Unless it jumps track, launches itself towards you and you can't get away. It's happened. But yeah. They usually will stay on the track. Plus, that driver is/was a moron and deserved it for being an idiot
That’s not actually true. Under normal conditions, it tamed that long to stop. In an emergency braking situation, it’s much less. But it comes at a cost. Damaged cargo, flat spotted wheels and damage to the brakes too. I can imagine the knuckles don’t like emergency stops either.
Generally speaking, you are correct.... It takes a mile to stop a freight train. This is the best case scenario, And under ideal circumstances. A short passenger train , in warm climate and on dry level rail. Passenger trains usually have dual electric and Air brakes and comparatively speaking can stop on a dime. Only Hancock could have stopped that train before it hit the automobile. The engineer used maximum brakes to stop the train. Had that been a short Heavily ladened Coal train in the winter on wet rail, going downhill it would have taken a mile or more to stop....
In this case, the car drivers conversation may have been "that train is stopped and just sitting there on the track, why are we waiting for it to go? It's not moving so I'll just go". Sadly, the driver didn't account for the dual tracks at the intersection and was probably quite surprised to see that train just before it hit. This is speculation but also a plausible reason why this happened. Car drivers sure do need to be aware of how the trains operate where they live and should no don't push it when they are impatient!
@@firingallcylinders2949 The Siemens Chargers and Ventures are quieter than a typical freight train, mainly because they're younger and are more aerodynamic so it's not as loud.
Unbelievable. The guy in the car went around a stopped car, a down gate AND flashing red lights. Now the engineers have to suffer because of his actions.
Look at news reports. The headline is "Train hits car, kills 2" not "Idiots commit suicide-by-train". Despite the video evidence, the train crew will be drug tested, repeatedly interviewed and questioned, and will have their lives disrupted. They won't be allowed to work until the investigation is complete. And the disaster will always be on their minds and their records.
You so rarely see this from the train's perspective and it really demonstrates how little of an effect it has on the train. Don't play the game. You WILL lose.
It actually has a massive effect. It looks little because you aren't on board and the train keeps going, but the train gets suddenly decelerated by a lot.
I was at a railway crossing with the gates down some years ago. The gates cut half the road on each side and the sirens flashed and bells rang. The commuter train was imminent. Morning workday 8am traffic queued on either side. Suddenly a nursery school bus driver decided not to wait. The driver pulled out of the traffic queue...and passed through the crossing gates...driving diagonally across the crossing. I have never seen anything so irresponsibly, suicidal and murderously negligent.
You clearly see another car waiting, why would you go...tired of people blaming the trains when clearly these people are not looking at there surroundings
@@dopefreshness77 Here in Palm Beach County, lots of people hate the train, starting with CBS12, owned by non other than Sinclair Broadcasting. The next two counties north of here, Martin and St Lucie, have been suing the company because they don't want the trains to pass by their towns. Mind you, those tracks have been there since the late 1890s. They also are suing each other to have a station ... Go figure.
I used to be a brakeman for a railroad in Illinois. You would be surprised at the amount of times you would see people pull that move. Your whole body tense’s up waiting for the crush. It’s surprising that doesn’t happen more often.
@@robwagner7545 I imagine both I mean if someone does or needs help the train could be the only ones aware of it. I imagine the only scenario where that wouldnt be the case is when there moving nuclear weapons and they have an escort.
@@parkerlong2658 that's like here in Chicago, some dümb lady dropped her phone on the tracks and she jumped down and got hit!!🤦🤡 Her family blames the people that just stood on the platform looking🤷 why the f*ck would I risk my life for a phone??? Or an idiot jumping down into the tracks!!?
Yes, they are required to stop. It’s all about liability now though. Even though the car was 100% in the wrong, the railroad still has to prove it or they get sued.
Years and years ago I was a passenger at a blind train crossing with a failing gate and lights. We always knew to stop, listen, and try to look, even if the gate went up. An impatient driver behind us thought we didn't move out of "his" way fast enough. He went around us and hit the train coming around a blind curve. There is a reason that busses and trucks are required to stop, look, and listen. That few seconds you thought you were saving can become an actual eternity if you are impatient.
I did not think that crossing signals would fail here in America, until I saw one failing. Now I am always a bit leery of grade crossings, and try to 'look both ways', even if the signal is quiet. If the lights ARE flashing, I want to stop and wait. I LIKE trains.
@@edp2260 damn near everything can fail "wrongside". It traps you with your trust in the system and it's often too late when you realise the situation you're in.
Should be the same for foot/bicycle traffic to cars. In other nations the automobile has the right of way and it honestly makes sense. What's heavier and faster?
As a RR conductor, this is one of our top fears on the job. Just do all the crews a favor, DO NOT gable on "beating the train" and don't play around on/foul railroad tracks, for any reason, period. Also, if the gates stay down after a train passes on a multi-track main, there is a reason. If a crossing gate is down do not cross, period.
I feel bad for the train crew knowing that they have hit someone all because the person driving the little car made really bad decisions. I hop the train crew is doing well after such a horrible situation.
This is a brilliant lesson of never assuming that once a train's clear, that it's clear to pass. If there's more than one rail line, there's always a chance of a second train. For this driver, they paid for it with "incapacitating injuries" - which could mean anything from serious injuries to life-altering injuries. Something that may affect him for the rest of his life. Don't be like him.
to be fair, in this scenario the gates would have still been down or started going down again. You can clearly see that BOTH gates are down, the driver just decided to go around it.
Frankly I don't care what happened to the driver of the car. He purposely went out of his way to go around stopped traffic, through red lights, around barriers, because he couldn't be arsed to wait for just 30 seconds more. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. I hope the train driver isn't too traumatized after such an experience. They're basically a passenger at this point. They can see this idiot jumping the lights, knowing they can't do anything to stop in time or swerve to avoid the crash.
unfortunately the same thing happened to a cyclist in san diego who assumed there was only one trolley passing by when the second one came and killed him
@@DrCranberry Exactly. That's why I wrote what I wrote, because unfortunately there are some people out there who lack the common sense to think "Hey, maybe there's a reason why the gates are still down?"
Retired rail conductor here after 41 years. What most people do not realize also is the time it takes a heavy tonnage train to come to a complete stop. The engineer blared the horn and put the train into emergency braking as soon as he saw the car. A really idiotic move the driver of that car performed. Also, the traumatic affect it puts on the crew of the train that have to live the rest of their lives with those memories. I saw tons of major scenarios that involved deaths and can compare it to a military person who has been at war and witnessed death first hand.
Ain't just have tonnage cargo trains. Here in denmark one of our "Light" Passanger trains still travels nearly 50 meters (160f) from the conductor slams on the breaks to do an emergency break. Which I know is NO were near the same as the heavy tonnage cargo trains you have over there in the US. It is just to show that NO train can stop avoid hitting an idiot that rushes out infront of them within 25m (85f)
In the process of studying PTSD, researchers found that one of their most reliable sources of PTSD sufferers was train crews involved in this sort of collision. With regard to the potential for this kind of injury, it is *exactly* like having experienced combat, been a victim of rape, or losing a young child. I hope you were never in the cab when things went sour, and I hope you are doing ok.
Most if not all know it takes a long time to stop a train and I doubt any of the train crews are bothered by anyone getting creamed on the tracks. You seem fine other than talking out the side of your face
@@MrSunrise- I wouldn't be at all surprised actually. Just imagen going about your day and then some idiot plays chicken with the train your controlling.
One of the most frustrating things in life is when you an experienced person has to put up with the incompetence and illogical, irrational attitude of an inexperienced people
This almost happened to me when I was young, crossing about 7 tracks at 7:00 in the morning on the way to work, a single engine on track one was honking as he crossed the road, then I proceeded to cross the tracks, I heard him laying on the horn so I looked back to track # 1 for a second to see why he was laying on the horn, on track #5 another train was going buy at about 55 mph, I stopped about 10 or 15 feet from him, that morning I used up about 5 of my 9 lives,
No, I didn’t go back home and change, at the time I didn’t think it mattered how my briefs looked, It was a dirt road across a switching yard to a plywood mill, no lights to come down to stop you, railroad cars were parked all over the place on several of the tracks, so the railroad cars that were doing 55 mph didn’t quit stand out much, The horn from the moving train sounded like the first engine except it was blaring NONE STOP until he got my attention, Moral to the story, watch where your going, not where you have been,
As I retired Engineer for one of the big North east railroads, I know all to well about drivers going around gates and risking their lives as well as their passengers. I had 2 such mishaps in my 30 year career, one was a suicide attempt gone wrong because we saw the vehicle in time to dump the air and basically pushed the car down the track a few hundred yards, the other was a sad one because the kid was 14 years old, he laid down in the gauge of the track and this portion of the track was on an uphill around a curve with a crossing before we started downhill. Anyone who knows me knows I blew the horn like a madman and would usually wake the dead. Anyways we crested the hill and on the track ahead we noticed something between the gauge and didn't realize what it was till he picked his head up and we took it off for him. Sadly I heard it was over a girl, can not confirm that. Moral of the story is, we did nothing wrong and never heard anything about it. As long as your not doing anything wrong you should have nothing to worry about, but will feel bad for a while and is something you will always remember.
Thank you for sharing your experience Steven. I started working as a freight train driver (in Spain) last year and loving my job, but in only 9 months of working I almost run over a person two times, and non of them was a suicidal. So I suppose I will experience that sooner or later...
I'm a train driver from Europe, only been at the job for 10 years and already had 4 suicides and two attempted suicides. I came prepared and managed to go on with a normal life but indeed, i'll never forget. I now put my experience to good use helping my coworkers recover from those events. My advice is talk about it. With coworkers, with close friends, with family, just let them know what you've been through. Don't carry that weight alone.
I feel for you brother, as a Conductor for Canada's biggest railway I went though the same experience last year. The girl was laying between the rails and there wasn't nothing we could do. By the the time we saw her it was too late. We used a full set break, the train finally came to a stop, and I walked back and had to find her. It wasn't a pretty site.
Every single railway crossing in France has the text "One train can hide another" next to it for this precise reason. If you can't have patience for 5 minutes while a train passes you don't value your own life very highly.
@bobulousgaming5353 this accident isn't possible in the UK (or well at least in London) since you cannot drive around the gate, it's a full on drop barrier.
Most accidents involving cars and trains usually involve people in cars doing stupid "stuff".. They are probably the same kind of people that move their cars in front of 18 wheel rigs, too.
And the same kind of people who impatiently swerve between cars or overtake on the shoulder because those precious milliseconds might change something.
@@cBodhi semi drivers are great there bad apples everywhere. But cars are much worse. Especially in today’s mentality of cutting the long lines and pass a semi just to get off the next exit. Sorry but cars cause a lot of accidents with semis.
Every near miss or impact has an effect, not just on property, but on the mind and psyche of the train crew. Although they are not responsible, there is a sense of guilt, that they could have done something more to stop the train. They carry it for the rest of their lives. Is it really worth a couple minutes of your life to race a train and die? No. You wait for traffic lights to change, slow down for school zones, and wait in line at the drive through; why do you not wait here? It is likely you will spend less of your life waiting for trains to pass than you do taking a dump. Just wait for the lights to stop flashing and then proceed on your way, your life is worth it. To put it in perspective, the force from a bright line train is significantly greater than an 18-wheeler running over a soda can at 50 mph…even more so with freight trains. You stand no chance when you try racing a train; you may be successful once, but eventually you will tie, which is losing the race. Seriously, just have patience and wait like you do at a red light at a busy intersection, your life is more valuable than a few minutes
Thank You ! Thank you so much, for your insight. It' not very often that someone pops up with this depth of knowledge and logic. I would have never known that a locomotive would hurt me so bad when ignoring the RR Crossing warnings.
I had almost the same thing happen to me as a car driver once: I was driving in a city, and all of the straight-through lanes had a red light and were bumper to bumper, but my turning lane was free and green. A pedestrian darted through all the stopped cars and didn’t look to see me coming in the turn lane, and ran out directly in front of me. If I had been going any faster, or if I’d been inattentive and slammed on my brakes _literally_ 1/10 of a second later, I would have hit him: he actually steadied himself on my hood after the scare. It was a young guy, I hope he learned a lesson from that close call! Just because one (or three) lane of traffic is gridlocked doesn’t mean all the lanes are…
@@skirnir-atf Nothing wrong with the angle. The car came off the side road that runs parallel to the tracks and tried to jump in front of the car still sitting behind the gate. Completely the car driver's fault for being impatient and wanting to be first across the tracks.
As a 18 or so year old kid back in the eighties, my friend driving out in the country in Central Illinois was going to just run through a stop sign (no other safetydevicethere back then) at the tracks. I grabbed the steering wheel and said "nah, let's wait", so he hit the brakes and started yelling at me! Lol! A second or two later a train ran through the intersection at about 100 mph! This train passed us for minutes, all coal cars! I saved all four of us in that car with as little effort as it would've taken to kill us.
@@tibor29, Would fer sure. Spoon river valley, southeast of Galesburg Illinois. They still move through there at 100mph. (Just checked and it's much more like 50mph! Lol, k so be it but it was plenty fast there.)
They have established quiet zones where train horns do not sound, but additional safety features are put in place. Of course, the safety features don't work if the drivers ignore them all and go around.
@@Normal1855 Exactly! I used to live in Holmdel, NJ. Near the North Jersey Coast Line (Former NY&LB) and there was a blind curve at a level crossing. The residents wanted no train horn at the crossing. One day, the gates were not down, but I heard the horn blow for the crossing. A train came around the curve at track speed still no gates, lights, or bell. Luckily I follow the rule of Stop, Look, and LISTEN! The car behind me was honking his horn and started to pass me. Luckily, the train came through the crossing before he fouled the crossing.
Well how much Europe elevated or separate track situation. Done properly trains and humans and cars etc all live together in same world but set all together not matter if but when btw train always has right of way not other way around.
In my tiny city, we have a rather active train line running through the middle of it, and the trains can be as long as three miles from locomotive to caboose, so drivers have to have a lot of patience. There's one particular intersection in town that necessitates drivers who are parallel to the tracks to just sit there and wait unless they can make right turns and get to where they're going (which we usually cannot---nearly everything needed is always on the opposite of the tracks, of course!) I've sat at that intersection, left turn signal on, for as long as 15 minutes at times, but nobody who lives here ever gets impatient. We all know we want to get home safely, and in the four years I've lived here, there has never been any incident of anyone going around the gates, or trying to beat the oncoming trains. We aren't a tourist destination, which is one big help, and the track is only a single, another big help, because we know there's never a train we can't see.
As a retired conductor this is one of the worst situations. We always new someone would jump the gun and run around a gate as the slow trained cleared. Had a fire truck do that once.
@@Kerfufflekitten where the hell are you people getting this mentality ,it's a crash not a police shooting I doubt any rational person would say this liberal or otherwise....
My dad worked for the rail road, 24 years. He must've told me a thousand times to look both ways and never play chicken with trains. To this day, I follow his advice about train crossings. He saw all sorts of accidents and derailments.
I feel more sorry for the train crew than the driver. If you actively ignore safety signals and practices, then I have no sympathy if something happens as a result.
This is a typical incident of “second train coming”, where one thinks they are cleared to go after 1 trains has passed, so they cross the crossing while the gates are still down, oblivious to the fact that another train could be approaching
@@theautistictransitfan Get those Japanese railroad crossing signals that have arrows to say which direction and track and number of trains are coming from
I recall that the CNW had a campaign on their passenger/commuter trains, encouraging people NOT to drive around gates & lights. The slogan said something like, "Don't try to race a train at a crossing; if it's a tie, YOU LOSE". As a teen starting to drive and interested in railroading, I still recall that after 50 years!
@@deusvult6920 it's a fair philosophy....I've seen so many bikers particularly, but cars as well, putting themselves in serious danger just to prove that they're "right".....
I didn't realize it until I became a trucker, but a lot of people visibly start losing their minds anytime they have to stop their car for any reason. There's a railroad track near one of my company terminals that has trains roll by every 30 minutes or so. Usually short transit trains, but sometimes longer freight trains. There is actually no way to around the gate without damaging your vehicle, so I've seen people hop a curb a do a u turn to go another direction, even though the train tracks intersect every single road that goes the direction they were trying to go. It's bizarre. I'm sure everyone has seen people who try not to stop at a busy 4 way or will just run red lights. People actually do the same thing to trains. It's insane.
We have a serious problem in the US where everyone in a car thinks they have the exclusive right of way. It's why it's so dangerous to walk or bike everywhere. This is what happens when drivers apply that attitude to something bigger than they are.
It's become so bad that in the last 5 years, it's even started to be dangerous biking on side roads, not to mention how bad the busy areas are... I saw a woman driving through the busiest intersection in town with her face in her phone. How much worse does it have to get before people say enough is enough?
Thank you, yes we have a huge problem with our car culture, plus no safe infrastructure to walk or cycle, the best you get is a painted line on the ground and a stencil of a cyclist on the ground, putting you at the mercy of 2 ton killing living rooms on wheels
@@davefroman4700 Hit the nail right on the head. The last two years show that most americans will throw a tantrum the moment you make them consider other people.
The guy didn’t die! He’s in serious condition! And also that was the fourth one in a week! People in Miami are so impatient they don’t want to give up just a couple minutes of their time so they risk their life and the lives of others! We’re surrounded by morons, you can’t escape from them, they're everywhere!
Correction: "they don’t want to give up just a couple minutes of their (add: extremely relevant, super important etc etc ) time". The world would stop turning without them, no, it would start turning the other way around !
He didn’t want to give up a couple minutes so he gave up a car, his state of being, and still didn’t get there on time. Make _that_ make sense. I watched it several times just to see the momentary camera blur. For some reason I find that kinda funny 😄.
The "problem" is that with railroad you don't need to check: there are traffic lights and other signal that indicate the upcoming train, with the need to watch right and left 😂. But apparently people's stupidity has no end
And if you get outside of populated areas the blinking lights and crossing gates at railroad crossings become non existent but you still have the cross buck(white X).
The 55 year old guy survived with "serious injuries". The crash was in Lake Worth Beach FL. He came off the side street making a left turn into the crossing going around the gate. It was the third crash in four days in Palm Beach County.
I did not hear the engineer sound the horn for the grade crossings. Only when he was about to hit the car did I hear it. Is it my hearing? Was this in a quiet zone? I was told the procedure for approaching a crossing is two long blasts, one short one, and a long blast which is held until the locomotive clears the crossing.
@@saadselkent367 yea that’s what it looks like happened. But dude isn’t a young kid. He’s in his 50’s and should have gained a lot of common sense by now. To blow through a stop sign, go around another car to drive around warning lights and flashing lights. It’s a lot
@@urmama9845 yeah it’s completely his fault for doing that but that was probably the reason going on in his head which he only succumbed to due to huge amounts of arrogance thinking he knows how the crossings work better than they actually work
fun fact: it takes a train longer to stop with emergency brakes compared to normal brakes. (the same is true for airplanes) that's because normal braking has special equipment to prevent wheel slip. Emergency brakes is just braking, regardless of slip. If the wheels do start slipping, thet rain/plane will take longer to stop.
@@xaiano794 Europe (or France at the very least) cares about their citizens though so they removed almost all at grade crossings in favor of over/underpasses which greatly reduce the risk of meeting a train. And no it doesn't eliminate it we've had some jumping trains and cars thinking they were intermodal.
I was an Engineer 30yrs. Conrail , CSX. This was a Classic Example,and the most common, guy is impatient, he’s sees the rear end of train on adjacent track, and car assumes that that is why gates are down(stopped train still on circuit) however. As you can tell. The stopped train impairs any vision of the approaching train, in this case I’m assuming a passenger train, that runs at even higher speeds is approaching undetected by the dead guy in the car. As a freight train engineer in the Northeast we constantly getting stopped so. High speed passenger could get around us. If you worked the road as conductor, or engineer you get it.
Yup, a clear example of a train can hide another. Looking at the car it looks like it made a left turn from a stop before crossing the rails. A quick look on his left blindside uppon starting rolling and we would also have seen the train comming
It takes the average train 1.7, miles going 60mph to fully stop. My only question is to why the engine whistle was not used prior to the approach of that grade crossing?
i don't think they were train to beat the train as a train just passed by, they just did not want to wait for the gates to go up and did not expect that there can be more than one train ether way its the driver fault.
I don't think this one was about beating the train. It almost looked like the driver was waiting on the traffic in front of them to go because they thought the train had passed and when they didn't they got angry and just hammered the gas to try and get in front of them never thinking to look left.
The barely noticeable jiggle of the camera when the train hits the car demonstrates the dynamics and physics involved in diesel locomotive vs. automobile collisions.
Yup. That's why I watched the vid. I had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen from the video title. I just wanted to see how much the physics would play out on the impact. I also had a very good idea of how long the train would take to stop. Not much of a jiggle but an interesting display of sparks. But still... how would you feel having been in that cab and felt that little jiggle? I'm glad the guy survived but even more glad he lost his car. I hope he never gets another one.
OMG, another one!!! I'm a professional driver here where I live and it's incredible the way people are driving here now. They can't wait for a few seconds or maybe a couple of minutes... I've already seen a pedestrian killed crossing in the dark, for no reason. Bad thing is we drivers see this "drive around the crossing arms" ALL the time here. As Coach Operators, we are driving a few steps higher than normal on safety awareness and traffic safety.
@@hihosilencemeviolateme949 it appears you've caught a simple case of "American who thinks he's always right". The correct term for someone who drives a train is a train driver.
My father was a locomotive engineer for 45 years. He had hit more than a few vehicles over the years, due to people being brain dead idiots. TIP: In a showdown between a car and a train, the train is going to win EVERY.SINGLE.TIME. So don't try going around the gates, or ignore the flashing lights. If you do, it just might be the last thing you ever do.
Nobody can stop God or Jesus. The Devil has been trying to get rid of the Bible and Yeshua's for a long time to no avail. He has succeeded in corrupting the world with Sin, but no one will be able to erase Yahweh nor his word from the Earth.
Trains have ‘right of way’ at level crossings, so every crash or incident at a level crossing must be the road vehicle drivers fault no matter what. End of argument.
Most civilians from Florida blame the company for the crash when in reality it's the car's fault for trying to beat the train before it passes while the stop barriers were down.
Driver was concerned with the train on the track closest to him. Once it passed he thought that was it... he didn't suspect ANOTHER train to be on the farside track going in the opposite direction...Look BOTH ways before you cross...
In those moments where you feel like you need to speed up really fast, 99% of the time you should either stop or slow down. I'm a courier and everyday at least one person comes close to hitting me.
Alas, trains aren't undefeated. It sometimes causes more than mental harm to the crew, passengers, and bystanders as well. For instance there's a picture out there of a very scorched Union Pacific steam locomotive that hit a tanker truck at a crossing circa 1950. The engineer and fireman in the cab didn't stand a chance in the flaming fireball that they went through. Or for a more recent for instance, the high profile Metrolink 2005 Glendale crash when 11 people were murdered when a man intentionally abandoned his vehicle on the tracks. Or for another Metrolink example, the 2015 Oxnard derailment when a man abandoned his truck on the tracks, killing the train's engineer and seriously injuring a number of passengers. Hopefully no Brightline crew member, passenger, or bystander ever ends up physically being harmed by these irresponsible actions of some motorists and pedestrians in this region. But in all probability, it's only a matter of time.
They run the crowning gates because they saw the train clear on one of the two tracks and thought to themselves, "what are the odds." That's when they find out the odds were never in their favor.
Years ago we had a guy get killed at an unprotected crossing in town because he totally ignored the blasting horn of the slow approaching train (they are required to reduce speed when traveling through towns). Next thing you know, his surviving family member are wanting the crossing closed down, as though it was the crossings fault. And no, there are absolutely no visibility issues at any of the numerous crossings in our town. Was a bright, sunny day when it occurred
Chicago and the greater Chicagoland area has SO MANY crossings from freight to CTA/Subway to Metra passenger trains that it was common for people to ignore lights and signs. When I'd see a person on a bike or a pedestrian that refused to cross against the signal I'd stop to think them for not running it because my mother was almost killed for crossing tracks on foot and was hit by an oncoming train after she walked around a train that was loading cars while she was on her way to work. SO MANY people in Skokie IL would honk and lose their minds when I'd refuse to pull forward and stop on the tracks at an intersection where the tracks were just in front of an intersection. In rush hour the traffic was crazy and if there was a red light and those arms came down in front and behind me, I'd have no where to go before that Metra train hit me! The main diagonal intersection by my house had an accident that destroyed a dozen cars that decided to stop on the tracks because they were in a hurry to get home. 6 lanes of traffic at a 10 degree angle to the railroad tracks can mean a LOT of vehicles trapped when the arms come down. Don't risk it. Wait for another light and don't put your life and the mental health of the driver of the train at risk by being impatient.
An average car weighs around 1.5 tons. An average passenger train weighs around 1,500 tons or 1,000 times the weight of a car. Freight trains weigh between 3,000 tons and 18,000 tons or 2,000 to 12,000 times the weight of a car. Something 1,000 times the weight of a car hitting that car at slow speed is equivalent to the force on a insect of an average human stepping on that insect. A passenger train running at a faster speed or a heavy freight train rather than a passenger train, will have a significantly higher force applied to the car which is more than the equivalent to jumping on the insect. Either way the car and all the occupants in it die instantly just like the insect does. Seat belts, airbags or even a larger vehicle such as a semi-truck do not help when something as large and heavy as a train hits the vehicle.
Back when I was still driving trucks, I would try to explain the weight differences to people who thought that trucks could stop as fast as cars because "they have 18 wheels". I would then tell them that 80,000 lbs. wont stop on a dime . and that said truck at that weight is 26 times the weight of their car. Even my last truck I owned before retiring, a Pete with an aluminum flatbed, weighed in at 32000 lbs. stone empty, or more that 10 times the average car weight. All too many of them seemed unable to comprehend that. Then, you can watch videos of trains hitting fully loaded trucks, and the impact doesnt't slow the train at all. But I guess some (stupid) people think that they are invincible, right up until they discover in a split second that they actually aren't.
I'm working as a maintenence engineer on passenger trains that were considered high speed when first launched in the early 90's. Nowadays 200km/h doesn't really make the headline news, but still considerably faster than normal cars driving at legal speeds. The empty weight of a train set is around 364 metric tonnes. The trains utilise motor and tread brakes on drive axles (4), beefy disc brakes on all axles (28) and magnetic track brakes on most bogies (12/14). The train documentation clearly states that the emergency braking distance on flat ground with all systems active is 1750 meters (~1 mile) from 200 to full stop. That is what a lot of momentum does combined with low friction to the rails and low air resistance. I usually tell people that if the train is in your visible range, you should move out of the way ASAP. It's too late for engineer to brake.
I actually remember being in a similar situation yet i actually chose to be cautious. There was a train with a lone engine following it. The stop arm started to go up but lowered a little bit after
First of all, good luck trying to find out if the driver survived or not. The local reporting is not clear. One station said he was taken to the hospital w serious injuries but the picture of the wreck looks like he would have died. Another report says the driver was killed but I am not certain this was the same incident (they did not have this video). As I recall there was a series of Brightline crashes involving cars and pedestrians whih occured at around the same time. WHAT HAPPENED HERE: The driver was obviously confused by the freight train that was stopped on the tracks. It was likely the only train he saw and figured he had enough time to cross the tracks. Still at fault for going around gate - but a lot of times these gates go down for no reason. It is a frustrating and scary situation.
When the gates are down, lights flashing, bells ringing, assume a train is approaching. Period. There is no other reasoning. Betting on some malfunction may be the last thought you ever have.
Because hitting is pegged on the direction of movement and assigned to who's direction actually did the impacting. Technically, the train hit car. It's not to say it like it did it on purpose or swerved to do so. Like football, guy is running with the ball and you go and tackle him by broadsiding him, you hit him, not vice versa. Of course then again, with the media...we all know the Conductor "drives" the train too. lol
No, the train hit the car. That doesn't mean the train was at fault, just the nature of the collision. A car hitting a train would be a car ramming into the side of a train that was already across the road (which does happen, just not nearly as often).
Yes, it's based on the impact location on the vehicle. But ...since the train really has NO choice in the matter (i.e. being bound by tracks) fault is almost ALWAYS the road based vehicle (truck, car, semi, etc...) Think tho in terms of a car vs deer. If the front of your car is smashed, "you hit a deer"... But, if your passenger door is smashed "the deer hit you"
To a train, a car is an unopened soda can you drive over. If you ever done that with your car, it's the same feeling and sound of a train hitting a car. The very sad part of it is that there's at least one human in that can you just crushed. Just stay way from train tracks unless you are absolutely sure it's safe to cross!!
Reminds me of a common traffic crash that should be easily prevented. During heavy motor vehicle traffic people feel they are being kind when they stop in the right lane, then wave the driver in a car through to cross traffic in every lane. Without any consideration for the very high likelihood of creating a traffic crash the kind-hearted individual exposes the other car, and everyone in it, to risk of serious physical injury or death. As a young police officer I tried to educate people to avoid this potentially lethal behavior, but it doesn't have the same type of crisply defined legal statute as other motor vehicle laws, without any potential for themselves being held liable for damages or injuries people were mostly aloof and might shrug their shoulders at most upon learning how dangerous their well-intentioned behavior was.
Yup, this is how the side of my car was wrecked a long time ago. A very pregnant woman crossed 4 lanes of stopped traffic in a very narrow window with zero visibility. Now left turns are illegal on that highway, replaced by U-turns. People still make left turns through the do not enter signs, and frequently wave drivers through traffic near the intersection and the gas station. For liability reasons I never direct drivers, but I do recall directing one person very clearly to stop, when they proceeded past my horn and sparsely avoided a wreck in the oncoming lane. I don't know what kind of self-preservation instinct these people have, but they seem to be unaware that they are ambushing drivers who can't see them.
Happened to my niece when she was 18; drivers thought they were being kind, and in reality, they were, but some idiot driving illegally went into the left-turn-only lane to bypass traffic at the light, and smashed my sister's new car (niece driving it) to the point that the first responders thought they'd have to use the Jaws of Life to get niece and my sis out. Thankfully, nobody was injured, and the illegal driver's insurance had to pay for all damages, and he himself had to pay for the therapy both my sister and niece had to have to get over that horrible incident.
Gotta honestly feel bad for the train operators. They spend all day on the train making sure everything gets where it needs to be, and it’s not like they can stear out of the way, and have to watch somebody get annihilated by a tank on tracks
In my more than half a century of life I have come to realize that there's no such thing as an accident, what there is is unintentional consequences from stupid decisions and lack of awareness. That is what we observed here today by the person driving the car. If they survived, I hope they learned, if they didn't survive... Well, I hope other learn from it. Pay attention, get off your damn phones and listen to what's going on around you
Locomotive Engineer here. We see BS like this almost every day at work. People see the flashing red lights and think it's time to race. Many railroaders have ended up with PTSD or something similar from dealing with the aftermath of crossing accidents, someone has to walk back and find what's left of the car and its occupants........
As I said, train crews' worst nightmare. I've heard that some crews involved in these kinds of incidents never return to operating a locomotive. It's a sad situation for the crews.
in the 70's one of the shunting loco drivers and his assistant in our depot had been taken off a passenger service because of what we now know to be PTSD. They ran over a suicide .Once they got the train stopped,his loco assistant ran back to see what was remaining. The driver called out"Is he dead?" ,to which his assistant replied " looks like it" as he held up the mans severed head....
My nephew in-law is responsible for sorting out railroad "incidents" to get the trains up and running again. This is in England where trains are more frequent in built up areas. There is an unbelievable amount of suicides, and train drivers have to be changed to move the affected trains because of the original drivers trauma. Suicide is a very selfish thing, especially when they involve innocent people with their callousness. Just to add why some drivers are affected so badly, death by high speed train for instance, doesn't leave much to be found, yet the clean up crew has to find as much as they can before they can leave the "incident" area and get the trains running again. So, let's also give thought to that crew, and also the on site coroner team.
I find it unfathomable that ANYONE would have to explain why it is dangerous to do this. 1. You have a car driving around another on a double solid line (show me a railroad crossing with a passing zone) 2. It seems that today, many people are deliberately and fundamentally incompetent (despite the "age of information" and its wisdom being shoved in our faces from every direction) 3. There should be absolutely NO question about who's fault this is, unless the signal and gate failed. NONE whatsoever. 4. Many people think this is the way to stop dealing with stress permanently. (think I'm joking?) 5. It is insanely self-centered to put this kind of guilt on an engineer; they have a HUGE responsibility to their passengers to begin with, and it must affect them very deeply, regardless of the stupidity and ignorance of the action.
people have always been this incompetent. it's just that TODAY there are a lot more people around, AND you get to hear about everything. before the internet, this would have been local news like "out-of-towner lost argument with a freight train; third this month" and on the next page "local undertaker makes a killing"
@@sterlingspencer2934 Actually Coffee Hot is a long and complex issue where the company tried to get away with selling their coffee hotter than anywhere else and not paying for the injured woman's basic medical bills. Even if you disagree it's a complex and contentious issue. Don't drive in front of trains has zero complexity or contention. Pure selfish stupidity.
Just yesterday I witnessed a family push a baby stroller (presumably with an actual baby in it) across railroad tracks that had the crossing gate down and lights and bells operating. Just three blocks away was a bridge that they could have used to safely cross over the railroad tracks.
I reckon that too often, people think they are playing a play station game where, when you crash/die/stuff up, you press reset and start again. The only damage being you’re pissed off cos you gotta start again. There are decisions and consequences in life, as in the PS4 games, only, you can’t start again if you choose the wrong decision. NEWS FLASH…. Folks, there is NO RESET in life……
Would it improve things if the gate closed both lanes, so that there is no easy option to cut through when the junction is closed? The extended half of the gate could be hinged to bend backwards into the exit lane, in case a trapped vehicle needed to escape the tracks in an emergency, but, otherwise, the gates would cause some resistance and superficial damage to a car that tries to push through them.
My mom's first husband died when the truck he was driving was struck by a train. He did not see it because of fog or hear because of milk cans rattling around in the truck. This was in the 1940s. I have always had a healthy respect for railroad crossings.
@@richardmillhousenixon / that's exactly what I did want to say...... / I guess, you did miss my point ! // Everyone learns things like that in an official driving school !!
This is also why we need to get rid of quiet zones. Even though the engineer blew the horn. It wasn’t enough warning to let the traffic know he was coming through. People also should obey the crossing gates.
This is a common occurrence... The first train cleared the crossing and the driver made the assumption that the crossing was malfunctioning, taking too long to clear up and open the road. They took it upon themselves to bypass the safety measures installed and take the risk of driving around them. Happens all the time unfortunately. But we can't protect people who are going to bypass safety installations.
As an engineer, I can’t begin to tell you how often people run around the crossing gates. It angers me that they are that stupid. I know several engineers that have had fatal collisions. I’ve had dozens of near misses.
@@billmoran3812 my first fatal crash involved an infant and a toddler who were standing in the back seat, unsecured by any restraint. I will never forget it. Similar circumstances but the parent was driving and survived.
There's only one way to get hit by a train and that's by putting yourself in front of it. It's never the trains fault.
you are speaking facts my guy.
Unless it jumps track, launches itself towards you and you can't get away. It's happened.
But yeah. They usually will stay on the track.
Plus, that driver is/was a moron and deserved it for being an idiot
Beautifully said!
what if I self identify as a train and needed to be on those tracks ugh
@@_dj_dubz_ make sure to contact the signalman before you get on the mainline and request a clear signal.
I'm actually impressed at how quickly that train stopped...
I bet those electric motor resistors were GLOWING after that stop.
So was I: 28 seconds from probably 70mph to full stop is impressive - I'm guessing in less than 1.5 miles - maybe less than 1 mile.
Big difference in stopping a freight train versus a passenger train, which this was.
@@larrydrum7317 Totally true, but still impressive braking.
ruined wheels, ruined track
"The train will stop. A mile after it hits you."
That’s not actually true. Under normal conditions, it tamed that long to stop. In an emergency braking situation, it’s much less. But it comes at a cost. Damaged cargo, flat spotted wheels and damage to the brakes too. I can imagine the knuckles don’t like emergency stops either.
@@gregrowe1168 In this case I assume its not too great for the passengers either
@@gregrowe1168 it's just a quote from a railway psa that I remembered seeing a few years back..
Generally speaking, you are correct....
It takes a mile to stop a freight train.
This is the best case scenario, And under ideal circumstances. A short passenger train , in warm climate and on dry level rail.
Passenger trains usually have dual electric and Air brakes and comparatively speaking can stop on a dime. Only Hancock could have stopped that train before it hit the automobile.
The engineer used maximum brakes to stop the train. Had that been a short Heavily ladened Coal train in the winter on wet rail, going downhill it would have taken a mile or more to stop....
In this case, the car drivers conversation may have been "that train is stopped and just sitting there on the track, why are we waiting for it to go? It's not moving so I'll just go". Sadly, the driver didn't account for the dual tracks at the intersection and was probably quite surprised to see that train just before it hit. This is speculation but also a plausible reason why this happened. Car drivers sure do need to be aware of how the trains operate where they live and should no don't push it when they are impatient!
That was entirely the driver's fault, train did nothing wrong.
Trains are loud af, the dinging bells, the flashing lights. It's near impossible to not notice them idk what this guy was doing.
@@firingallcylinders2949 The Siemens Chargers and Ventures are quieter than a typical freight train, mainly because they're younger and are more aerodynamic so it's not as loud.
@@randomscb-40charger78 almost like there are specially-made intersections with bright lights, bells, warning signs, and crossing arms to warn people…
@@AFoxGuy Amazing how much hubris those people have done there.
Never the trains fault. It's the fault of the idiots who can't wait for the train to pass and the gates to go up.
Unbelievable. The guy in the car went around a stopped car, a down gate AND flashing red lights. Now the engineers have to suffer because of his actions.
Why do they have to suffer? It’s completely the car’s fault?
People will STILL blame the railroad too!!!
@@Maserati7200 Because it's a very traumatic event. Especially if the person died.
Look at news reports. The headline is "Train hits car, kills 2" not "Idiots commit suicide-by-train".
Despite the video evidence, the train crew will be drug tested, repeatedly interviewed and questioned, and will have their lives disrupted. They won't be allowed to work until the investigation is complete.
And the disaster will always be on their minds and their records.
@@Maserati7200 he probably meant emotionally
You so rarely see this from the train's perspective and it really demonstrates how little of an effect it has on the train. Don't play the game. You WILL lose.
Hundreds if not thousands of tons of steel is not gonna stop. Waiting a few minutes for a train to pass is not worth your life.
You should look up the compilation videos ;)
If it's a light passenger train, even a car can easily derail it.
@@ronlogan4743 Yea trains are cool 😂😂seriously tho, it’s bad**s thinking about it, you can’t lie. All that steel and power… crazy
It actually has a massive effect. It looks little because you aren't on board and the train keeps going, but the train gets suddenly decelerated by a lot.
I hope the train is doing well after the accident and gets counseling.
why not?
Everyone has done something stupid and reckless, it doesn't mean you deserve to die
@@Jim-pq9pm I've done some stupid things in life but that's far beyond something any reasonable human would do.
I really hate trainsphobes
More like the driver no?
I was at a railway crossing with the gates down some years ago. The gates cut half the road on each side and the sirens flashed and bells rang. The commuter train was imminent.
Morning workday 8am traffic queued on either side.
Suddenly a nursery school bus driver decided not to wait. The driver pulled out of the traffic queue...and passed through the crossing gates...driving diagonally across the crossing.
I have never seen anything so irresponsibly, suicidal and murderously negligent.
I look both ways even when there are no trains around and the gates are up and not flashing
Good for you
very wise.....
Stop look and listen save lives
Always
Guarantee it!!
You clearly see another car waiting, why would you go...tired of people blaming the trains when clearly these people are not looking at there surroundings
I’ve never heard a single person blame the train
@@dopefreshness77 Yep, it's usually their attorneys.
Attorneys will blame anything to win a case, trains included.
@@dopefreshness77 Here in Palm Beach County, lots of people hate the train, starting with CBS12, owned by non other than Sinclair Broadcasting. The next two counties north of here, Martin and St Lucie, have been suing the company because they don't want the trains to pass by their towns. Mind you, those tracks have been there since the late 1890s. They also are suing each other to have a station ... Go figure.
I hear people blame the train all the time. As if it's a monster, that can jump off the tracks at will, and devour cars...
As a retired railroader of 42 years, I look both ways always. I've seen every possible failure and they happen
Here in the UK I even look both ways at a railway crossing, I never assume...
I look both ways before crossing a one-way road.
@@steveblanchard7293 Unless it's an Arriva train and you're crossing at its scheduled time, in which case you don't even need to bother looking.
I used to be a brakeman for a railroad in Illinois. You would be surprised at the amount of times you would see people pull that move. Your whole body tense’s up waiting for the crush. It’s surprising that doesn’t happen more often.
Curious, is the brakeman required to stop after a collision because of law, or is it because the train needs safety inspection?
@@robwagner7545 I imagine both I mean if someone does or needs help the train could be the only ones aware of it.
I imagine the only scenario where that wouldnt be the case is when there moving nuclear weapons and they have an escort.
@@parkerlong2658 that's like here in Chicago, some dümb lady dropped her phone on the tracks and she jumped down and got hit!!🤦🤡 Her family blames the people that just stood on the platform looking🤷 why the f*ck would I risk my life for a phone??? Or an idiot jumping down into the tracks!!?
I'm wondering if it's suicide. Because I can't fathom the stupidity.
Yes, they are required to stop. It’s all about liability now though. Even though the car was 100% in the wrong, the railroad still has to prove it or they get sued.
Years and years ago I was a passenger at a blind train crossing with a failing gate and lights. We always knew to stop, listen, and try to look, even if the gate went up. An impatient driver behind us thought we didn't move out of "his" way fast enough. He went around us and hit the train coming around a blind curve. There is a reason that busses and trucks are required to stop, look, and listen. That few seconds you thought you were saving can become an actual eternity if you are impatient.
Well said
I did not think that crossing signals would fail here in America, until I saw one failing. Now I am always a bit leery of grade crossings, and try to 'look both ways', even if the signal is quiet. If the lights ARE flashing, I want to stop and wait. I LIKE trains.
@@edp2260 I do that, too! I love trains!
@@edp2260 *USA
@@edp2260 damn near everything can fail "wrongside". It traps you with your trust in the system and it's often too late when you realise the situation you're in.
The lesson, as always: “Stop. Trains Can’t”
It's quite obvious that this car assumed that the cargo train had finished passing but didn't anticipate one coming from the other track.
Looks like it stopped to me. Just took a little longer.
"ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS FOLLOW THE DAMN TRAIN CJ!!!!!!!!!!"
👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽
Should be the same for foot/bicycle traffic to cars. In other nations the automobile has the right of way and it honestly makes sense. What's heavier and faster?
As a RR conductor, this is one of our top fears on the job. Just do all the crews a favor, DO NOT gable on "beating the train" and don't play around on/foul railroad tracks, for any reason, period. Also, if the gates stay down after a train passes on a multi-track main, there is a reason. If a crossing gate is down do not cross, period.
I feel bad for the train crew knowing that they have hit someone all because the person driving the little car made really bad decisions. I hop the train crew is doing well after such a horrible situation.
This is a brilliant lesson of never assuming that once a train's clear, that it's clear to pass. If there's more than one rail line, there's always a chance of a second train. For this driver, they paid for it with "incapacitating injuries" - which could mean anything from serious injuries to life-altering injuries. Something that may affect him for the rest of his life. Don't be like him.
to be fair, in this scenario the gates would have still been down or started going down again. You can clearly see that BOTH gates are down, the driver just decided to go around it.
@@DrCranberry the gates stayed down. The driver squeezed past on the opposite side of the road where the gates don't reach
Frankly I don't care what happened to the driver of the car. He purposely went out of his way to go around stopped traffic, through red lights, around barriers, because he couldn't be arsed to wait for just 30 seconds more. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
I hope the train driver isn't too traumatized after such an experience. They're basically a passenger at this point. They can see this idiot jumping the lights, knowing they can't do anything to stop in time or swerve to avoid the crash.
unfortunately the same thing happened to a cyclist in san diego who assumed there was only one trolley passing by when the second one came and killed him
@@DrCranberry Exactly. That's why I wrote what I wrote, because unfortunately there are some people out there who lack the common sense to think "Hey, maybe there's a reason why the gates are still down?"
Retired rail conductor here after 41 years. What most people do not realize also is the time it takes a heavy tonnage train to come to a complete stop. The engineer blared the horn and put the train into emergency braking as soon as he saw the car. A really idiotic move the driver of that car performed. Also, the traumatic affect it puts on the crew of the train that have to live the rest of their lives with those memories. I saw tons of major scenarios that involved deaths and can compare it to a military person who has been at war and witnessed death first hand.
Ain't just have tonnage cargo trains. Here in denmark one of our "Light" Passanger trains still travels nearly 50 meters (160f) from the conductor slams on the breaks to do an emergency break. Which I know is NO were near the same as the heavy tonnage cargo trains you have over there in the US. It is just to show that NO train can stop avoid hitting an idiot that rushes out infront of them within 25m (85f)
In the process of studying PTSD, researchers found that one of their most reliable sources of PTSD sufferers was train crews involved in this sort of collision. With regard to the potential for this kind of injury, it is *exactly* like having experienced combat, been a victim of rape, or losing a young child. I hope you were never in the cab when things went sour, and I hope you are doing ok.
Can we build these rail lines above ground using pillars?
Most if not all know it takes a long time to stop a train and I doubt any of the train crews are bothered by anyone getting creamed on the tracks. You seem fine other than talking out the side of your face
@@MrSunrise- I wouldn't be at all surprised actually. Just imagen going about your day and then some idiot plays chicken with the train your controlling.
One of the most frustrating things in life is when you an experienced person has to put up with the incompetence and illogical, irrational attitude of an inexperienced people
*person
I have to deal with that every day. The world today is full of imbeciles.
This almost happened to me when I was young, crossing about 7 tracks at 7:00 in the morning on the way to work, a single engine on track one was honking as he crossed the road, then I proceeded to cross the tracks, I heard him laying on the horn so I looked back to track # 1 for a second to see why he was laying on the horn, on track #5 another train was going buy at about 55 mph, I stopped about 10 or 15 feet from him, that morning I used up about 5 of my 9 lives,
why did you cross the tracks before making sure there weren’t more trains coming?
Thank God you stopped!
did you go back home and change
No, I didn’t go back home and change, at the time I didn’t think it mattered how my briefs looked,
It was a dirt road across a switching yard to a plywood mill, no lights to come down to stop you, railroad cars were parked all over the place on several of the tracks, so the railroad cars that were doing 55 mph didn’t quit stand out much,
The horn from the moving train sounded like the first engine except it was blaring NONE STOP until he got my attention,
Moral to the story, watch where your going, not where you have been,
9 lives? Are you a cat? Cats shouldn't be driving cars!
As I retired Engineer for one of the big North east railroads, I know all to well about drivers going around gates and risking their lives as well as their passengers. I had 2 such mishaps in my 30 year career, one was a suicide attempt gone wrong because we saw the vehicle in time to dump the air and basically pushed the car down the track a few hundred yards, the other was a sad one because the kid was 14 years old, he laid down in the gauge of the track and this portion of the track was on an uphill around a curve with a crossing before we started downhill. Anyone who knows me knows I blew the horn like a madman and would usually wake the dead. Anyways we crested the hill and on the track ahead we noticed something between the gauge and didn't realize what it was till he picked his head up and we took it off for him. Sadly I heard it was over a girl, can not confirm that. Moral of the story is, we did nothing wrong and never heard anything about it. As long as your not doing anything wrong you should have nothing to worry about, but will feel bad for a while and is something you will always remember.
Steven I feel really bad for you, and without going into details, I know exactly of what you speak. Both train crew and witnesses are traumatized.
A person dying 'because' of you is sad. As a surgeon I try not to remember dead patients' faces. Though, it bothers me less now.
Thank you for sharing your experience Steven. I started working as a freight train driver (in Spain) last year and loving my job, but in only 9 months of working I almost run over a person two times, and non of them was a suicidal. So I suppose I will experience that sooner or later...
I'm a train driver from Europe, only been at the job for 10 years and already had 4 suicides and two attempted suicides. I came prepared and managed to go on with a normal life but indeed, i'll never forget. I now put my experience to good use helping my coworkers recover from those events. My advice is talk about it. With coworkers, with close friends, with family, just let them know what you've been through. Don't carry that weight alone.
I feel for you brother, as a Conductor for Canada's biggest railway I went though the same experience last year. The girl was laying between the rails and there wasn't nothing we could do. By the the time we saw her it was too late. We used a full set break, the train finally came to a stop, and I walked back and had to find her. It wasn't a pretty site.
Shows how a train can't stop instantly. The car passed another car. Darwin award.
LET'S GO BRANDON HERRERA!
Lake Worth road crossing is a 4 lane road. The car was in the passing lane. They didnt "go around" anybody.... Moron
@@JimHerbertOutdoors This junction is clearly not a 4 lane road! So he did pass both the car AND the closed gate. Not to mention the flashing lights.
@@JimHerbertOutdoors Ooh I see, that's alright then.
Only Darwin award if this was someone who had no offspring.
Thoughts and prayers 🙏 for the train and that conductor.
Every single railway crossing in France has the text "One train can hide another" next to it for this precise reason. If you can't have patience for 5 minutes while a train passes you don't value your own life very highly.
yeah same in the UK
@bobulousgaming5353 this accident isn't possible in the UK (or well at least in London) since you cannot drive around the gate, it's a full on drop barrier.
I guranteed this crossing had a "2 Tracks" sign at the crossing.
Most accidents involving cars and trains usually involve people in cars doing stupid "stuff".. They are probably the same kind of people that move their cars in front of 18 wheel rigs, too.
And the same kind of people who impatiently swerve between cars or overtake on the shoulder because those precious milliseconds might change something.
I mean a train only has a one track mind 😶
i have seen some of the most unsafe driving done by tractor trailer drivers
@@cBodhi semi drivers are great there bad apples everywhere. But cars are much worse. Especially in today’s mentality of cutting the long lines and pass a semi just to get off the next exit. Sorry but cars cause a lot of accidents with semis.
@@cBodhi I know what you mean. One semi driver got mad that he had to wait for my school bus, so he tailgated me while blowing his horn.
Every near miss or impact has an effect, not just on property, but on the mind and psyche of the train crew. Although they are not responsible, there is a sense of guilt, that they could have done something more to stop the train. They carry it for the rest of their lives.
Is it really worth a couple minutes of your life to race a train and die? No. You wait for traffic lights to change, slow down for school zones, and wait in line at the drive through; why do you not wait here? It is likely you will spend less of your life waiting for trains to pass than you do taking a dump. Just wait for the lights to stop flashing and then proceed on your way, your life is worth it.
To put it in perspective, the force from a bright line train is significantly greater than an 18-wheeler running over a soda can at 50 mph…even more so with freight trains. You stand no chance when you try racing a train; you may be successful once, but eventually you will tie, which is losing the race.
Seriously, just have patience and wait like you do at a red light at a busy intersection, your life is more valuable than a few minutes
Thank You ! Thank you so much, for your insight. It' not very often that someone pops up with this depth of knowledge and logic. I would have never known that a locomotive would hurt me so bad when ignoring the RR Crossing warnings.
@@FloridaJack LOL
Exactly! People have no consideration for the workers who have to experience this.
Imagine being an EMT trying to save a life, then having to wait through a mile long freight train going 15mph?😆
@@SegaDisneyUniverse - Build bridges, but you vote down infrastructure spending.... 😝
You realise you can't have it both ways...
Some people just don't get it, unless they learn the hard way.
"Experience keeps a mean school, but fools will learn in no other." -- Benjamin Franklin
Somebody should put up some large blinking lights with warning bells and a large arms that crosses the road so people know not to do that.
maybe even a gate of sorts
This is a prime example of ‘Expect a second train’ that’s been said in literally every single railroad crossing PSA
I had almost the same thing happen to me as a car driver once: I was driving in a city, and all of the straight-through lanes had a red light and were bumper to bumper, but my turning lane was free and green. A pedestrian darted through all the stopped cars and didn’t look to see me coming in the turn lane, and ran out directly in front of me. If I had been going any faster, or if I’d been inattentive and slammed on my brakes _literally_ 1/10 of a second later, I would have hit him: he actually steadied himself on my hood after the scare. It was a young guy, I hope he learned a lesson from that close call! Just because one (or three) lane of traffic is gridlocked doesn’t mean all the lanes are…
This is a prime example of expect a train, period.
@@donmoore7785 yeah lol.
The Driver prolly on Dr.Dre beats with sound proof and cant hear that loud azz train 100 decibels at 100ft. LOL
I hope the train is ok.
Looks like angle of right light should be corrected.
@@skirnir-atf Nothing wrong with the angle. The car came off the side road that runs parallel to the tracks and tried to jump in front of the car still sitting behind the gate. Completely the car driver's fault for being impatient and wanting to be first across the tracks.
It's a horrible comment, but you aren't 100% wrong for lacking empathy for the driver. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Car cut in two!
@@davecasey4341 This might have been a joke. The right light on the train might have been damaged/misaligned during the crash.
Trying to beatba train is Darwinism6at work. It just helps clean the gene pool.
“Stop. Trains can’t.” This is a quote we should always remember.
As a 18 or so year old kid back in the eighties, my friend driving out in the country in Central Illinois was going to just run through a stop sign (no other safetydevicethere back then) at the tracks. I grabbed the steering wheel and said "nah, let's wait", so he hit the brakes and started yelling at me! Lol! A second or two later a train ran through the intersection at about 100 mph!
This train passed us for minutes, all coal cars! I saved all four of us in that car with as little effort as it would've taken to kill us.
Coal car train traveling at 100mph? Lol that would be one fast cargo train.
@@tibor29,
Would fer sure. Spoon river valley, southeast of Galesburg Illinois. They still move through there at 100mph.
(Just checked and it's much more like 50mph! Lol, k so be it but it was plenty fast there.)
Holy crap. I wonder what his reaction was when he saw the train
@@oldnick4707 Freight trains are limited to max 75mph in the US but they normally only travel at 40-60mph.
I hope he became your ex friend after that stupidity
It's so sad to see this happen to Brightline, a company actually trying to create a good longer-distance passenger rail option in the US.
They have established quiet zones where train horns do not sound, but additional safety features are put in place. Of course, the safety features don't work if the drivers ignore them all and go around.
@@texaswunderkind quiet zones should be illegal. The tracks were there before the towns.
@@Normal1855 Exactly! I used to live in Holmdel, NJ. Near the North Jersey Coast Line (Former NY&LB) and there was a blind curve at a level crossing. The residents wanted no train horn at the crossing. One day, the gates were not down, but I heard the horn blow for the crossing. A train came around the curve at track speed still no gates, lights, or bell. Luckily I follow the rule of Stop, Look, and LISTEN! The car behind me was honking his horn and started to pass me. Luckily, the train came through the crossing before he fouled the crossing.
@@Normal1855 Train horns in the US are terrible. Virtually all of Europe is a quiet zone, and so it should be.
Well how much Europe elevated or separate track situation. Done properly trains and humans and cars etc all live together in same world but set all together not matter if but when btw train always has right of way not other way around.
In my tiny city, we have a rather active train line running through the middle of it, and the trains can be as long as three miles from locomotive to caboose, so drivers have to have a lot of patience. There's one particular intersection in town that necessitates drivers who are parallel to the tracks to just sit there and wait unless they can make right turns and get to where they're going (which we usually cannot---nearly everything needed is always on the opposite of the tracks, of course!) I've sat at that intersection, left turn signal on, for as long as 15 minutes at times, but nobody who lives here ever gets impatient. We all know we want to get home safely, and in the four years I've lived here, there has never been any incident of anyone going around the gates, or trying to beat the oncoming trains. We aren't a tourist destination, which is one big help, and the track is only a single, another big help, because we know there's never a train we can't see.
My condolences to the train operator that will have to live with this for the rest of his dear life.
As a retired conductor this is one of the worst situations. We always new someone would jump the gun and run around a gate as the slow trained cleared. Had a fire truck do that once.
new?
@@K1OIK That's a new one. Normally it's YOUR and THERE that they can't get right.
I'm reading this and slapping my nee
@@Jeremy.Bearemy nee?
@David Wanklyn he did say he was a conductor. Railroaders aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed.
Please don’t say that this was the fault of Brightline. It was the fault of that impatient idiot of a driver.
The only people saying that are the liberals on Capital Hill.
@@matrox Shout-out to all the politics obsessed people of the US!
Right!..plus they’ll say not only was bright line at fault but they were also racists as well.
@@Kerfufflekitten where the hell are you people getting this mentality ,it's a crash not a police shooting I doubt any rational person would say this liberal or otherwise....
@@cristianalvarado3473 Is this your first time on the internet?
My dad worked for the rail road, 24 years. He must've told me a thousand times to look both ways and never play chicken with trains.
To this day, I follow his advice about train crossings. He saw all sorts of accidents and derailments.
Now I bet the guy in the car will be suing the train company for NOT STOOPING ON TIME!
He was killed
I feel more sorry for the train crew than the driver. If you actively ignore safety signals and practices, then I have no sympathy if something happens as a result.
This is a typical incident of “second train coming”, where one thinks they are cleared to go after 1 trains has passed, so they cross the crossing while the gates are still down, oblivious to the fact that another train could be approaching
@@theautistictransitfan Get those Japanese railroad crossing signals that have arrows to say which direction and track and number of trains are coming from
@@frafraplanner9277 Or, hear me out, just don't try and cross until the signals say it's safe.
@@bobsters06 A better idea, but that requires an IQ above 65
@@frafraplanner9277 I think that at least two brain cells will suffice
I recall that the CNW had a campaign on their passenger/commuter trains, encouraging people NOT to drive around gates & lights. The slogan said something like, "Don't try to race a train at a crossing; if it's a tie, YOU LOSE". As a teen starting to drive and interested in railroading, I still recall that after 50 years!
Before I was even starting to drive, my parents always just said "never race a train, you will lose one way or another"
I operate on the philosophy that anything bigger than me always has the right of way lol
@@deusvult6920 it's a fair philosophy....I've seen so many bikers particularly, but cars as well, putting themselves in serious danger just to prove that they're "right".....
"Operation life saver"
Was it operation lifesaver?
Wow! If only there was some sort of warning system setup to let people know a train is coming.
There is warning, but not on their brain of the driver.
I didn't realize it until I became a trucker, but a lot of people visibly start losing their minds anytime they have to stop their car for any reason.
There's a railroad track near one of my company terminals that has trains roll by every 30 minutes or so. Usually short transit trains, but sometimes longer freight trains.
There is actually no way to around the gate without damaging your vehicle, so I've seen people hop a curb a do a u turn to go another direction, even though the train tracks intersect every single road that goes the direction they were trying to go. It's bizarre.
I'm sure everyone has seen people who try not to stop at a busy 4 way or will just run red lights. People actually do the same thing to trains. It's insane.
We have a serious problem in the US where everyone in a car thinks they have the exclusive right of way. It's why it's so dangerous to walk or bike everywhere. This is what happens when drivers apply that attitude to something bigger than they are.
It's become so bad that in the last 5 years, it's even started to be dangerous biking on side roads, not to mention how bad the busy areas are... I saw a woman driving through the busiest intersection in town with her face in her phone. How much worse does it have to get before people say enough is enough?
It’s way worse in Latin America, trust me
Thank you, yes we have a huge problem with our car culture, plus no safe infrastructure to walk or cycle, the best you get is a painted line on the ground and a stencil of a cyclist on the ground, putting you at the mercy of 2 ton killing living rooms on wheels
What do you expect when the entire society is engrossed in this narrative of imagined self importance?
@@davefroman4700 Hit the nail right on the head. The last two years show that most americans will throw a tantrum the moment you make them consider other people.
The guy didn’t die!
He’s in serious condition!
And also that was the fourth one in a week! People in Miami are so impatient they don’t want to give up just a couple minutes of their time so they risk their life and the lives of others!
We’re surrounded by morons, you can’t escape from them, they're everywhere!
Cars make people impatient in general I feel
Correction: "they don’t want to give up just a couple minutes of their (add: extremely relevant, super important etc etc ) time". The world would stop turning without them, no, it would start turning the other way around !
Because *Florida*
Well hopefully he's crippled for life and can never drive again.
He didn’t want to give up a couple minutes so he gave up a car, his state of being, and still didn’t get there on time. Make _that_ make sense.
I watched it several times just to see the momentary camera blur. For some reason I find that kinda funny 😄.
That might be the most horrible noise I've ever heard. Thanks for including it though. That was an experience.
That had to be the scariest night of that train driver's carrier.
This is why Mom and Dad always taught us to look both ways before crossing the road. The same applies for railroad tracks.
The "problem" is that with railroad you don't need to check: there are traffic lights and other signal that indicate the upcoming train, with the need to watch right and left 😂.
But apparently people's stupidity has no end
@@francescoboselli6033 sometimes they malfunction. So the point is to always check just to ensure your safe.
And if you get outside of populated areas the blinking lights and crossing gates at railroad crossings become non existent but you still have the cross buck(white X).
And wait for the lights if they are present because, like in this case, a train can hide another
@@francescoboselli6033 you should still ALWAYS look just in case
My heart goes out to that poor vehicle for having a stupid car owner... may it rest in peace and pieces 😭
LOL! True.
millions of cars die every year due to being murdered by humans. do better.
@@myxaa1976 LOL!
@@myxaa1976 For just a Dollar, you can raise awareness to this dire cause and save a car form these humans
Blessed be this 1999 Honda Civic
The 55 year old guy survived with "serious injuries". The crash was in Lake Worth Beach FL. He came off the side street making a left turn into the crossing going around the gate. It was the third crash in four days in Palm Beach County.
I did not hear the engineer sound the horn for the grade crossings. Only when he was about to hit the car did I hear it. Is it my hearing? Was this in a quiet zone? I was told the procedure for approaching a crossing is two long blasts, one short one, and a long blast which is held until the locomotive clears the crossing.
The flashing red lights and the bright red and white guards being down should have been a pretty good indictor not to go but stupid is as stupid does.
Im thinking he saw that freight train go pass thought the barriers were down for no reason and continued to go (stupid asf but yeah)
@@saadselkent367 yea that’s what it looks like happened. But dude isn’t a young kid. He’s in his 50’s and should have gained a lot of common sense by now. To blow through a stop sign, go around another car to drive around warning lights and flashing lights. It’s a lot
@@urmama9845 yeah it’s completely his fault for doing that but that was probably the reason going on in his head which he only succumbed to due to huge amounts of arrogance thinking he knows how the crossings work better than they actually work
@@urmama9845 it's south florida... retards everywhere down there, along with drugs and alcoholics lol
@@SirRobbins please don't come here. You'd make that problem wayyyyyyy worse.
Good illustration of how long it takes a train to come to a stop in full emergency braking.
This is a small passenger train. Imagine that big intermodal one that just went by trying to stop. Takes a half mile.
fun fact: it takes a train longer to stop with emergency brakes compared to normal brakes. (the same is true for airplanes)
that's because normal braking has special equipment to prevent wheel slip. Emergency brakes is just braking, regardless of slip. If the wheels do start slipping, thet rain/plane will take longer to stop.
That was only around 60-70mph too, imagine if it was one of the expresses in Europe
@@Robbedem that isn't true of modern traction, you get full sand application and honestly on dry trails you won't slip.
I drive them.
@@xaiano794 Europe (or France at the very least) cares about their citizens though so they removed almost all at grade crossings in favor of over/underpasses which greatly reduce the risk of meeting a train. And no it doesn't eliminate it we've had some jumping trains and cars thinking they were intermodal.
I was an Engineer 30yrs. Conrail , CSX. This was a Classic Example,and the most common, guy is impatient, he’s sees the rear end of train on adjacent track, and car assumes that that is why gates are down(stopped train still on circuit) however. As you can tell. The stopped train impairs any vision of the approaching train, in this case I’m assuming a passenger train, that runs at even higher speeds is approaching undetected by the dead guy in the car. As a freight train engineer in the Northeast we constantly getting stopped so. High speed passenger could get around us. If you worked the road as conductor, or engineer you get it.
Yup, a clear example of a train can hide another. Looking at the car it looks like it made a left turn from a stop before crossing the rails. A quick look on his left blindside uppon starting rolling and we would also have seen the train comming
It takes the average train 1.7, miles going 60mph to fully stop.
My only question is to why the engine whistle was not used prior to the approach of that grade crossing?
There are crossings gates they cannot use horns
In NJ, they're required to use the whistle, regardless. Grade crossing is two longs, a short, and a long blast.
People are never going to learn: "DON'T TRY TO BEAT THE TRAIN!"
Some people think they are entitled to have a Darwin Award!
“If we move quick we can beat the train.”
-Trevor Philips
2004
i don't think they were train to beat the train as a train just passed by, they just did not want to wait for the gates to go up and did not expect that there can be more than one train ether way its the driver fault.
Where is the fun in doing that?
I don't think this one was about beating the train. It almost looked like the driver was waiting on the traffic in front of them to go because they thought the train had passed and when they didn't they got angry and just hammered the gas to try and get in front of them never thinking to look left.
The barely noticeable jiggle of the camera when the train hits the car demonstrates the dynamics and physics involved in diesel locomotive vs. automobile collisions.
Hey genius ya think as big as the train is a car getting smacked by it would make some kind of difference?!
@@cherylstevens9370 Go back and re-read the post, that's his point exactly
@@cherylstevens9370 🙄🙄🙄
It is a basic law of the Universe:-
"The largest vehicle ALWAYS wins."
Yup. That's why I watched the vid. I had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen from the video title. I just wanted to see how much the physics would play out on the impact. I also had a very good idea of how long the train would take to stop. Not much of a jiggle but an interesting display of sparks. But still... how would you feel having been in that cab and felt that little jiggle? I'm glad the guy survived but even more glad he lost his car. I hope he never gets another one.
Didn’t read too much of the comments but what were the results of impact? Injuries or death?
OMG, another one!!! I'm a professional driver here where I live and it's incredible the way people are driving here now. They can't wait for a few seconds or maybe a couple of minutes... I've already seen a pedestrian killed crossing in the dark, for no reason. Bad thing is we drivers see this "drive around the crossing arms" ALL the time here.
As Coach Operators, we are driving a few steps higher than normal on safety awareness and traffic safety.
As the midcentury rail safety PSAs say, "don't let a double track double-cross you"
What a selfish move on that driver's part
You should specify which driver, almost thought you were talking about the train driver, was about to go off on one lol
@@HonestMan112 the train has a conductor.
@@hihosilencemeviolateme949 the train conductor is different to the train driver. Do your research before attempting to correct me.
@@HonestMan112 engineer. Looks like you didn't research either before correcting me or the op.
@@hihosilencemeviolateme949 it appears you've caught a simple case of "American who thinks he's always right". The correct term for someone who drives a train is a train driver.
Have the installed quad-gates system wide yet? Are they talking about over-passes and under-passes yet?
Hard to believe people still don’t understand don’t cross the tracks when the gate is down 🤦♂️
My father was a locomotive engineer for 45 years. He had hit more than a few vehicles over the years, due to people being brain dead idiots. TIP: In a showdown between a car and a train, the train is going to win EVERY.SINGLE.TIME. So don't try going around the gates, or ignore the flashing lights. If you do, it just might be the last thing you ever do.
Unless superman or hancock are driving.
@@seanriopel3132 lol, unfortunately many village idiots think they are superman. 😆
@@josephaltman460 or feel like superman if they are on something.
Nobody can stop God or Jesus. The Devil has been trying to get rid of the Bible and Yeshua's for a long time to no avail. He has succeeded in corrupting the world with Sin, but no one will be able to erase Yahweh nor his word from the Earth.
@@YahushuaWonAlready bro shut up, that had literally nothing to do with the conversation
Trains have ‘right of way’ at level crossings, so every crash or incident at a level crossing must be the road vehicle drivers fault no matter what. End of argument.
The driver clearly drove into the train. They win a Darwin award. We move on like nothing happened.
What argument?
@@colconn57 whos fault it is
@@Simon11354 That's not up for agruement. It is never the train's fault. Never, even if the cross bars don't go down. Stop and look both ways.
It's road vehicle fault due to the simple fact that the train CAN'T stop
Most civilians from Florida blame the company for the crash when in reality it's the car's fault for trying to beat the train before it passes while the stop barriers were down.
Do active military blame different people?
Correct me if I'm wrong here but isn't the Train supposed to blow a signal horn before reaching a crossing
That's unless it's a quiet zone
The train actually stopped ? Up here in Canada, if a train hits something it just keeps on going.
This is the reason “warning hot drinks” has to be printed on all coffee mugs
You should actually learn about the McDonald's lawsuit
@@deusvult6920, You should actually learn about jokes
you’re very wrong. brightline had absolutely no fault in this while mcdonald’s had complete fault in serving people 200°F coffee
@@--2 you’re the one who needs to learn jokes. nothing about what you said is funny
@@misseselise3864 ???? the joke is people r so dumb
Kudos to the train crew for helping society with natural selection.
I shouldnt have laughed at that... good comment
@@flightstatic4662 Don't feel bad he has a point.
It's blooms taxonomy, people learn stuff but they don't always apply it.
Right? lol
Plus the driver can no longer produce stupid offspring.
Unfortunately this is Darwin Award runner up. He failed to remove himself from the gene pool.
Driver was concerned with the train on the track closest to him. Once it passed he thought that was it... he didn't suspect ANOTHER train to be on the farside track going in the opposite direction...Look BOTH ways before you cross...
In those moments where you feel like you need to speed up really fast, 99% of the time you should either stop or slow down. I'm a courier and everyday at least one person comes close to hitting me.
I’ll never understand why anybody would run a train crossing with the lights on and gates down. Trains are undefeated.🤦♂️😞
Because too many idi ots don't understand that "Best in Class" doesn't mean anything when you go up against a much larger class of vehicle.
Because unfortunately, most people are idiots, and the most dangerous kind of idiot too, the idiot that doesn't realize they're an idiot.
He most likely got tired of waiting at a crossing for the stopped train and assumed that the gates and lights were just for the stopped train
Alas, trains aren't undefeated. It sometimes causes more than mental harm to the crew, passengers, and bystanders as well. For instance there's a picture out there of a very scorched Union Pacific steam locomotive that hit a tanker truck at a crossing circa 1950. The engineer and fireman in the cab didn't stand a chance in the flaming fireball that they went through. Or for a more recent for instance, the high profile Metrolink 2005 Glendale crash when 11 people were murdered when a man intentionally abandoned his vehicle on the tracks. Or for another Metrolink example, the 2015 Oxnard derailment when a man abandoned his truck on the tracks, killing the train's engineer and seriously injuring a number of passengers. Hopefully no Brightline crew member, passenger, or bystander ever ends up physically being harmed by these irresponsible actions of some motorists and pedestrians in this region. But in all probability, it's only a matter of time.
They run the crowning gates because they saw the train clear on one of the two tracks and thought to themselves, "what are the odds."
That's when they find out the odds were never in their favor.
Years ago we had a guy get killed at an unprotected crossing in town because he totally ignored the blasting horn of the slow approaching train (they are required to reduce speed when traveling through towns). Next thing you know, his surviving family member are wanting the crossing closed down, as though it was the crossings fault. And no, there are absolutely no visibility issues at any of the numerous crossings in our town. Was a bright, sunny day when it occurred
Was that a quiet zone? It sounds like they weren't using the whistle at crossings.
Chicago and the greater Chicagoland area has SO MANY crossings from freight to CTA/Subway to Metra passenger trains that it was common for people to ignore lights and signs. When I'd see a person on a bike or a pedestrian that refused to cross against the signal I'd stop to think them for not running it because my mother was almost killed for crossing tracks on foot and was hit by an oncoming train after she walked around a train that was loading cars while she was on her way to work.
SO MANY people in Skokie IL would honk and lose their minds when I'd refuse to pull forward and stop on the tracks at an intersection where the tracks were just in front of an intersection. In rush hour the traffic was crazy and if there was a red light and those arms came down in front and behind me, I'd have no where to go before that Metra train hit me!
The main diagonal intersection by my house had an accident that destroyed a dozen cars that decided to stop on the tracks because they were in a hurry to get home. 6 lanes of traffic at a 10 degree angle to the railroad tracks can mean a LOT of vehicles trapped when the arms come down.
Don't risk it. Wait for another light and don't put your life and the mental health of the driver of the train at risk by being impatient.
I always slow down at every intersection and that includes train crossings. It's worked so far for 70 years.
An average car weighs around 1.5 tons.
An average passenger train weighs around 1,500 tons or 1,000 times the weight of a car.
Freight trains weigh between 3,000 tons and 18,000 tons or 2,000 to 12,000 times the weight of a car.
Something 1,000 times the weight of a car hitting that car at slow speed is equivalent to the force on a insect of an average human stepping on that insect. A passenger train running at a faster speed or a heavy freight train rather than a passenger train, will have a significantly higher force applied to the car which is more than the equivalent to jumping on the insect. Either way the car and all the occupants in it die instantly just like the insect does. Seat belts, airbags or even a larger vehicle such as a semi-truck do not help when something as large and heavy as a train hits the vehicle.
Back when I was still driving trucks, I would try to explain the weight differences to people who thought that trucks could stop as fast as cars because "they have 18 wheels". I would then tell them that 80,000 lbs. wont stop on a dime . and that said truck at that weight is 26 times the weight of their car. Even my last truck I owned before retiring, a Pete with an aluminum flatbed, weighed in at 32000 lbs. stone empty, or more that 10 times the average car weight. All too many of them seemed unable to comprehend that. Then, you can watch videos of trains hitting fully loaded trucks, and the impact doesnt't slow the train at all. But I guess some (stupid) people think that they are invincible, right up until they
discover in a split second that they actually aren't.
It's called momentum
I like to compare the mass difference between a train and a vehicle to a vehicle and a soda can.
I'm working as a maintenence engineer on passenger trains that were considered high speed when first launched in the early 90's. Nowadays 200km/h doesn't really make the headline news, but still considerably faster than normal cars driving at legal speeds. The empty weight of a train set is around 364 metric tonnes. The trains utilise motor and tread brakes on drive axles (4), beefy disc brakes on all axles (28) and magnetic track brakes on most bogies (12/14). The train documentation clearly states that the emergency braking distance on flat ground with all systems active is 1750 meters (~1 mile) from 200 to full stop. That is what a lot of momentum does combined with low friction to the rails and low air resistance. I usually tell people that if the train is in your visible range, you should move out of the way ASAP. It's too late for engineer to brake.
I actually remember being in a similar situation yet i actually chose to be cautious.
There was a train with a lone engine following it. The stop arm started to go up but lowered a little bit after
First of all, good luck trying to find out if the driver survived or not. The local reporting is not clear. One station said he was taken to the hospital w serious injuries but the picture of the wreck looks like he would have died. Another report says the driver was killed but I am not certain this was the same incident (they did not have this video). As I recall there was a series of Brightline crashes involving cars and pedestrians whih occured at around the same time.
WHAT HAPPENED HERE: The driver was obviously confused by the freight train that was stopped on the tracks. It was likely the only train he saw and figured he had enough time to cross the tracks. Still at fault for going around gate - but a lot of times these gates go down for no reason. It is a frustrating and scary situation.
When the gates are down, lights flashing, bells ringing, assume a train is approaching. Period.
There is no other reasoning. Betting on some malfunction may be the last thought you ever have.
Why does the media also seem to say, “train hit car” when in reality the car hit the train?
Because hitting is pegged on the direction of movement and assigned to who's direction actually did the impacting. Technically, the train hit car. It's not to say it like it did it on purpose or swerved to do so. Like football, guy is running with the ball and you go and tackle him by broadsiding him, you hit him, not vice versa.
Of course then again, with the media...we all know the Conductor "drives" the train too. lol
No, the train hit the car. That doesn't mean the train was at fault, just the nature of the collision. A car hitting a train would be a car ramming into the side of a train that was already across the road (which does happen, just not nearly as often).
Yes, it's based on the impact location on the vehicle.
But ...since the train really has NO choice in the matter (i.e. being bound by tracks) fault is almost ALWAYS the road based vehicle (truck, car, semi, etc...)
Think tho in terms of a car vs deer. If the front of your car is smashed, "you hit a deer"... But, if your passenger door is smashed "the deer hit you"
Train hit the car. It's a proximity thing, not a fault thing.
To a train, a car is an unopened soda can you drive over. If you ever done that with your car, it's the same feeling and sound of a train hitting a car. The very sad part of it is that there's at least one human in that can you just crushed. Just stay way from train tracks unless you are absolutely sure it's safe to cross!!
Yes
And only at a designated crossing. Crossing or walking along the tracks at any other point is not only dangerous, but trespassing.
Reminds me of a common traffic crash that should be easily prevented. During heavy motor vehicle traffic people feel they are being kind when they stop in the right lane, then wave the driver in a car through to cross traffic in every lane. Without any consideration for the very high likelihood of creating a traffic crash the kind-hearted individual exposes the other car, and everyone in it, to risk of serious physical injury or death.
As a young police officer I tried to educate people to avoid this potentially lethal behavior, but it doesn't have the same type of crisply defined legal statute as other motor vehicle laws, without any potential for themselves being held liable for damages or injuries people were mostly aloof and might shrug their shoulders at most upon learning how dangerous their well-intentioned behavior was.
Oh man I know what you mean
People think they are doing a service but it’s rather a disservice
Yup, this is how the side of my car was wrecked a long time ago. A very pregnant woman crossed 4 lanes of stopped traffic in a very narrow window with zero visibility. Now left turns are illegal on that highway, replaced by U-turns. People still make left turns through the do not enter signs, and frequently wave drivers through traffic near the intersection and the gas station.
For liability reasons I never direct drivers, but I do recall directing one person very clearly to stop, when they proceeded past my horn and sparsely avoided a wreck in the oncoming lane. I don't know what kind of self-preservation instinct these people have, but they seem to be unaware that they are ambushing drivers who can't see them.
Another similar scenario is when someone will stop to let a pedestrian cross the street, and an entire line of cars has to stop.
Happened to my niece when she was 18; drivers thought they were being kind, and in reality, they were, but some idiot driving illegally went into the left-turn-only lane to bypass traffic at the light, and smashed my sister's new car (niece driving it) to the point that the first responders thought they'd have to use the Jaws of Life to get niece and my sis out. Thankfully, nobody was injured, and the illegal driver's insurance had to pay for all damages, and he himself had to pay for the therapy both my sister and niece had to have to get over that horrible incident.
Looks like the ditch lights weren’t flashing until the horn was pressed. I thought they were required to flash even on no-whistle level crossings?
Gotta honestly feel bad for the train operators. They spend all day on the train making sure everything gets where it needs to be, and it’s not like they can stear out of the way, and have to watch somebody get annihilated by a tank on tracks
Play stupid games win stupid prizes
why was the train horn heard only after the crash was immanent, and not before?
In my more than half a century of life I have come to realize that there's no such thing as an accident, what there is is unintentional consequences from stupid decisions and lack of awareness. That is what we observed here today by the person driving the car. If they survived, I hope they learned, if they didn't survive... Well, I hope other learn from it. Pay attention, get off your damn phones and listen to what's going on around you
Yeah, as much as i hate this... i have to agree with you. This is not an accident... this is a collision.
Locomotive Engineer here. We see BS like this almost every day at work. People see the flashing red lights and think it's time to race. Many railroaders have ended up with PTSD or something similar from dealing with the aftermath of crossing accidents, someone has to walk back and find what's left of the car and its occupants........
As I said, train crews' worst nightmare. I've heard that some crews involved in these kinds of incidents never return to operating a locomotive. It's a sad situation for the crews.
in the 70's one of the shunting loco drivers and his assistant in our depot had been taken off a passenger service because of what we now know to be PTSD. They ran over a suicide .Once they got the train stopped,his loco assistant ran back to see what was remaining. The driver called out"Is he dead?" ,to which his assistant replied " looks like it" as he held up the mans severed head....
My nephew in-law is responsible for sorting out railroad "incidents" to get the trains up and running again. This is in England where trains are more frequent in built up areas. There is an unbelievable amount of suicides, and train drivers have to be changed to move the affected trains because of the original drivers trauma. Suicide is a very selfish thing, especially when they involve innocent people with their callousness.
Just to add why some drivers are affected so badly, death by high speed train for instance, doesn't leave much to be found, yet the clean up crew has to find as much as they can before they can leave the "incident" area and get the trains running again. So, let's also give thought to that crew, and also the on site coroner team.
@@mickk8519 Still, that is better than committing suicide by seeing how far you can go while driving on the wrong side of the interstate.
I find it unfathomable that ANYONE would have to explain why it is dangerous to do this.
1. You have a car driving around another on a double solid line (show me a railroad crossing with a passing zone)
2. It seems that today, many people are deliberately and fundamentally incompetent (despite the "age of information" and its wisdom being shoved in our faces from every direction)
3. There should be absolutely NO question about who's fault this is, unless the signal and gate failed. NONE whatsoever.
4. Many people think this is the way to stop dealing with stress permanently. (think I'm joking?)
5. It is insanely self-centered to put this kind of guilt on an engineer; they have a HUGE responsibility to their passengers to begin with, and it must affect them very deeply, regardless of the stupidity and ignorance of the action.
These same kind of people are the reason McDonald coffee cup say coffee is hot and Tide has to tell people not to eat tide pods.
people have always been this incompetent. it's just that TODAY there are a lot more people around, AND you get to hear about everything. before the internet, this would have been local news like "out-of-towner lost argument with a freight train; third this month" and on the next page "local undertaker makes a killing"
@@sterlingspencer2934 Actually Coffee Hot is a long and complex issue where the company tried to get away with selling their coffee hotter than anywhere else and not paying for the injured woman's basic medical bills. Even if you disagree it's a complex and contentious issue.
Don't drive in front of trains has zero complexity or contention. Pure selfish stupidity.
Just yesterday I witnessed a family push a baby stroller (presumably with an actual baby in it) across railroad tracks that had the crossing gate down and lights and bells operating. Just three blocks away was a bridge that they could have used to safely cross over the railroad tracks.
I reckon that too often, people think they are playing a play station game where, when you crash/die/stuff up, you press reset and start again. The only damage being you’re pissed off cos you gotta start again.
There are decisions and consequences in life, as in the PS4 games, only, you can’t start again if you choose the wrong decision.
NEWS FLASH…. Folks, there is NO RESET in life……
Why wasn’t the train sounding the horn before the crossing? The horn never sounded till contact with the car.
Would it improve things if the gate closed both lanes, so that there is no easy option to cut through when the junction is closed? The extended half of the gate could be hinged to bend backwards into the exit lane, in case a trapped vehicle needed to escape the tracks in an emergency, but, otherwise, the gates would cause some resistance and superficial damage to a car that tries to push through them.
I feel sorry for the train drivers when things like this happen. It must be so traumatic for them..
Definitely an underwear changing moment, I'd be absolutely traumatised
I wouldn't feel bad just annoyed.
I agree Shell,some train drivers must surely suffer afterwards....
My mom's first husband died when the truck he was driving was struck by a train. He did not see it because of fog or hear because of milk cans rattling around in the truck. This was in the 1940s. I have always had a healthy respect for railroad crossings.
what are you supposed to to as a driver in front of a railroad crossing when you cant's see and hear anything........ ?....... = tell me......
@@danizweifler6061 Stop and wait before the crossing. Shut of the car if you have to. Step out of the car if that still isn't enough
@@richardmillhousenixon ...and if you still aren't convinced that it's clear, turn around and find another way.
@Dani one day you will also be a victim of a train crashing. But it will be okay because there will be one less idiot on the road
@@richardmillhousenixon / that's exactly what I did want to say...... / I guess, you did miss my point ! // Everyone learns things like that in an official driving school !!
Gotta love the sound of those dynamic brakes
This is also why we need to get rid of quiet zones. Even though the engineer blew the horn. It wasn’t enough warning to let the traffic know he was coming through. People also should obey the crossing gates.
This is completely on the driver of the car. Gates were down, lights flashing, and they still went around the gates.
This is a common occurrence... The first train cleared the crossing and the driver made the assumption that the crossing was malfunctioning, taking too long to clear up and open the road. They took it upon themselves to bypass the safety measures installed and take the risk of driving around them. Happens all the time unfortunately. But we can't protect people who are going to bypass safety installations.
@GN I never said it was... please read my comment again.
As an engineer, I can’t begin to tell you how often people run around the crossing gates. It angers me that they are that stupid. I know several engineers that have had fatal collisions. I’ve had dozens of near misses.
@@billmoran3812 my first fatal crash involved an infant and a toddler who were standing in the back seat, unsecured by any restraint. I will never forget it. Similar circumstances but the parent was driving and survived.
Car driver's fault!!
Not exactly, train could have swelled right to avoid a crash
@@cengizteouluyurt7053 of course! How couldn't I thought of that?
Well duh
@Golden_auto are you smoking weed
@@cengizteouluyurt7053 The train should have go up. Cars are the most important vehicles in the U.S.
Did The Person In The Car Live ?
Wow hope everyone is OK 😢