How to Respond when you hear of a person hit/killed walking across a RR

[Willy2]

I usually try to let it go but I pray for all of the families involved. It's when people who try to beat a train to a crossing get injured or killed that I do some criticism. There's no reason to try to beat it so it makes me mad when they try.

Willy

[TH&B]

There does not need to be warning signs anywhere, your warnings signs are your own eyes and ears, and if you are blind or deaf it is your own reponsibilty to know that and act accordingly. Anywhere there are train tracks there IS a train weather it is once a month or 20 times an hour makes no difference.

Then there is the philosaphy that when there is an accident, someone wanted there to be one.

I personaly strongly beleive that every grown person is responsible for his own actions.
So I dont have any sympathy for people who walk in front of trains to die. Exeption; I do have sympathy for railway employees that may be exposed to the danger of trains on a daily bases, like track maintaners and switchmen who often may depend on team effort for their safety, when someone gets injured or killed under these conditions then t is important to find out what went wrong and what can be done to prevent more accidents.

But for the general public or anyone else, if they want to walk on the tracks, fine, use your own eyes and ears, it's not hard to NOT get hit by a train.

[Anonymous]

Just last year my best friend walked on Amtrak track at the *** Lynn,Pa. and was hit by a metroliner. He was in four parts when the police came. It was very hard on me to this day. We used to go to the station and watch trains. I no longer go to that station.

[tree68]

Most safety types will tell you there is no such thing as an accident. Someone or something failed to perform as expected/required. An incident may be unavoidable given the circumstances, but it was still preventable.

I think our harshest criticism (and/or worst sarcasm) here in the forums goes to those who, despite every possible opportunity of avoiding it, still manage to collide with a train.

Suicide by train, like any suicide, is in a class by itself. We can't usually fathom why a person would take their own life, and in these cases the method they use to do so happens to be our favorite avocation.

The subject line parallels miles of beach, most of it reached by crossing the tracks. I'm not sure what the traffic density is on that line now, but I'd have to believe that anyone who frequents the beaches wouldn't be aware that trains use those tracks.

Those closest to a suicide victim rarely understand. Without seeing any of the reports on the incident, I can't guess why Amtrak would say it was a suicide, but there are going to be signs that the crew might see that might indicate such.

[MP57313]

Just the other day, a local letter to the LA Times complained of the lack of safety warnings along the "Surf line" along the So Cal coast near San Diego. A college student (grandson of the letter writers) was hit and killed when hit by a train earlier in June.

The writers were alarmed because Amtrak attributed the death to suicide but the writers did not believe that. Meanwhile, they claimed there were no warning signs in the area (Cardiff).

I have ridden along that line several times, most recently in March, and I recall seeing "No Trespassing" signs at regular intervals along the line.

Whether or not there was a sign at the exact spot where he crossed the tracks, that does not excuse people from not paying attention when crossing railroad tracks. Just the same, the upgraded welded tracks in the area allow the trains to move faster and quieter than before.

I've heard the comments about "survival of the fittest", "thinning of the herd", "Darwin award winner", etc. But surely some of these are just accidents or carelessness, not deliberate stupidity.

How do you respond to these accidents, or do you just let 'em be?