Quoted:
I saw a video once where a freight moving about...oh say 40mph nailed a woman (Suicide?) dead in the middle of the tracks. She exploded! It was WAY gruesome [shock][puke]
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[url=http://www.bubblegoose.com/VideoArchive/videos/train.avi]Woman Hit By Train[/url]
[b]WARNING!!!!![/b] Clicking on this link will lead to extremely graphic footage of an inattentive and unfortunate woman being struck by a high speed commuter train. Do not view it if you are easily offended and don't cry to the mods if you failed to head this warning.
I work for the Burlington Northern (Santa Fe) Railroad. Our company operates these commuter trains and we have been shown this tape at work before. This occurred in a Chicago suburb. The woman had just gotten off the train in the background as was hurrying to get home. You can here the crossing warning bells in the background, indicating that another train is approaching. The man hurrying along with her realizes at the last second that a train is about to pass and stops just in time, while the woman continues on directly into the path of a train, probably travelling at a speed of at least 60-70mph.
Why don't people stop at crossings or be more attentive around trains? Most of the time they are just too impatient, distracted, or focused on other thoughts. People don't realize how fast a train to get to that crossing. Lot's of people think they can beat the train, and 99.9% of the time they do, but it only takes once to lose the race forever.
And for the guy who thinks crossings guards come down too soon, how would you like to be in the car stuck on the crossing as the gates came down a couple of seconds before the train occupied the crossing with you? The time for an appropriate amount of warning is there for a reason.
I've posted on this before, people doing stupid shit around trains. I've seen a lot of stuff that really pisses me off. It not only endangers them, but it endangers me and if they get themselves maimed or killed, it usually weighs on the conscience of the train crew, too, regardless of fault. No one wants to be involved in the death of another like this.