FedEx vs. Train

Nice to see the gates were functioning properly...[/sarcasm]

ALMOST got the 2-for-1 special.

 

A real driver would had look both ways before crossing






*Grab popcorn*

 

Yup, the warning lights did not activate until 30 seconds after the impact according to the video timer. I wonder if the train was visible from the vantage point of the truck driver prior to crossing?

 

Think so. The car video taping backed up b4 the collision. Anyway.. should always look both ways b4 crossing.

 

If (I'm not familiar with that crossing, so I'll reiterate IF) the tracks are angled a bit, the truck that was hit has a sleeper and thus has a huge blind spot on that side. That could play a role. Being a commuter train, it may have had some speed. It is difficult to judge the speed of an approaching train, and they can be a bit deceiving, especially if you're expecting a slow-moving freight train and are instead greeted with a high-speed passenger train.

The car (presumably a cop) had a different vantage point...likely MUCH better than the truck given where the train was coming from.

None of that is meant to exonerate the driver...just illustrates how quickly a momentary lapse in giving your FULL UNDIVIDED ATTENTION to the task at hand can turn ugly in an instant. It could happen to anyone, given the conditions and RRX malfunction. I live next to a RRX and see folks fly across the tracks all of the time much quicker than they need to, especially given the fact that there's a stop sign about 300' or so past the crossing. I've seen trucks hit the crossing so hard the trailer tires go airborne...no way they could stop in time if a train suddenly appeared and the lights/gates weren't working. Hell, if I had $1 for every time I saw the gates come down on top of a truck, I could retire early. A couple months ago, there was a TMC truck that stopped ON the tracks, then backed up, but the gate landed on his hood. He had to get out and lift the arm up over the bug deflector in order to finish backing up. Luckily, the train was on the other track...I thought things were going to get interesting.

Point is, people don't respect the crossings...or anything else it seems sometimes.

 

When I saw that same train today somewhere S of Ogden, heading south, I'd estimate it was running about 55-60 MPH

 

What is your question?

 

Wasnt a question

 

At first I was like, "guy's got good grounds for a suit. Gates clearly weren't working. If it had been a 4 wheeler we'd be reading about the fatality"

Then I was like, "Nope! Gates work fine!"

Talk about the literal definition of closing the barn door AFTER the horses have fled.