Althouse: "How to avoid getting hit by a train."

June 24, 2011

"How to avoid getting hit by a train."

(Via Metafilter.)

28 comments:

Dustin said...: hahahaha; 6/24/11, 3:27 PM
rhhardin said...: The horn is a Nathan five-chime.; 6/24/11, 3:28 PM
Patrick said...: Did not see that coming.; 6/24/11, 3:31 PM
Trooper York said...: Hey Garage Mahal got his choo choo.; 6/24/11, 3:33 PM
garage mahal said...: Speaking of Walker, he was to sign his budget today at factory of a convicted felon. How apropos is that? And in his budget he eliminated dozens of dept of revenue jobs that tracked tax frauds. Oops.; 6/24/11, 3:48 PM
Alex said...: garage - it seems to be the latest conventional wisdom that the Dems produced a "gotcha" on the GOP with the payroll tax holiday being refused.; 6/24/11, 3:52 PM
traditionalguy said...: We wanted to see the train do its work on that balloon of 70% water along with made from carbon with a touch of calcium. But all we got to see was human brain power uber alles.; 6/24/11, 4:05 PM
edutcher said...: Wile E Coyote would understand.; 6/24/11, 4:09 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: That reminds me of this; 6/24/11, 4:21 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Starting at about 2:50.; 6/24/11, 4:22 PM
Fred4Pres said...: That is something out of Bugs Bunny or the Road Runner.; 6/24/11, 4:54 PM
Original Mike said...: "Speaking of Walker, he was to sign his budget today at factory of a convicted felon. How apropos is that? And in his budget he eliminated dozens of dept of revenue jobs that tracked tax frauds. Oops."

Timothy Geitner has a factory? Who knew?; 6/24/11, 4:59 PM
john bord said...: other way round in Nevada..... truck hits train....; 6/24/11, 4:59 PM
garage mahal said...: Timothy Geitner has a factory? Who knew?

Timothy Geitner is a convicted felon on six counts? Who knew.; 6/24/11, 5:14 PM
Original Mike said...: He's a tax cheat with better connections than this guy.; 6/24/11, 5:23 PM
Phil 314 said...: Speaking of Walker, he was to sign his budget today at factory of a convicted felon. How apropos is that? And in his budget he eliminated dozens of dept of revenue jobs that tracked tax frauds. Oops.

You know Garage, sometimes I'm slow to catch on, but I'd say you're no fan of Governor Walker.; 6/24/11, 6:08 PM
Penny said...: Great way to introduce someone to a lucid dream if they've never had one.

It's exactly like this.; 6/24/11, 6:30 PM
Phil 314 said...: OK now we've connected dreams and trains.; 6/24/11, 6:36 PM
Anonymous said...: At least this man was luckier than Traingirl.

Peter; 6/24/11, 7:25 PM
Anonymous said...: I don't cross too many railroad tracks but I do jaywalk all the time. But every second I'm in the road my head is swiveling. I don't just check once or twice because I know until I hit the opposite curb I'm on the verge of death. I usually don't just walk, either.

I think the lawyer could have (and should have) saved traingirl (who was 41 years old) but ultimately we're all responsible for own safety when crossing roads and tracks. I learned a valuable lesson when one of the students in the school I taught at was killed when she ran in front of a car. The people she was with (her mother and sister, maybe) had darted across the road and she darted after them. She didn't make it, though. I have seen this behavior since then (without fatal consequences) because people (especially younger people, like the student was) do have a tendency when they're in a group to try to keep the group intact, even when all rational analysis says it's a terrible idea. Maybe it's just instinct that takes over that spurs people to run in front of cars to stay with whoever they're with. I'm consciously aware of never doing that myself now.

Also, it's a good rule of thumb when you're out biking on a trail (Althouse alert) to assume that any small (or even not-so-small) child you see will cross right in front of you to get back to their family, even if they at first appear to be waiting for you to go by. They hesitate just long enough to make you think they're staying put, and then they go when your guard is down. Always go around the entire family whenever possible, and if it's not, come to a virtual stop until you figure out what they're really going to do.; 6/24/11, 9:06 PM
Karl said...: " I have seen this behavior since then (without fatal consequences) because people (especially younger people, like the student was) do have a tendency when they're in a group to try to keep the group intact, even when all rational analysis says it's a terrible idea. Maybe it's just instinct that takes over that spurs people to run in front of cars to stay with whoever they're with.

Interesting observation. This helps to explain a truck vs. bike collision that I witnessed from 20 feet away.

Guy and girl on bikes, waiting to cross the highway. Both doing the thing you do when waiting to cross, but don't want to stop & put a foot down.

The dood decides to cross in front of an oncoming pickup truck. I was thinking "wow... I wouldn't have done that"
A second later, the girl looks right at the pickup & follows the dude.
A part from her bike hit me in the ankle.; 6/24/11, 9:32 PM
Carol_Herman said...: It would even be funnier if, now, the guy moved the house wall away.; 6/24/11, 9:56 PM
Anonymous said...: Yeah, that's exactly what I mean, Karl. I've seen stuff like that over and over once I started looking for it. Usually it comes out okay but there are times where it doesn't. It seems to take a supreme act of will at times to say, "I'll just let the car go by." If you do, ten seconds later you'll be back with whoever you got separated from but maybe there's some instinctive, built-in thing from days on the African savanna when getting separated from your group could mean death that just kicks in subconciously and overrides one's better judgment.

As to the accident you saw, part of me really wants to know the end result and part of me really doesn't. I just hit 3000 miles for the year today on my bike.; 6/24/11, 10:23 PM
Anonymous said...: I think the lawyer could have (and should have) saved traingirl (who was 41 years old) but ultimately we're all responsible for own safety when crossing roads and tracks.

He probably thought Traingirl would stop just like he did.

Note that there was another train stopped at the platform. The lawyer and Traingirl probably figured that it was because of that train that the crossing gates were down, not realizing until too late (way too late in her case) that more than one train might be using the line in the same direction.

Peter; 6/24/11, 10:44 PM
Anonymous said...: Peter:

Yeah, from reading internet news, it seems that sort of thing happens a lot - they avoid train #1 only to get hit by train #2 because the concept of a second train never seems to enter their conscious mind. Here's an example that's somewhat different but still the same concept. Fortunately only a close call.

Like I said above about crossing streets, I assume until I reach the other curb that I'm one second away from imminent death. It concentrates the mind on the task at hand, staying alive. People should do the same on tracks, especially if there's more than one set in parallel. They should consciously think about it until they're off the tracks.

Here's a more standard example with a tragic ending. It's a news story, nothing graphic is shown.; 6/24/11, 11:23 PM
Dustin said...: "thanks to all the sites that have shared it on their pages, thanks for the positive comments and thanks to the trolls for the fake/gay comments. I love you all."

From his youtube description.

Who does that remind you of?; 6/24/11, 11:35 PM
SCOTTtheBADGER said...: Now that's just silly.; 6/25/11, 5:24 AM
sykes.1 said...: Hey, getting hit by a train is real easy. It almost happened to me once when I was working on survey party. The train was running on batteries and was virtually silent. I only became aware of it when the rail I was standing next to moved.; 6/25/11, 7:42 AM