Story http://www.theledger.com/article/20070718/NEWS/707180427/0/FRONTPAGE Vid http://www.theledger.com/article/20070717/BREAKING/70717006/0/FRONTPAGE So, so sad.
Yes, sad. It didn't need to happen. That driver made the ultimate poor decision. And several others paid for it as well. I also feel very badly for an innocent train crew. :sad: Boxcab E50
Gates The four killed by the Amtrak train got what they deserved. The signals and gates are there for your safety. I have witnessed a police officer watch drivers go around the gates at a RXR crossing and do nothing. Most drivers expect a train to stop before hitting them. If the Amtrak train was going 79 miles per hour it is going to take about two miles for the train to stop. There is absolutely no possible way for the train to have stopped. The video shows the car clearly going around the gates. I suppose the families are going to sue the railroad that owns the track and Amtrak.
The tape clearly shows the driver did the wrong thing and paid the price. Too bad the drivers poor actions cost three others their lives too.
This is awful. That driver just killed three of his friends, ruined everyone's day who was on the train, probably scarred for life the image of that car getting hit into the engineer's brain, and made four families very sad, all so that they could save, what, about 45 seconds of waiting? Awful. I wouldn't worry about anyone getting successfully sued. It's all right there on the video. I became even more aware of what railroads deal with when I was a volunteer motorman on the Willamette Shore Trolley in SW Portland. Yes, the trolley car was only about 40,000 pounds or so, but at the full clip that thing would do (which was about a 15-20 MPH limit) it took me pretty much a minimum of 100 feet to stop, and people were ALWAYS trying to cut in front of me and cyclists were pulling across the tracks and all sorts of dumb stuff. I count myself lucky that no collisions ever happened while I was at the controls. I just showed the video to my four year olds a couple of times in a row and explained to them that those people aren't going to get anymore birthday cakes or presents (this is how they relate to the topic of death at this stage) and they both related to me how you need to "stop" and "stay away" from railroad tracks at all times. Someone out there probably would think this is too early, but I don't think so. Apparently, nobody ever took a minute or two to burn it into the brain of that driver, and now several people have been affected. :sad::sad::sad:
what sucks is the fact that the family will probally try to sue the railroad, saying something like "the train should have stopped", or "the gates should have been bigger". in other words blaming everyone else except the driver.
Reminds me quickly of a thread yesterday. Where the words "personal responsibility" were written. Boxcab E50
i can't help but wonder what type of people think that any death, however preventable, is deserved!!! death from a tragic mistake resulting in pain for everyone involved, especially the train crew is not something that people earn as a punishment. how cold and callous can you be? everyday people make decisions that cost a life and sometimes save one, i hope i'll be smart enough to do the latter.
A terrible tragedy. I can understand grieving family members wanting to blame everyone and anyone at first and are unwilling to even consider that their loved one had any responsibility in such a horrible event. What I can't stand is any ignorant blood sucker that would take their money just to file a suit or even anyone who would recommend such an action. The only results from such an action would be to turn a tragedy into a calamity
We all learn from our mistakes and most are harmless, but some mistakes never give you a second chance to learn from. Was all their judgement impaired by alcoholic beverages or just poor judgement on the drivers part? Another statistic which will probably be marked by another roadside memorial. Did they deserve it? NO but for every action their is a re-action.. some just not so favorable.
All for deserved it? The driver made a bad and deadly choice and the passengers paid for that choice with their lives. I wouldn't say the passengers deserved it. I noticed how the article said something about the parents expressing anger along with other emotions. I wonder where the anger was directed. Did they expect the train to stop on a dime or swerve defying the laws of physics? Or did they blame the driver - probably not.
The article said nothing about a lawsuit against the railroad, locomotive manufacturer, engineer, cross-buck manufacturer, or anything else. I think this discussion's focus on the weregild is a little premature. I think the lesson we ought to take from this is that we all need to let our friends, kids, relatives, co-workers, etc., know, in whatever way we feel comfortable telling them, how dangerous it is to run around cross-bucks or otherwise "beat" the train. Let the lawyers, if any get involved, deal with the rest of it. I have already talked to my four year old girls about it. I think we need to spend more time doing that sort of thing and less time worrying about "out-of-control" lawsuits. Many of these outrageous verdicts you hear are eventually scaled back or overturned on appeal, including in the infamous case of the woman who dumped the hot McDonald's coffee in her lap. We also need to back up the train crewmembers among us and offer them support if something like this ever happens to them, perish the thought.
