This is from WCCO TV's (Minneapolis) website..... A 16-year-old girl was struck and killed by a freight train in Buffalo, Minn. early Thursday evening. According to the Buffalo Police Department, the girl was walking down the middle of the train tracks near the intersection of Highway 55 and 2nd Street South. At about 6:45 p.m., a Canadian-Pacific freight train about a mile-and-a-half in length struck the girl while she was walking with her back to the train. Police said the engineer sounded the horn multiple times, a claim corroborated by witnesses to the accident. The engineer claimed the girl, who the Buffalo police chief identified as Tyler Wood, did not in any way acknowledge knowing the train was approaching. Police said Wood was wearing high-quality noise-canceling headphones at the time. The engineer also applied the emergency brakes, but because of the size of the train, was not able to stop in time. Police said they're not sure yet if Wood's death was an accident or if it was intentional. She was listening to an iPod when she was hit. The train was equipped with a "black box" style video record. Police are hoping to figure out more information on what exactly happened by examining that video. I live not far from there and I can't understand why she was on the tracks. Sad .:thumbs_down:
Sad. I wonder about the cost in damage to that railroad, in items such as flat spotted wheels. Not to mention trauma for a train crew. Boxcab E50
Sadly, I am not surprised. Every day I am passed by, or pass many youthful drivers (of any age) who are on cell phones, or reading, or in one case had a book open on the steering wheel while simultaneously texting at 65mph. Many youths today were never taught personal reponsibility by their parents, often only a single parent working 8-12 hours each day. Sorry for the rants, but that's the facts in the US, and possibly most advanced countries in the world.
Who cares about some wheels , they can be replaced, how about the crew that had to watch this happen right in front of their eyes. (Not to mention the eyewitness's.) They will be replaying it over and over in their minds forever. How do you fix that?
I am not surprised either. Some kids these days are clueless beyond belief. And that is a sad fact. Sorry to rant too but things like this just shouldn't happen.
Well, I did clearly write "Not to mention trauma for a train crew." I am simply pointing out that such a careless act costs more than just horror. Boxcab E50
Boxcab was right and clearly pointed out the rotten things train crews have to put up with in operating trains especially when there is a fatality such as in this case. He was also correct in mentioning the extensive damage which can occur when an engineer is required to make an emergency application of the brakes in order to try to prevent a fatality. This is truly a nightmare for the railroad both in terms of crew members and equipment. To put into perspective let me share the insights of a few students in my railroad new hire class this week. This week I have been teaching a class of ten "new hires" who have just spent the previous few days riding trains and observing operations prior to recieving formal training. The one thing they all confessed was the surprising fact that during their rides they witnessed many drivers fail to stop or even slow down when a train was approaching a crossing. A couple of students also stated they couldn't believe how pedestrians freely walked on the right of way, climbed under and over standing equipment and walked between the rails of a track without bothering to see if a train was about to move or was coming at them. Generally, we all agreed that the general public (those that don't know how to be safe around big equipment like trains) are "dumber than a box of rocks". This is one reason which railroaders are cautious of anyone on the property whether a teenager with a headset, a railfan photograper or a terriorist because of the possibilities of bad things happening. This is perhaps why they are often (not always...there are exceptions) as friendly or trusting as they used to be. To most of them it's a job and they are happy to go home safely after work. Yes, it is devaststing to the girl's loved ones that this happened but it also a horrible expeience for the crew to go through. Barry
I read an article while visiting home last month in the Lincoln Journal Star (granted, this newspaper has no credible history whatsoever) about railroad engineers. I cant remember the order of the quote, but the article said that throughout the career of an engineer, either one in 8 engineers will be in control of a train that will fatally wound someone, or that the engineer will control an average of eight trains that fatally wound someone through out their career. I remember immediately dismissing the quote the second I read it, so I believe it is the latter, about an engineer being involved in 8 fatalities with a train under his/her control (remember, this is the Lincoln Journal Star) Even if just 1 in 8 engineers experience a fatality caused by their train striking a pedestrian/car, those are some scary statistics.
I know what you meant and I know you understand the situation. I guess what I meant was the wheels are way easier to fix than the crew and all involved
I can recall three seperate fatal accidents like this one that have happened in my area here in Texas. One was on a UP bridge in Nueces County. A girl and a boy were walking on the bridge when a UP train came around a curve. The boy jumped into the water but the girl was hit as she was jumping. The other two accidents happened on the KCS line. One of the accidents happened in Alice. A women was walking on the track and the crew said they sounded the horn many times but she seemed to have not heard it and continued to walking. Officials did say there was a possibility she may have been drunk but not much else was said. The other accident happened in San Diego. This involved a mexican illegal. The same kind of story as the last. The individual didn't get off the track even after the horn was sounded many times. Like what was mentioned before it is tough on the families and also the crew. The crew must feel helpless in that kind of situation.
I've don't have any experience with the sound cancelling headphones but I can't imagine that a train horn couldn't be heard (or felt at that distance). Leads me to think it was a suicide. Either ways the loss of a 16 year old is tragic and the trauma for those involved is also tragic. Eric
Well, there's two ideas behind this. 1. Yes, just because they are "noise canceling" headphones, does not mean a train horn will be completely removed from hearing. The noise those advertisements refer to is just your usual run of the mill ambient noise, nothing more than the sound of a mall. 2. Music volume. Still being in college, the second our class break is announced, everyone grabs their iPods. No matter if it's the basic ear buds or the noise canceling headphones, I can always hear someone's music from clear across the room. Anyone remember your mothers telling you not to sit too close to the TV or you'll ruin your eyes? Apparently no one told us the volume dial also goes to the left. Noise canceling or not, when the speaker is practically inside your ear, but others can still hear what's playing, you probably wont hear a shuttle launch from the observation deck.
Considering all of those titles attached to various generations, perhaps we should call this one the "soon to be deaf, and regretting it" generation? I often wonder if an investment in the hearing aid industry would pay off.... :tb-wacky: Boxcab E50
I am familiar with noise-cancelling headphones, so bear with me while I attempt to explain their operation, and their effectiveness. First, NC phones are well insulated to prevent most low- and mid-level ambient sound from being passed to the ear. Second, NC phones have a tiny microphone and electronic circuit in each earpiece that acquires ambient sound, inverts it 180 degrees, then presents the original and inverted signals to the ear, both at exactly the same level so that they oppose and cancel each other. Thus the listener hears sound only from their device, and virtually nothing from the outside world, especially if they have the device volume turned up. NC headsets were developed for use by aircraft carrier flight deck crews during flight operations where the ambient noise routinely blew out unprotected ear drums. NC headphone technology has progressed in the past 15-20 years, so that they are now available to the general public at reasonable cost, i.e. $100-$350. Any person who is willing to pay over $200 for sneakers, will happily pay $350 for top quality NC headsets. To assume that this girl did not hear the engine's horn is a very reasonable and believable scenario. Understand that I am NOT defending this girl. If she was so irresponsible as to trespass on the tracks, we can assume that she had high quality NC phones so she would not be annoyed by outside reality. :tb-mad:
30 years ago I worked for a company which sold intercom type communications for industrial use. Even back then the noise cancellation headsets were quite efficient. We primarily sold them for use on off shore oil drilling rigs. Working in places on a rig like the mud room or on the drill floor were very noisy. We would test them out often before shipping them out. They really worked. The microphones were kind of neat also. They were well vented on the back so that the diaphragm was exposed to equal sound pressure from the noise on each side canceling itself out. A person speaking directly into the mike only gave sound pressure from one side so it was picked up. Anyway with the sound cancellation and very loud music, it is not hard to believe that the girl did not hear the train. In the Operation Lifesaver material that we use for presentations there is a video with a scene almost like what happen in this case only the girl with the headphones was pulled off the track at the last moment by a railroad policeman who happened to be near by.
As the father of a 17 year old and a 15 year old, I am frustrated on a daily basis with how effectively they can tune out the rest of the world with an iPod. Seems hard to believe that a diesel horn wouldn't be heard, but who knows. With some of the stuff that passes for music these days, maybe it just blended in...
