Crossing Train Tracks (On Foot) and the Dangers Involved

[JohnBM01]

Crossing railroad tracks - A kid here in Houston attended Deady Middle School here in Houston. He was 12 years old trying to make it to Deady on time. So what happened to him? His legs were maimed, learning the hard way not to use the railroad tracks to reach a destination when on foot. It's completely dangerous to try to cross railroad tracks especially with a train going down the tracks. I can attest to this because back in 1997, I seen someone go across railroad tracks to go to a convenient store a block away from Milby High School (just down the street from Deady Middle School). It was a Thursday night as my Ninth Grade English class was about to go on a field trip to see a play of "Romeo and Juliet" at the University of Houston. A train came, and this dude who was part of my class tried to cross between two train cars. He made it through safely, but we would have missed out on one of our own class members by taking the risk of crossing between train cars. GTPlanet, this is as dangerous as crap, but I want to know your opinions about taking the chance of going between railroad cars.

As the author of the thread, I'll begin.

If I were trying to reach some place in time and a railroad with a train running on it is my only obstacle, I'd try to be careful to get past before thinking about taking a dangerous chance at maiming my legs or ankles or even get smacked head on. When you're on foot, if there's an overpass to walk over the train (which there needs to be for all or most railroad crossings), try to use that. But don't take the chance getting maimed or even killed. Trains don't stop as instantly as an LMP, a Formula One car, or even a Big Rig racing truck. Trains usually run at least 50 mph, trying to ride across the tracks getting to whatever destination. You CANNOT take this chance.

Carry on.

 

[DQuaN]

Stupid as hell. Saying that some trains don't stop so quick is a bit of an understatement! Some trains take a couple of miles to stop.

Stay away from the tracks kids. With the added fact that most railway lines in the UK have hundreds of thousands of volts running either in them, or in overhead wires. I can't belive that anyone could be that stupid.

Sadly, some are.

 

[Mike Rotch]

How stupid can one be - being hit by a train whilst trying to walk across 5 feet of tracking.

Here's a helpful manual for non-electric tracks, providing there is no walkway overhead:

A) Approach track
B) Stop
C) Look left and right to observe if there is an approaching train
D) If there is a train approaching, refer to B)
E) If there is not train approaching, walk across tracks being careful not to somehow get you foot stuck in the tracks.
D) Proceed as if you are a normal person, who can sense the danger in trying to beat a train - on foot.

 

[Blake]

I think as long as you are a half intellegent person who can tell if a train is comming and who can walk across a few feet without getting your legs trapped (how can you do that anyway?) you should be fine. I've done it occasionally and I really don't understand how people can get themselves in these situations...

Blake

 

[Jmac279]

My friends somehow talked me into crossing a river via railroad bridge while we were skipping class (they didn't want anyone to see them and, possibly, get caught) ... A train ended up coming as we were about halfway across and we ended up having to jump, taking a several story plunge into the freezing cold river in heavy clothes (it was March) and were carried downstream several kilometers (very strong current that time of year) ... We're lucky none of us died ...

By far the stupidest thing I've ever done in my life ...

 

[Duke]

There is a single-line Conrail freight track right through the middle of our town. In fact it runs right across one corner of the local college campus, isolating a set of dorms and some buildings from the main campus. The tracks get used by big freighters several times a day at least; the speed limit seems to be about 30 mph through town though some trains move more slowly.

There is at least one underpass and a road bridge with sidewalks for pedestrians along the major student routes, yet we lose about a person a year (not always students) on those tracks, out of a town of about 20,000. This year in fact we've had more than one death, and a person get his leg broken who was walking parallel to the tracks and thinking he was far enough away.

I've seen cars try to dodge the barriers, too, and I can't imagine anything stupider.

 

[smoovejas]

There was a young boy in our Sunday School who was killed while trying to cross an Amtrak line. I'm sure that his parents told him numerous times to stay away from the tracks. However, there was another child with him so peer pressure was involved.

I'm not saying that peer pressure is an excuse for his behavior, but he was about 9 years old. It is scary to think of the dangers children put themselves in for peer acceptance.

 

[Swift]

I think this subject is something we can all agree on. Just plain dumb.

 

[keram]

If you act like this guy you deserve to get hit.

This guy here
The video is ok for anyone to watch but some of the links around the edge of the page aren't the most suitable for younger readers.

 

[blargonator]

i used to cross them all the time, we don't get much train traffic here but our area is generally flat and you can see for quite a distance on the train tracks. mike rotch seems to have taken care of what i did.

 

[ND4SPD]

Well whenever I walk across train tracks, I usually try not to walk on the tracks themselves, instead I walk over them. I just don't get why people put their feet inside the tracks, its just common sense...Some people, are idiots as seen in that train jumping video.

 

[Solid Lifters]

We have the Metro Rail system here in SoCal. They have Blue, Red and Green lines which are smaller cars, yet are big and fast enough to do some damage. In the town bellow us, where the rail runs, a jogger was running on, or right next to, the tracks. He had an Ipod on and didn't hear the train coming. Yep, he died. This was about a year ago.

A drug addict left her two children unsupervised while she was busy doing drugs. The girls got out of the apartment, down the street and onto the tracks. Yep, they died too, and the mother sued the city. Her case was dismissed when she didn't show up for the court date. She was busy doing drugs at the time. Sweet justice. But the father, who was classified as a deadbeat dad, settled out of court, when he showed up, for $25,000. He admited to cameras that he never saw his child, the one child that was his, ever. OK, that pissed a lot of people off. Some irresponsable, deadbeat dad who never even saw the kid born gets to walk away with $25,000 just for being the sperm donor. But, since he was classified as a deadbeat dad, and the woman was on welfare, the Department of Social Services took $17,000 dollars of it. He wasn't happy about that. Here in SoCal, when a man is classified as a "Deadbeat Dad" and the woman goes on welfare to support the child, the DSS can go after the father for the money given the woman. This was about ten years ago.

 

[ledhed]

Darwins theory in action.

 

[blargonator]

A drug addict left her two children unsupervised while she was busy doing drugs. The girls got out of the apartment, down the street and onto the tracks. Yep, they died too, and the mother sued the city. Her case was dismissed when she didn't show up for the court date. She was busy doing drugs at the time. Sweet justice.

how is that sweet justice? two children died. 👎
so ledhed, you believe two children died because they were not smart enough to stay off the tracks? that is a pretty grim look at things.

EDIT~ i spelled ledhed's name ledhead the first time and had to correct it.

 

[McLaren]

Isn't this exactly the reason why Bullet Trains in Japan are built above sidewalks, roads, and all else?
Or has there been a case of one hitting a car?

Those trains are scary, and anything in there path is going to get owned.

 

[McLaren]

i used to cross them all the time, we don't get much train traffic here but our area is generally flat and you can see for quite a distance on the train tracks. mike rotch seems to have taken care of what i did.

That guy faced death on purpose and should be lucky. His foot was only meer inches from the train. A second later, and his leg may have been ripped off by the train.

 

[McLaren]

We have the Metro Rail system here in SoCal. They have Blue, Red and Green lines which are smaller cars, yet are big and fast enough to do some damage. In the town bellow us, where the rail runs, a jogger was running on, or right next to, the tracks. He had an Ipod on and didn't hear the train coming. Yep, he died. This was about a year ago.

We have something like that called the DART Rail.

Our green line though is big train.

However, when the train enter Dallas, it goes about 10Mph until reaching the tunnel. After the tunnel its a few crossroads and then bridges, no stopping except for stations. But in Dallas, the trains follow the traffic lights. Luckily, we have had NOT one accident. We've had problems, but nothing like hitting a car or someone. We've come close with cars, but nothing devestating. 👍

 

[Delirious]

If you act like this guy you deserve to get hit.

This guy here
The video is ok for anyone to watch but some of the links around the edge of the page aren't the most suitable for younger readers.

...

does this guy have any purpose set out for his life or is he just a complete moron?

 

[PS]

I think if you're dumb enough to get hit by a train on foot then you should probably be dead anyway. Who knows what you might cause or get caught in later in life if you aren't.

 

[JohnBM01]

Who was that dude in that little video? Was he a Jackass reject? That wasn't even funny. Dude could have gotten OWNED by the train, but he was lucky to jump out the way. So what, if someone tried to shoot the guy with a double barrel shotgun, he'd jump out the way and save his life? It's simple. Don't take chances.

By the way, I don't think I mentioned this, but the family doesn't have health or life insurance, so there's probably no mention of getting financial coverage to try to help out the boy.

 

[ledhed]

how is that sweet justice? two children died. 👎
so ledhed, you believe two children died because they were not smart enough to stay off the tracks? that is a pretty grim look at things.

EDIT~ i spelled ledhed's name ledhead the first time and had to correct it.

Actually they died because a train hit them. Why do you think they died ?

 

[blargonator]

yeah and you essentially said it was good that the train was thinning the heard by killing two children.

 

[Swift]

yeah and you essentially said it was good that the train was thinning the heard by killing two children.

I kinda have to agree with him on this one. Ledhed your comment leads me to believe that it was survival of the fittest. The real issue here is peer pressure. Not intelligence. The child that died on the tracks near my home was coaxed into doing it. Peer pressure can be huge. He could've been a genius and still succumb to the pressure.

 

[Solid Lifters]

how is that sweet justice? two children died. 👎
so ledhed, you believe two children died because they were not smart enough to stay off the tracks? that is a pretty grim look at things.

EDIT~ i spelled ledhed's name ledhead the first time and had to correct it.

Sweet justice because the kids were already dead. Does things matter much after you're dead? She did not take good care of her kids because of a drug problem. She got arrested for it. Then, a major law suit was avoided because of her same drug problem. I don't have my tax dollars wasted on a woman who doesn't deserve to be alive. That sounds pretty sweet to me.

The kids were one and three years old. They never had a chance in this life thanks to whom their parents were. Sad.

 

[VIPFREAK]

If you act like this guy you deserve to get hit.

This guy here
The video is ok for anyone to watch but some of the links around the edge of the page aren't the most suitable for younger readers.

Everytime I see this vid I ask why didn't that idiot die... 👎

 

[PS]

I kinda have to agree with him on this one. Ledhed your comment leads me to believe that it was survival of the fittest. The real issue here is peer pressure. Not intelligence. The child that died on the tracks near my home was coaxed into doing it. Peer pressure can be huge. He could've been a genius and still succumb to the pressure.

Ok, unless those kids/that kid were/was between 10-13 maybe, they're still incredibly stupid for doing that.

Peer pressure has only come to surface these past few years, 10 maybe. Before that it was just "Oh, dumb little Johnny got hit by the train. That's a shame.", no trying to blame it on others, no trying to find an excuse for doing a stupid thing.

IMO, peer pressure is a way of excusing yourself from doing something rational. They do something wrong or stupid and all of a sudden it's "I was peer pressured into it I can't help it!!". Personally, I don't see not only how someone can succumb to peer pressure, or how this peer pressure stuff is regarded by others. I mean, is it that hard to say "No, I'd rather not be a 🤬 and kill myself thank you." ??

 

[Blake]

I mean, is it that hard to say "No, I'd rather not be a 🤬 and kill myself thank you." ??

Apparantly.

Blake

 

[PS]

Well, seriously.

What does saying "NO" do? Nothing. It keeps you alive, that's what it does. I've been surrounded in potheads and smokers and said "no" and they don't give a ****,, why should anyone else?



Or should they be jumping in front of trains too?

 

[Blake]

Well if you're unable to think for yourself you probably deserve to die.

Blake

 

[PS]

My point exactly. The excessively stupid should be left to eliminate themselves—if they're breaking laws and can rationally make a correct sober though.