Community Chat

[terrier3]

On 2/6/2015 JustJazzmom said:

It's looking more and more that the driver got stuck on the tracks during a traffic jam when the gates went down. She got out of her car and then RETURNED to the car.

Sad, because whenever there's a traffic jam over railroad tracks, a car should NEVER proceed forward until there is enough room in the road for the car to fit AFTER it goes OVER the tracks.

I used to go over busy RR tracks 5 days a week. I NEVER got on the tracks if there was no room on the road ahead to pull forward.

Sad situation...sounds like the woman panicked.

[Catitude]

On 2/4/2015 kittymomNC said:

The man behind her said the gate came down on her roof and slid toward the back. She apparently got out and went to look at the damage, then got back in the car and hesitated, then started to move forward - too late. He said he backed up and kept motioning for her to back up, but he had no idea why she did what she did. So sad for all.

She had only 30 seconds before being hit. I don't think she realized how close the train was to hitting her and her instinct was to move forward rather than back up. A similar thing happened to me once although I didn't get out of the car.

[Tinkrbl44]

I have always wondered WHY so many cars stall or stop on train tracks ... does the electricity running in the tracks interfere with a car's electrical system?

[occasionalrain]

There is no excuse for this woman's stupidity. That innocent intelligent people died is the tragedy.

[terrier3]

On 2/6/2015 occasional rain said:

There is no excuse for this woman's stupidity. That innocent intelligent people died is the tragedy.

I think she got caught in traffic and panicked....like a deer in the headlights.

[muttmom]

On 2/6/2015 occasional rain said:

There is no excuse for this woman's stupidity. That innocent intelligent people died is the tragedy.

You must be privy to information others do not know.

Clips of her eulogies and comments from those attending her funeral were just shown on the news.

[Johnnyeager]

I certainly would not want to judge the deceased woman's actions. None of us knows exactly how we would react in circumstances such as that. It's pretty insensitive to call her stupid.

[occasionalrain]

On 2/6/2015 muttmom said:

On 2/6/2015 occasional rain said:

There is no excuse for this woman's stupidity. That innocent intelligent people died is the tragedy.

You must be privy to information others do not know.

Clips of her eulogies and comments from those attending her funeral were just shown on the news.

You can't expect eulogies to be anything but positive and glossy.

The fact is that prior to the gate coming down there are flashing lights and warning bells then after she got out of her car instead of getting off the tracks she got back into her car. She was not a teenager who was new to driving; this couldn't have been her first time at a train crossing. Gates or no gates, a person should never cross train tracks unless or until there is space for one's car on the other side. Her negligence cost innocent people their lives.

[occasionalrain]

On 2/6/2015 Johnnyeager said:

I certainly would not want to judge the deceased woman's actions. None of us knows exactly how we would react in circumstances such as that. It's pretty insensitive to call her stupid.

What would you call her? Would be so forgiving had it been your family member she killed?

[Witchy Woman]

Sad and tragic.

I grew up in a small town with heavy RR traffic. To get from one side of town to another small town nearby, you had to cross multiple tracks. It was a switching center with a round house and trains went back and forth all day. A few came through very fast, but most were just going back and forth in the switching yard.

As a young driver, I was taught to never, never NEVER go around the gates and absolutely NEVER stop on the tracks. This was a lesson hammered in to all young drivers in the area.

My father was a RR engineer and accidentally hit a car on the track one summer night. In court, everyone, including the driver was proven to have been drunk when the car stopped on the track.

Thankfully, no one was killed, but it was a horrible experience for my father -- one he never forgot. He talked about that night and his terror at hitting those people until he died.

To this day, I will never stop on the tracks. EVER! If you don't have a clear path forward, stay put. If the guy behind you honks, let him go around!