2007-02-10 14:53:57 · 15 answers · asked by Romeo S 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Safety
ok, think about it. If you are in a car and have to slam on your brakes, do you stop right where you applied the brakes or a little further up ? They are travelling at high speeds with several thousand tons of weight... An eight car passenger train going 60 miles per hour will take approximately 1,500 feet to stop, while a train traveling at 80 miles per hour will take about 2,200 feet (nearly one-half mile) to come to a complete stop. People should NOT be in the crossing.
2007-02-10 15:01:36 · answer #1 · answered by Michele A 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Trains can weigh 20,000 tons (that's 40,000,000 pounds), can be over a mile long (which means it takes awhile just to send the signal to apply the brakes!) and they use steel wheels on steel rail, which isn't as sticky as rubber on asphalt.
Even so, you don't expect automobiles to stop "immediately". Notice there aren't crosswalks on freeways?
The real question, is "Why is somebody crossing"? Because if a train is coming, they shouldn't be crossing!
Trains CAN'T stop. So it isn't the train's job to avoid you, it's your job to avoid the train.
And don't think you can be careless around slow trains. Nearly half of all fatal train-car or train-pedestrian accidents happen with the train moving less than SIX miles per hour. That's right. Jogging speed.
2007-02-10 23:07:18 · answer #2 · answered by Wolf Harper 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because of the weight of trains and what ever they are hauling.
Trains do not have rubber lined wheels. Even at 25 mph,it takes a train several hundred feet to stop dispite all the cars and engines have brakes on all the wheels.These are air brakes and the pressure has to be released over the entire length of the train to stop. At higher speeds,it takes a train several miles to stop.
That is why they have warning lights,bells and gates at most RR crossings,but there are idiots who ignore them and try to beat the train.
2007-02-13 23:47:44 · answer #3 · answered by Ralph T 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is simple Physics. The more mass you have going at a higher speed, the longer it takes to stop. Many of the trains that pass on tracks go at LEAST 45mph, and if you've seen the damage that 45mph has on a CAR, imagine putting more force behind it.
A train with a full load (meaning all the cars) going only 60mph will take nearly one mile to come to a complete stop from the time they put the brakes on. With less cars, or a slower speed, it will stop within a shorter distance, but that's physics for you.
This is ALSO why they suggest that a car going over 60 down the highway put AT LEAST 2 "car lengths" between them and the car in front of them, or pass the car in front. If they slam on the brakes, you SHOULD have just enough space in 2 car lengths to stop before hitting the car in front of you. Not always, but according to physics, it's SUPPOSED to happen that way.
2007-02-10 23:02:50 · answer #4 · answered by jlene18 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Trains with a heavy load and lot of cars at 20 mph may take a half mile to stop. Now if it is just the Engine, then it would take about 150 for normal stop. A car is like 10 feet. Normal stop. Not burning the rubber stop.
2007-02-10 23:05:33 · answer #5 · answered by Big C 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Trains have a lot of momentum and it takes a lot of energy to stop.
Next time you are in the grocery store, grab a cart. When it is empty you can move it around easily, ride it like a skateboard and then stop it easily enough.
Now fill it up with a couple hundred pounds of water softener salt.
You'll have a hard time getting it moving and a hard time stopping it once you've built up some speed.
Don't go too fast, or you'll see just how hard it is to avoid hitting someone when dealing with a massive moving object.
2007-02-10 23:01:46 · answer #6 · answered by Vegan 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
A 1000 ton train going 60 miles an hour has a lot of inertia.Takes a while to stop.
2007-02-10 23:02:08 · answer #7 · answered by thresher 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
the train is extremely heavy and its travelling at a extremely high speed, when the brakes are engaged the weight at the back still wants to travel forward at the same speed so the train doesnt stop immediately, its like you trying to lock your siblings out of your room but they are pressing on the door
2007-02-10 23:00:56 · answer #8 · answered by cars_o_holic 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Science. Force = Mass * Acceleration. The train is to heavy and moving to fast to stop in time.
2007-02-10 23:02:57 · answer #9 · answered by chris t 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A body in motion tends to stay in motion unless overcome by an equal or superior opposite force. You're talking about a lot of mass to stop.
2007-02-11 00:12:22 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋