Why on Earth do so many people get hit by trains?

Question

Trains travel on tracks. Train tracks. Very distintinctive things in nature they are, so I can never comprehend when some unfortunate soul gets "accidentally" hit by a train. Wouldnt you have to be doing it on purpose? Any train victims want to defend themselves? Also, cars dont stall on train tracks. Just doesnt happen. The chances of your car stalling on one of the few train tracks on the planet are next to nothing. And if that does happen, get out of the car. Simple survival skills.

Answer 1

This question has been asked ever since the railroads began, and some of the answers above have touched on it, if I may expand.

Accidents do happen wherein people are killed and not always because of stupidity, which is nature's way of thinning the herd and strengthening the gene pool.

In my personal experience I did clobber a car that had stalled one day. In 1972 I was en route between Sparks, Nevada and Roseville, California when a woman, with two youngsters in her car, stalled on a slight incline, yet in the clear. For what ever reason, she let the car roll back onto the tracks. I saw everyone bail out, but a teenager went back to the car. I thought of the old song, "Teen Angel." The boy had retrieved a camera, and got good shots of their station wagon being turned into graphite.

In another instance, a drunk had his pick-up truck high centered and, not sure what to do, walked across a highway to a bar, and continued the party, sans his truck. Same result.

It is true that the size of the train distorts ones perception of speed. Studies have showed that the problem is compounded when the train is running adjacent to some sort of parallel, such as a line of trees along the tracks. Not a visibility issue, but distortion of judgment of speed.

Then there is the truly gut-wrenching tragedies. Some years ago, in Redding, California, a disabled person tried to cross the tracks in a wheel-chair. The wheel-chair got hung up, train came, end of story. I thank God this was not my tale to tell. A RailTail on my 360 blog will be dealing with these and more in a week or so.

Then there is the fact that where grade crossing protection is in place, it is NOT fail-safe. But, the truth is, people just do stupid stuff. I have said it before, but if you really want to see what can happen, go to You Tube and search 'Banned from TV - train accident'. Very graphic, but it should be required viewing for high school seniors.

But, after getting themselves into some deep do-do, they freeze, and don't think about getting out of their car.

So, the answer is, so many people get hit because they wind up in close proximity to very heavy equipment that will be more than happy to kill them, even if the engineer sees them, because if he can see you, it is already too late to stop. They don't realize that a 16,000 ton freight train is the equivolent of 5 US Naval destroyers of WWII vintage, on roller bearings.

Bottom line, trains don't come looking for you. Stay out of the way and you stay alive.

Answer 2

I live near a crossing where a few people have gotten hit, and for a number of reasons. One of them got hit because they were rushing to catch a train that was at the platform, and they went under the gate, because the gates stay down when the train is at the platform, but they didn't know that another train was coming in the other direction. End of story. This is actually pretty common near me, because rushing commuters *just can't afford* those extra 15 minutes for the next train, so people cross under the gate every day, but fortunately, not everyone gets hit. Another time, an old man had a seizure and his car stopped on the tracks and got hit with him in it because he had passed out. I know that a bunch of other people get hit in the summer because the heat radiating off of the trains make it look like they're not moving at all, when they actually are moving very swiftly, and people get hit that way too.

Answer 3

As for some people getting hit by trains you have to understand that first is the newer rails are c.w.r. which means continusly welded rail.Which means less noise when the train is traveling on the tracks .Also objects further away from you appear to moving at slower rate of speed. Hence I can make it long before it gets here. Another thing in rural areas people somtimes walk the tracks where as the two previous statements come in.Now the car thing some people think that they can get it off the trackbefore the train is even near them.

Answer 4

Apart from the easy "suicide" answer, another reason is that we perceive large objects to be moving more slowly than is the case. Some people are simply fooled by the speed at which a train arrives. Doesn't solve the issue about what they're doing on the tracks in the first place but the Darwin Awards are never short of candidates.

Answer 5

They are not paying attention to what they should be, which is driving. It is even worse now that they have an additional gadget to take their mind off of what they are doing. (THE CELL PHONE) Years ago I saw a lady driving parallel to a train track and there was a train slightly behind her with its horn blaring. She came to a bend in the road that went across the track and she drove directly into the path of the train. Luckily she made it most of the way across but her car was totaled. I don't understand either...

Answer 6

There are many reasons. One is that the signaling mechanisms at crossings do not always work properly. Another is that people misjudge the distance and rate the train is traveling. Sometimes people are just reckless.

Answer 7

there are some people who think that saving those 2-5 minutes waiting for a train is worth risking their life and if driving the lives of everyone in their car. This is not somthing I would risk my life for.

Answer 8

1

Answer 9

Well, recently a man had a seizure and fell into the subway tracks by accident.
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=local&id=4899364

I don't know why I'm surprised that there is so much negativity.

Answer 10

If the prepare replaced into status nonetheless you hit the prepare. otherwise the prepare hits you. the version is once you hit a prepare you're purely embarrassed which you weren't looking the place you have been going, yet whilst the prepare hits you you're ineffective.