related expenses.[:(!]

I think the anyone under 18-19 that has a car - should possibly buy it himself.
And pay the taxes and insurance. This requires a job, which also goes to keeping them occupied and off the streets. If Dad and Mom are going to provide transportation, it should be because the child has earned the privilege of having a car. Responsibility and good grades, good home life and decent friends. This of course, will require some work on the part of the parents. Therein lies the problem.

Mook

[edblysard]

QUOTE: [i]

Women are much easier to raise, to teach, then men will ever be, they are more perceptive for longer periods of their life, and benefit much more from a school environment.

Ha ha ha haaaaaa....gotta take a breath......hahahahahahahahah.....

Sure they are, yeah, right, uh huh...

Got three of them, 5 through 17.
Easier to raise?
I havent seen the bathroom walls in years, and try going shopping, anywhere...for anything, without buying clothes.

Ed