A man engrossed in a cell phone conversation while walking on railroad tracks during Sunday's Krewe of Slidellians parade did not hear the horn of a slow-moving freight train that hit him from behind, causing minor injuries, Slidell police said.
Clifford Lyons, 25, of Slidell, declined medical treatment for bruises and a small cut on his head after being knocked to the ground by the Norfolk Southern train near Front Street and Erlanger Avenue, Staff Sgt. Brian Nicaud said.
"He's lucky the train had slowed to about 10 mph because of the parade," Nicaud said. "It probably would have been a different story if the train had been going 35 mph like they normally do."
As the parade rolled down Front Street, Lyons was walking south on the tracks at 2:42 p.m. when the 107-car train came up behind him, police said.
The conductor sounded the train's horn and yelled out the window for Lyons to get off the tracks, Nicaud said. When Lyons didn't respond, the conductor applied the brakes, but it was too late.
The cow-catcher on the front of the lead engine clipped Lyons' legs, causing him to spin around and hit his head on the engine as it passed, Nicaud said.
Police arrived to find Lyons dazed but not seriously injured. He told officers he was so engrossed in his phone conversation that he was oblivious to the approaching train until he heard the brakes squeal.
Reached on his cell phone Monday afternoon, Lyons declined to comment.
"I'm just trying to forget about it," he said.
His wife, Lisa Lyons, disputed a police report that says her husband was walking on the tracks with his back to the oncoming train.
She said he had been watching the parade with her and their 6-month-old son and was walking across the tracks to get a baby bottle, a blanket and a chair from their car.
"He couldn't remember one of the things he was supposed to get so he was trying to call me, but he kept getting a message that said my phone could not be reached," she said. "The call finally went through as he was walking across the tracks, and he paused for a moment right in front of the train."
She said he told her that he heard music from the parade but doesn't recall hearing the train's horn.
It's likely that Lyons was so focused on his cell phone that he tuned out the horn as "cognitive interference," said David Strayer, a psychology professor at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City who has co-authored more than a dozen academic articles about cell-phone distraction.
"When you're talking on a cell phone, it's very easy to slip into a trance that makes you oblivious to your surroundings," he said. "You just aren't processing information that lets you know you're at risk, even something as loud as a train horn."
Although most of Strayer's work focuses on cell phones and driving, he said he recently conducted a study with his students that shows mobile phones can be a major distraction for pedestrians.
"We've found that people talking on cell phones while walking process about half of the information from their environment as someone who is having a conversation with a person walking next to them," he said.
Lisa Lyons called the incident a "bizarre, freak accident."
"I could see a drunk person doing something like that, but he hadn't had anything to drink," she said. "I just don't want people to portray him as some fool who was walking down the railroad tracks as a train was coming. That's not what happened."
Several railroad crossings were blocked for at least an hour by the train, which was more than a mile long.
After the parade passed, police escorted parade-goers under stalled train cars at the Gause Boulevard crossing to reach their vehicles on the other side of the tracks, Nicaud said.
Clifford Lyons was issued a court summons for trespassing on railroad property, which extends 20 feet on either side of the tracks, Nicaud said.
Lisa Lyons said her husband plans to contest the charge, saying police let scores of parade-goers walk across the tracks after the incident, including many who did not use a designated railroad crossing.
"Talk about adding insult to injury," she said. "After he gets hit by a train, they give him a citation and then tell everybody to do the exact same thing that he did."
Police stood behind the charge Monday, saying the incident caused significant traffic backups at Front and Gause, one of the city's busiest intersections.
"We wanted to cite him with something," Nicaud said, "and there is no law against being clueless on railroad tracks."
Quote of note:
After the parade passed, police escorted parade-goers under stalled train cars
And, of course, those people will remember at some point in the future how safe it was to go under the train cars and try it on their own when the need arises.
23 17 46 11
Or Norfolk Southern trains are driven by the Conductor.
And they still have "cowcatchers."
explains why states want to ban talking on cell phones while driving..
stay safe
joe
Deshler Ohio-crossroads of the B&O Matt eats your fries.YUM! Clinton st viaduct undefeated against too tall trucks!!!(voted to be called the "Clinton St. can opener").
I recall a few articles where a few cell phone callers would have pressed a palm into one ear to block out the roar of the train horn in emergency while trying hard to hear the phone in the other.
Today's phones carry internet, live radio and live TV streams and are even more engrossing. Maybe the railroad can use the blue tooth and broadcast a message locally in text and in voice saying "STEP BACK FROM THE TRACKS RIGHT NOW!" that will override whatever is going on on any phone in range at that time.
I would have loved to hear what the conductor had to say out of the window but I doubt that it would have helped this person. Maybe a good knock on noggin will be a great reminder not to get near tracks again. Beats being garden-hosed off into a bag.
Regarding the Escort of parade goers... *Shakes head. suppose one of those cars was hauling Inhalation Hazard gas?
Look Listen in Live. Anyone still remember that? Apparently not.
"After the parade passed, police escourted parade-goers underneath the stalled railroad cars."
Brilliant. Absolutely Brilliant. You would think that some police officers in Slidel, Louisiana have some brains. I guess we better think again on that point. And this clown is darn lucky to come out of this with only minor injuries! You should always look in both directions before crossing a railroad track regardless of whether it is a mainline or a siding, but I think this has been lost on a lot of brain-dead idiots.
CANADIANPACIFIC2816
A temporary chain link fence along the right-way would have been very useful for this public event. Maybe next year...
CC
Chris30 wrote: A temporary chain link fence along the right-way would have been very useful for this public event. Maybe next year...CC
Ten feet high, with razor wire on top, and electrified, and somebody would still find a way to get on the tracks.
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...
Likely next year. Maybe a permanent fence wouldn't be a bad idea in that type of area depending upon train frequency.
Have fun with your trains
Just a failed attempt at thinning the herd.
Jack
penncentral2002 wrote: Chris30 wrote: A temporary chain link fence along the right-way would have been very useful for this public event. Maybe next year...CCLikely next year. Maybe a permanent fence wouldn't be a bad idea in that type of area depending upon train frequency.
This type of incident is just as likely to happen at a crossing, so fencing is not a solution.
Datafever wrote: penncentral2002 wrote: Chris30 wrote: A temporary chain link fence along the right-way would have been very useful for this public event. Maybe next year...CCLikely next year. Maybe a permanent fence wouldn't be a bad idea in that type of area depending upon train frequency. This type of incident is just as likely to happen at a crossing, so fencing is not a solution.
Its a solution for preventing legal liability when people crossing the tracks at unapproved places get hit
Hello? Hello? Is this Joe Blow Lawyer? It is. Great. Hey, listen can I sue a railroad if I illegally cross the tracks and there were no warning signs, barricades, etc. to prevent me from doing so and then I got hit by a train. Uh huh. I see. WHAT!?! YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO SPEAK UP! I'M STANDING ON THE TRACKS AND SOMEBODY IS BLOWING A HORN IN MY...
Datafever wrote: "We wanted to cite him with something," Nicaud said, "and there is no law against being clueless on railroad tracks."
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
Chris30 wrote: Hello? Hello? Is this Joe Blow Lawyer? It is. Great. Hey, listen can I sue a railroad if I illegally cross the tracks and there were no warning signs, barricades, etc. to prevent me from doing so and then I got hit by a train. Uh huh. I see. WHAT!?! YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO SPEAK UP! I'M STANDING ON THE TRACKS AND SOMEBODY IS BLOWING A HORN IN MY...CC
Now THAT is FUNNY!!!
I don't remember for sure when and where this happened, but last year some dunce was run over by a Canadian Pacific train while walking right down the middle of the track. He was listening to heavy metal rock music through a pair of head phones and did not hear the blaring of the locomotive's horns. Said dunce is now a DEAD dunce.. I think this just illustrates the point that there are brainless people out there that will never learn and are incapable of learning anything.
Funny, but laughing about it doesn't change that we as society want the railroad to take cost effective precautions to prevent accidents.
Besides, anyone can sue for anything (no suit against the cell phone provider and manufacturer for not having a warning label saying "do not speak on cell phone while standing on railroad tracks" - and he calls himself a lawyer?). You should read some of those pro se prisoner lawsuits (like U.S. ex rel Mayo v. Satan and His Staff or Kent [copyright sign] Norman v. Ronald Reagan, et. al.) Real funny stuff. Winning on the other hand . . . .
Chris30 wrote:Hello? Hello? Is this Joe Blow Lawyer? It is. Great. Hey, listen can I sue a railroad if I illegally cross the tracks and there were no warning signs, barricades, etc. to prevent me from doing so and then I got hit by a train. Uh huh. I see. WHAT!?! YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO SPEAK UP! I'M STANDING ON THE TRACKS AND SOMEBODY IS BLOWING A HORN IN MY...CC
"Been injured by a passing train? Call me, Mr. Joe Blow lawyer at 555- HURT. Remember, we're still on the back of your yellow pages"
Sorry ...had to do it
CANADIANPACIFIC2816 wrote: Chris30 wrote: Hello? Hello? Is this Joe Blow Lawyer? It is. Great. Hey, listen can I sue a railroad if I illegally cross the tracks and there were no warning signs, barricades, etc. to prevent me from doing so and then I got hit by a train. Uh huh. I see. WHAT!?! YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO SPEAK UP! I'M STANDING ON THE TRACKS AND SOMEBODY IS BLOWING A HORN IN MY...CCNow THAT is FUNNY!!!CANADIANPACIFIC2816
Seriously, at least this guy admitted that he was "engrosed" in his phone conversation and wasn't paying attention. Most people would say that "the engineer didn't blow the horn", or "there wern't any warning devices at the crossings," stuff like that.
And that part about police escourting people UNDER the train cars? That is even MORE stupid if you ask me. What if the train moved suddenly??
SchemerBob wrote:And that part about police escourting people UNDER the train cars? That is even MORE stupid if you ask me. What if the train moved suddenly??
There would be a rush on clean undergarments at the nearby department store.
Even better if it was a string of empty hoppers and they were pulling out the slack....
TomDiehl wrote: Or Norfolk Southern trains are driven by the Conductor.
There is an emergency brake handle on the conductors side.
And conductors operate locomotives all the time.....
Mechanical Department "No no that's fine shove that 20 pound set all around the yard... those shoes aren't hell and a half to change..."
The Missabe Road: Safety First
tree68 wrote: SchemerBob wrote:And that part about police escourting people UNDER the train cars? That is even MORE stupid if you ask me. What if the train moved suddenly??There would be a rush on clean undergarments at the nearby department store.Even better if it was a string of empty hoppers and they were pulling out the slack....
Or the roar of the air being released.
Nothing like a little steam blow down timed correctly to keep the people at bay. Who me? I know nothing.
Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one thinks he needs more of it than he already has.
coborn35 wrote: TomDiehl wrote: Or Norfolk Southern trains are driven by the Conductor.There is an emergency brake handle on the conductors side.And conductors operate locomotives all the time.....
That's a blanket statement, in my part of the world, locomotives aren't being run by conductors. Conductor needs a engineer's license to run a engine and we don't have any of those right now, nor do we seldom ever.
Datafever wrote: Quote of note:After the parade passed, police escorted parade-goers under stalled train cars And, of course, those people will remember at some point in the future how safe it was to go under the train cars and try it on their own when the need arises.
spokyone wrote:Does anyone remember HOW MAD the mayor was in Houston when he saw this pic?
Does anyone remember HOW MAD the mayor was in Houston when he saw this pic?
I don't. Is there a story behind it?
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