Watch out for those trains
 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10472253/

They'll kill you.

My route parallels the RR tracks. I have to cross them every trip, unless I take the underpass. Usually it's not a problem.

One morning I hit an intersection at the same time I heard the RR crossing start. The arms were up and I didn't see the train yet, so I made the quick jag right across the tracks. I figured if I was on the other side of the train, I'd have the road to myself for a while. But just as I started, the arms started to come down and I just made it.

Not good.

Six sets of tracks.......yikes........

I live a block from the San Diego Northern Railroad, which carries a total of 50 Amtrak, Coast Express Rail ("Coaster"), and frieght trains per day. Most of the line is single-tracked, but about 25% is double-tracked. Getting hit by a train is near the bottom of my list of concerns; trains are VERY predictable and extremely easy to avoid.

What were the old R/R PSA's...STOP...LOOK...LISTEN. I sure wouldn't run around crossing arms, those commuter trains come up REAL fast.

No kidding. I think the tracks themselves are more of a hazard then the train.

This is fairly common. Somebody crosses the tracks as soon as the train clears, and gets hit by a train on a parallel track. Always wait a bit to make sure.

I've had nightmares of trying to walk across multiple sets of tracks, getting caught in the middle as a bewildering set of trains zoomed past in all directions, running back and forth like a spooked deer in traffic.

I've had two close calls at railroad crossings, both of which I was lucky to tell about the experiences. One was crossing a rail line at 30 mph in an area where there was no warning that one is approaching it and no warning devices at the crossing itself. I barely cleared the crossing when the train passed over it.

The second occurred on a route I ride often. At the railroad crossing, there is no arm that comes down but there are lights and bells that work when a train is very close. Most trains are slow-moving freights that one can see long before passing over the crossing. On one particular day I couldn't see down the tracks and didn't know about the train until my bicycle was directly over the tracks when the bells started to ring.
The engineer was not operating the train at the usual speed but was "high-balling" it.

Here in Maine, as in some other states, improvement is needed in letting people know they are 1) approaching a crossing and 2) warning devices at crossings. What does anyone else say?

You've got that right House. Some people need better protection than others sure, but even the simple things cause severe loss. In my town a set of dead tracks in the slow mph downtown setting; the larger and professional vehicles still stop as usual but people are used to waiting on the tracks (!) for a stop light.
If cars were more utility than enjoyment people would wake up a bit more it seems.

I had a great friend/cousin who expected a freight train at a speed less than half of the Amtrak he encountered. That wasn't a good night for the dozen or so or his friends that were crossing with him. Sections with more than a couple of tracks play tricks on the eyes-(his crossing had 4). I agree that more could be done as does an engineer I know who doesn't run trains after feeling guilt drain him as his train was the cause of several, separate incident, deaths. This isn't uncommon for a seasoned engineer, its a very stressful job.

Any effort toward comprehensive warning would help both sides since softer trains aren't possible, and no one will advocate slowing them down.

I clicked on the link to "images" - just pictures of the crossing, and it took me to http://www.nbc4.tv/slideshow/traffic...ic;dm=ss;w=400

Is it just me, or does anyone else see the headline and pic "Darwin still rules." on the right?

Not quite sure what to say

It's a link to a story about the court decision in the Dover, PA evolution/ID case. Just a coincidence I'd think.

I cross a set of track regularally when I go to classes. I always look down the tracks no matter if there are lights and bells or not. I guess I see buses do it, and I follow suit. This is one thing I will never try to outrun. I have seen too many "what happen when train hits" situations. There is just so much kinetic energy and when it gets transfer things blow up, and I do not want to be part of that. Please wait for the lights whether you are in a car, on a bicycle, walking or anything else. Trains are destructively dangerous, and do not mess with them.

http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/lo...328103501.html

Let's face it - alot of people are thoughtless....

I'm waiting for this to happen in Sacramento where the Light Rail commuter train goes by. Peds and bikes skip around on the sidewalk all the time.

I have seen the crossing guard arms misfire (get stuck either up or down) on both the Light Rail track and the regular freight track. Always look both ways. Same with intersections; green lights don't guarantee that people are stopping at the red ones.

I ride over a level crossing every day on my commute. One day I waited at the front of a queue of cars for the barrier to go up and when it did, I was the first to get away. It's a long crossing and before I got to the other side the barrier came down again! They hadn't even got all the way up.

I was trapped in the crossing (no cars were quite so speedy so I was alone) and had to shoulder my bike, walk along the rails 20 yards or so and climb onto the platform to escape. Fortunately the train didn't come for a few minutes so it was OK.

Very wierd.

That has happened here, too, on the Light Rail tracks. It's much more narrow than what you described, but you definitely don't want those arms coming down on your head. I'm always wary of that now, but I still scoot across as soon as the near arm goes up.