Gates down, signals flashing, whistles blaring…hmm. Maybe we shouldn’t be sitting here.
Florida has a brand new high-speed train; and the first fatality from being hit by said high-speed train....
- Thread starter The Tradition
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Gates down, signals flashing, whistles blaring…hmm. Maybe we shouldn’t be sitting here.
Pretty ridiculous a Firetruck tried to do that. No matter the emergency, you can’t run a train signal especially one where the train is going so fast. And that is the main issue: these trains are going very fast through dense areas. They need to make much more robust crossings that make them impassable for vehicles and secure upstream far in advance. I am fairly certain that is how the bullet train crossings.
Anyway to tell if the train going the opposite direction is parked or moving? I ask because if it was moving it may have caused the guards to raise. Just a thought I had, and design flaw at that crossing.
It’s entirely possible and I say this because Florida has a lot of train tracks laid alongside major highways with crossings that were configured at least 80 years ago before traffic was a consideration and the State hasn’t spent the money to address changes (they’ve only recently heard the word overpass).
Here in Jax for example they laid tracks to parallel US Hwy 17 that runs N/S across from the Naval Air station. In WWII it was very important. Men and Materials dropped off at the front gate and it was woods all around. Here we are all these years later and those tracks are still used by trains usually moving lumber and the previous wooded area is now urban sprawl. When there’s a problem with a train it shuts down traffic for hours. An overpass should have been built YEARS AGO. But we want to continue to be a “low tax state”…and FDOT lives in the past.
Fire fighters should know better than to try that shit. They should also be aware that brightline uses that rail. Complete dumbfvckery.
Can you actually idiot proof a train crossing and not end up spending millions in case that one idiot tries to cross in front of the train?
I'd guess the one pictured might go 350,000 or higher...
The tanker car train going the other way is what they thought was the only cause of the signal, so instead of waiting for the gates to rise they went over to the other side of the road and crossed in front of the second train they didn’t realize was coming.
Whoopsie.
I’d guess closer to a mill. There are RVs that cost more lol.
Most crossings with double tracks have a signage indicating so, that's why you should never cross until the gates go up.
Train vs vehicle, train always wins.
A new ladder truck like that could be 1.5-2 mil. New pumpers are 500-1 mil these days.
If the tanker train is stopped and not in the island circuit, the gates will time out. If the tanker train is moving and has cleared the island circuit, the same thing happens. Either way, the speed of the Brightline on the adjacent requires a very long signal start. There's no way the gates came up briefly and then reactivated. And that's proven by the truck being in the opposite lane. They drove around the gate.
I did some research on the crossing via Google Earth. It has two gates on each side of the tracks, which is good. Thousands of gated crossings in the United States only have one gate per side. However, the gates opposite the driving lane are only for the sidewalks. That's different than other crossings in that area that have four full-length gates that completely block the roadway when activated. Had longer gates been in place, the firetruck would have stayed put. Making all of the gated crossings on that line capable of fully blocking the roadway on both sides obviously needs to be completed. It's an easy, cheap "fix" of sorts...although people are going to people.
Same here. I've never understood how a pedestrian can get hit by a train. It's beyond stupid.
Honestly, a lot of it is, and not trying to be funny, Darwin at work. For example, the video someone posted earlier of the young boy trying to break away from mom right before bright line train blows by. Nobody had to tell me as a parent to be more careful with my kid nor when I was a kid that young to maybe listen to the adult taking me to watch train. Same with people walking on or near tracks or driving around crossing guard in a vehicle. Nobody had to teach me to avoid all of the above. Some people are just lacking in fear/common sense.
Floridians cannot drive either. As for the suicides, people need to respect other people’s time and die on the own time, not mine.
There are so many ways to end your life that don’t affect others. Just swallow a bottle of pills or get a gun. The Skyway used to be a popular suicide destination before they put up the fences. Sadly, some survive. That would be worse than death.
I suppose inconveniencing others isn't really a concern if you want to take the big nap.
Agreed. I know a mechanical employee who's had to clean human "splash" as he described it off of the front of engines. More than once. Obviously, it's not something a guy who normally wrenches on and maintains engines wants to have to do. Or should have to.
The crossings in that city, despite the speed of the and the dense population, aren't nearly as dangerous as unguarded crossings on rural roads. People fly over the tracks often in these locations without slowing down or even looking. I've seen a lot of photos of pulverized tractors, combines, maintainers, semis, trucks cars...you name it...caused by drivers who simply didn't take enough precaution. Train horns are very loud, obviously, but a radio turned up and someone daydreaming behind the wheel can and has killed a lot of people.
That's on the idiots who do that. They are clearly marked spots to stop. Signs that say don't stop on the tracks. Flashing lights. How many more safely features should they put up to protect the stupid ones?
I agree. Like I said, it's when you get out into the country where crossings become truly dangerous. But, not because of the railroads. It's because of people doing people shit.
Pills and gun might not work as intended, and leave you in a worse situation that what you're trying to escape.
Carbon monoxide is more readily absorbed by your blood cells than oxygen.
Just get a dryer vent hose and pipe some exhaust into your car.
Turn on some tunes and gently fall asleep forever.
Earlier today, I drove though the intersection where the train hit the fire truck. You can't tell that anything happened. I thought there would be some remnants but there are none.
Delray Beach faces "turning point" after fire truck on tracks hit by Brighht line train
Delray Beach faces "turning point" after fire truck on tracks hit by Brighht line train
This guy has been through three Brightline collisions including the fire truck
"Blood and screaming": Brightline passenger recalls train crash with fire truck in Florida
"Blood and screaming": Brightline passenger recalls train crash with fire truck in Florida
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As shown in this video, the street crossing only has gates on one lane. It doesn't have double gates
Witness describes seeing fire truck 'sliced in two' by Brightline train
Witness describes seeing fire truck 'sliced in two' by Brightline train
It seems to me that pulling around gates that had moved into the down position along with flashing lights and bells sounding is more than enough encouragement not to stop on the tracks.
There’s a place in Atmore, AL where the train tracks run parallel to a road with a four way light.
I was driving my brother’s truck looking for the parts store to get a replacement starter as the one on his race car had gone out.
As I came over the embankment and onto the tracks I could see there were cars stopped at the light and with three in front me I was stopped on the tracks, and then the lights come on and here comes the gate crashing down.
Fortunately I had room to pull to the right of the car in front of me immediately and not get ‘trapped’ by the gates.
Only time I’ve been in a situation close to that.
I cross the tracks over Weems Rd usually two or more times a weekday for the last eight years and I think I’ve seen the gates down twice total.
All the more reason to be careful around railroad tracks, the train only has one way to go and that's down the tracks, they don't have the luxury of being about to pull to the left or right to avoid a collision.
