DART (Dallas Area) Grade Crossing Fatality

Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
People are so catastrophically stupid. There's a reason the crossing arms are down. Is risking one's life really worth a minute or so in time savings?  :help:
 
People are so catastrophically stupid. There's a reason the crossing arms are down. Is risking one's life really worth a minute or so in time savings?
Humans are notoriously poor at accurately measuring the potential for reward and avoiding unnecessary risk.  This trait is distinct from intelligence.
 
People are so catastrophically stupid. There's a reason the crossing arms are down. Is risking one's life really worth a minute or so in time savings?
Humans are notoriously poor at accurately measuring the potential for reward and avoiding unnecessary risk.  This trait is distinct from intelligence.
I understand that humans are notoriously bad at this, but I think that some are worse than others. A reasonably logical and intelligent adult probably won't literally drive around crossing arms.
 
I understand that humans are notoriously bad at this, but I think that some are worse than others. A reasonably logical and intelligent adult probably won't literally drive around crossing arms.
It's easy to say everyone who does something stupid is a moron, but that's often not the case.  Humans of average intelligence don't buy lottery tickets because they're incapable of comprehending basic math; they buy them because the emotional high they feel from wishing for extreme wealth overwhelms their rational judgement.  Humans of average intelligence don't drink and drive because they think it's perfectly safe; they know it's dangerous but their compromised mental faculties convinces them it'll be okay just this one time.  Humans tend to view risk and reward through a blurry emotional lens that clouds their better judgement.  I consider myself to be an intelligent person, but I've done some extremely dangerous things over the years, often with little or no consideration for worst case or even moderate harm scenarios.
 
Whereas I generally agree with you, there were other factors that made this inherently stupid: though not a 4-gate crossing (unusual, I think, for a light rail crossing), there was a curb, albeit not high, at that crossing.  There was probably room to maneuver around between the curb and the gate.... But more than just carnal human ignorance, there is a very American (particularly Southern) cultural mentality.  To my original point, though, DART has been operating in the DFW area for 20 years, though this particular line is only about three years old or so.
 
Back
Top