There's a simple solution to this problem that I'm guessing the community never thought of..."None of the lights were working. They weren't flashing, which for this spot, is no surprise," she said. "It happens constantly."
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How the hell hard can it be to notice there's a train coming?
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How the hell hard can it be to notice there's a train coming?
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The 5-year-old was also killed. A 3-month-old baby girl survived.Seems like we're seeing one of these stories a week. I feel awful for the 5 year old kid...his Mom was an idiot and he'll never have a chance to grow up not like her.
More reason to ban those things.follow up on story:
Authorities said a North Carolina woman was talking on her cell phone when she drove through a railroad crossing into the path of an Amtrak train last week.
The Highway Patrol determined warning lights and bells and the crossing gate functioned properly before the Dec. 22 crash that killed a mother and her 5-year-old son.
The Highway Patrol said witnesses reported seeing 26-year-old Erin Lindsay-Calkins using her phone as she drove toward the railroad crossing near Efland in Orange County.
Bystanders pulled her 4-month-old daughter out of a car seat in the vehicle's twisted metal.
i agree pull over and park somewhere if its that important. i know here in michigan up in shelby TWP you cannot eat drink talk on your phone etc while driving.More reason to ban those things.follow up on story:
Authorities said a North Carolina woman was talking on her cell phone when she drove through a railroad crossing into the path of an Amtrak train last week.
The Highway Patrol determined warning lights and bells and the crossing gate functioned properly before the Dec. 22 crash that killed a mother and her 5-year-old son.
The Highway Patrol said witnesses reported seeing 26-year-old Erin Lindsay-Calkins using her phone as she drove toward the railroad crossing near Efland in Orange County.
Bystanders pulled her 4-month-old daughter out of a car seat in the vehicle's twisted metal.
Unfortunately, the old expression "You can't legislate morality" may apply here. And I definitely believe using a cell phone while driving is a moral issue.More reason to ban those things.
Its a public safety issue. Period. We have enough bad drivers crashing into things for no good reason without having cellphones around to increase the number.Unfortunately, the old expression "You can't legislate morality" may apply here. And I definitely believe using a cell phone while driving is a moral issue.More reason to ban those things.
It's for this reason that the FRA is requiring all rail cars to have reflective tape on the sides of the cars. Unfortunately they gave the RR's several years to comply with that requirement, so many cars still haven't been rotated into a shop to have said tape applied.3. Lack of visibility of the train at night. Don't laugh. About 25% of at-grade accidents are where the car broadsides the train. Big, dark objects absorb light. I once had the experience of coming upon a "malfunctioning" flashing light signal at very rural highway in Arizona. It was a short-line railroad, rarely used, and an empty road. New moon. I dutifully stopped at the crossing because I'm a goody goody. Just as the car stopped, I realized that the crossing was occupied by a freight train, there was just a glint or two of metal that attracted my attention. Had I been a little more tired, had a beer or two, or been just a tiny bit more anti-social, it would have been curtains.
Whistle bans are un-enforceable. FRA regs are national laws which override municipal laws. All trains should feel free to ignore whistle bans, but apparently some don't, which is unfortunate if it increases accidents by this much.1. Whistle ban. Increases at-grade accidents by about 25%.
The uneforcable ones are GONE.Whistle bans are un-enforceable. FRA regs are national laws which override municipal laws. All trains should feel free to ignore whistle bans, but apparently some don't, which is unfortunate if it increases accidents by this much.1. Whistle ban. Increases at-grade accidents by about 25%.
That is just not true. I wrote a whole explanation as to why in a post when this topic came up months ago. This post can be found here.Whistle bans are un-enforceable. FRA regs are national laws which override municipal laws. All trains should feel free to ignore whistle bans, but apparently some don't, which is unfortunate if it increases accidents by this much.1. Whistle ban. Increases at-grade accidents by about 25%.
I doubt it. When I say it is a moral issue, I mean using a cell phone when driving is immoral, as in sin and the damnation. Or maybe I should have said instead of "You can't legislate morality", "You can't legislate a higher IQ".Its a public safety issue. Period. We have enough bad drivers crashing into things for no good reason without having cellphones around to increase the number.Unfortunately, the old expression "You can't legislate morality" may apply here. And I definitely believe using a cell phone while driving is a moral issue.More reason to ban those things.
I'm sure if you or someone you cared about was hurt or killed because some other driver crashed into them as a result of using a cellphone, you'd have a somewhat different opinion.
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