There seems to be a push by people who have lost loved ones at rail crossing accidents, and others, to now have lights installed down the sides of trains. Spare me!
Apart from the logistical nightmare of installing and monitoring the thousands of lights that would be needed on each train, this is another example of making others responsible for a car drivers shortcomings. Trains have headlights that are highly visible and extremely bright, while the train driver must ALWAYS give a loud blast on the locomotive horn as he/she approaches a rail crossing. There also are "ditch lights" that, I believe, flash for 30 seconds after the horn is sounded.
Apart from these blatantly obvious signs that a train is present consideration needs to be given to the fact that the car driver has broken at least two road rules, maybe more?
ALL rail crossings have nice big STOP signs. The driver of any vehicle is required to bring the car to a complete STOP, and proceed only when it is safe to do so.
Fail to STOP in half clear distance ahead. Clearly, if a vehicle collides with a train, this has not been done. Trains fault? Nah, I do not think so.
There no doubt are other road rules that have been broken, but, as with many things, we once again see others trying to shift the blame from the person who caused the accident to somebody, anybody, else.
If a driver causes his vehicle to collide with a train it is the fault of nobody but that driver. Blame shifting has to stop. Cheers
P.S Seems that this train driver almost missed the bus!
-- Edited by yobarr on Sunday 23rd of July 2023 07:28:16 PM
There would be little point in a stream of lights along the length of a train it's the locomotive that does the damage.
Ripple strips on road would be a better investment. Two dangerous (road) intersections that I am aware of that stopped having deadly accidents are at Lightning Ridge and Hartley NSW.
Whenarewethere said
06:03 PM Jul 23, 2023
Dashcam with sign recognition!
No, seriously, there are rails crossing the road. It's bleedingly obvious who will end up like a cockroach under foot.
Lights along a train is only good to highlight the wreckage as the train eventually comes to a halt a few km further on.
-- Edited by Whenarewethere on Sunday 23rd of July 2023 06:05:12 PM
BarneyBDB said
07:26 PM Jul 23, 2023
The way people drive these days they probably think they only have to give way to trains approaching from the right, the same idiots that refuse to recognise roundabout rules...
Gundog said
07:46 PM Jul 23, 2023
Every bus driver should know the rules, like before crossing railway lines you must come to a complete stop, open the door and listen and the proceed with caution, do not change gears whilst crossing.
rmoor said
07:59 PM Jul 23, 2023
Many years ago a whole family were tragically wiped out on a rural road in my region.
It was dark and was a bad crossing.
The approaches on both sides were then lined with large ripple strips for several hundred metres.
There are several others locally that have been done the same way.
That is easily the most simple solution as they say "THERE COULD BE A TRAIN COMING!!!!".
I was under the impression that all carriages had to carry reflectors on the side in NSW?
Some of the big Fletcher's International Exports trains that chug through here can be 118 carriages (containers) long.
Never had a problem with them (they take a long time to pass with lamb to about 173 overseas destinations, so nothing to do but count them).
I reckon a lot of you guys are right, responsibility should lie with the driver to be aware of dangers on the roads.
To me a train track is like a bridge over a creek at night, that is where roos often live, a train track is often where you will see a train.......
Whenarewethere said
08:35 AM Jul 24, 2023
The highest number I counted was 240 carriages. About 38 thousand tonnes.
Not a good idea to argue!
Whenarewethere said
08:38 AM Jul 24, 2023
BarneyBDB wrote:
The way people drive these days they probably think they only have to give way to trains approaching from the right, the same idiots that refuse to recognise roundabout rules...
Not sure if the term is still used. Licence out of a Cornflake packet!
peter67 said
11:06 AM Jul 24, 2023
Watch aussie dashcam for 5 minutes and there's your answer.
smwhiskey said
11:14 AM Jul 24, 2023
BarneyBDB wrote:
The way people drive these days they probably think they only have to give way to trains approaching from the right, the same idiots that refuse to recognise roundabout rules...
The way people drive these days they probably think the train has to give way to them.
yobarr said
05:50 PM Jul 24, 2023
smwhiskey wrote:
BarneyBDB wrote:
The way people drive these days they probably think they only have to give way to trains approaching from the right, the same idiots that refuse to recognise roundabout rules...
The way people drive these days they probably think the train has to give way to them.
Now, that is a great idea! The train drivers, being highly skilled, surely could instantly stop the train to avoid hitting a vehicle that has been driven through a STOP sign. After all, the train weighs only 38,000 ton. What a great idea Simon! Cheers
-- Edited by yobarr on Monday 24th of July 2023 05:50:46 PM
dogbox said
07:15 PM Jul 24, 2023
Possum3 wrote:
There would be little point in a stream of lights along the length of a train it's the locomotive that does the damage.
Ripple strips on road would be a better investment. Two dangerous (road) intersections that I am aware of that stopped having deadly accidents are at Lightning Ridge and Hartley NSW.
one very dark moonless night in the wee hours i was travelling somewhere in north western nsw i noticed what appeared to be a very black hole appear in front of me as i was puzzling what it was going on another vehicle came from the opposite direction their head light started flickering between the box-cars it was long train if it was not for the other vehicle i wonder how close i would have got before i realize what it was
smwhiskey said
07:44 AM Jul 25, 2023
yobarr wrote:
smwhiskey wrote:
BarneyBDB wrote:
The way people drive these days they probably think they only have to give way to trains approaching from the right, the same idiots that refuse to recognise roundabout rules...
The way people drive these days they probably think the train has to give way to them.
Now, that is a great idea! The train drivers, being highly skilled, surely could instantly stop the train to avoid hitting a vehicle that has been driven through a STOP sign. After all, the train weighs only 38,000 ton. What a great idea Simon! Cheers
-- Edited by yobarr on Monday 24th of July 2023 05:50:46 PM
Did you actually read and understand my appraisal of the driving standards of today or did you partially read it and decide on a sarcastic putdown?
yobarr said
09:52 AM Jul 25, 2023
smwhiskey wrote:
yobarr wrote:
smwhiskey wrote:
BarneyBDB wrote:
The way people drive these days they probably think they only have to give way to trains approaching from the right, the same idiots that refuse to recognise roundabout rules...
The way people drive these days they probably think the train has to give way to them.
Now, that is a great idea! The train drivers, being highly skilled, surely could instantly stop the train to avoid hitting a vehicle that has been driven through a STOP sign. After all, the train weighs only 38,000 ton. What a great idea Simon! Cheers
-- Edited by yobarr on Monday 24th of July 2023 05:50:46 PM
Did you actually read and understand my appraisal of the driving standards of today or did you partially read it and decide on a sarcastic putdown?
Sorry if you misunderstood my intentended message Simon, as I was simply supporting your comment! With the way the world is going, where there seems to be no personal responsibility for anything,it is possible that some do-gooder would act on your tongue-in-cheek suggestion! Not sarcasm at all. Cheers.
Bobdown said
10:51 AM Jul 25, 2023
Don't think train lights would help the dipstick truck drivers who try to cross the tracks and get hit at full speed during the day !!!, a few car drivers as well in that category.
Lights would be problematic. But reflectors? See, the issue is mainly at night. Depending upon the cars headlights on a dark night even a stop sign is way above the height of the cars lights. It isnt sufficient to allow deaths on our roads/crossings and say "too bad, thats their fault" ... humans make mistakes and it can be costly.
I suggest permanent reflectors (3+) on the wheels of trains would eliminate the risk purely because they would be in the line of headlight shine and spinning as well. Add also ripple strips.
Gundog said
06:35 PM Jul 25, 2023
We dont hear of many accidents of coal trains v motor vehicles in Qld, there is approximatly 70 coal train movements daily into Hay Point near Sarina, Gladstone and Abbot Point near Bowen.
Perhaps they could affix those yellow reflective strips to all Railway wagons like whats all vehicles entering mining areas.
-- Edited by Gundog on Tuesday 25th of July 2023 06:36:20 PM
Southern Cruizer said
07:28 PM Jul 25, 2023
A train hit a truck in the Riverina a few months ago where we live. He was actually racing the train to get to the crossing. The train drivers were watching him looking at them through his side window. Bang, they hit him, but not the truck itself. Had a dog trailer on the truck and it shore off the pin that connected trailer to truck. 4 engines pulling the empty wheat carriages. The 4 engines come off the line along with the first 16 carriages. Road was closed for a month for repairs to road and line. Next door neighbour is a train driver and was actually working out there on the clean up. Estimated cost of all engine, carriage repairs and road and line repairs, between 35 to 45 million dollars. There is a STOP sign there but obviously the truck wasn't going to stop when in full flight and truck and dog trailer were fully loaded with garden soil.
A simple stop at the STOP sign could have avoided all this.
yobarr said
07:52 PM Jul 26, 2023
peter67 wrote:
There's no cure for stupid but death.
Today I read of a recent rail crossing accident in NZ where a young driver had her car hit by a train after she ignored both the flashing lights and a STOP sign at a rail crossing. Luckily, her injuries were not serious but now all the local do-gooders and Safety Eggspurts are demanding that "safety barriers be installed at the crossing.
Spare me! If a driver chooses to ignore a STOP sign, and flashing lights, all a barrier will do is give them something else to hit before the train hits their car.
Many moons ago, about 50 years in fact, a company that I was driving for had one of our semi-trailers caught on a rail crossing in heavy rush hour traffic. After a prolonged delay when he couldnt move the truck forward the driver had the barrier come down between the prime-mover and the trailer. He simply turned hard to the right and drive forward, pulling the barrier down but getting the trailer off the railway line before the train arrived. And "Yes" , I am well aware of the rules concerning traffic crossing rail lines. Cheers
-- Edited by yobarr on Wednesday 26th of July 2023 10:30:34 PM
Don't think train lights would help the dipstick truck drivers who try to cross the tracks and get hit at full speed during the day !!!, a few car drivers as well in that category.
Plain stupidity. In 1987 on my travels through Canada I caught a train so I could view the spectacular scenery between Victoria and Courtenay. A bit of smooth talk got me up front and in to the drivers cabin for most of the journey, where I had a birds eye view of the wildlife, rivers and ravines etc.
The drivers were very easy to talk with, and had many stories to relate, but the ones that stood out were the many stories of the vehicles the train had hit at various crossings, and how many people had died in each of these accidents. Horrific details will not be revealed on a forum, but I was shocked.
Although I was amazed at their recollection of each crash I later realized how hard it probably would be for them to forget how they had been involved in an accident where the irresponsible actions of others had resulted in the deaths of those same people. Cheers
-- Edited by yobarr on Wednesday 26th of July 2023 08:34:11 PM
There seems to be a push by people who have lost loved ones at rail crossing accidents, and others, to now have lights installed down the sides of trains. Spare me!
Apart from the logistical nightmare of installing and monitoring the thousands of lights that would be needed on each train, this is another example of making others responsible for a car drivers shortcomings. Trains have headlights that are highly visible and extremely bright, while the train driver must ALWAYS give a loud blast on the locomotive horn as he/she approaches a rail crossing. There also are "ditch lights" that, I believe, flash for 30 seconds after the horn is sounded.
Apart from these blatantly obvious signs that a train is present consideration needs to be given to the fact that the car driver has broken at least two road rules, maybe more?
ALL rail crossings have nice big STOP signs. The driver of any vehicle is required to bring the car to a complete STOP, and proceed only when it is safe to do so.
Fail to STOP in half clear distance ahead. Clearly, if a vehicle collides with a train, this has not been done. Trains fault? Nah, I do not think so.
There no doubt are other road rules that have been broken, but, as with many things, we once again see others trying to shift the blame from the person who caused the accident to somebody, anybody, else.
If a driver causes his vehicle to collide with a train it is the fault of nobody but that driver. Blame shifting has to stop. Cheers
P.S Seems that this train driver almost missed the bus!
-- Edited by yobarr on Sunday 23rd of July 2023 07:28:16 PM
Ripple strips on road would be a better investment. Two dangerous (road) intersections that I am aware of that stopped having deadly accidents are at Lightning Ridge and Hartley NSW.
Dashcam with sign recognition!
No, seriously, there are rails crossing the road. It's bleedingly obvious who will end up like a cockroach under foot.
Lights along a train is only good to highlight the wreckage as the train eventually comes to a halt a few km further on.
-- Edited by Whenarewethere on Sunday 23rd of July 2023 06:05:12 PM
Every bus driver should know the rules, like before crossing railway lines you must come to a complete stop, open the door and listen and the proceed with caution, do not change gears whilst crossing.
It was dark and was a bad crossing.
The approaches on both sides were then lined with large ripple strips for several hundred metres.
There are several others locally that have been done the same way.
That is easily the most simple solution as they say "THERE COULD BE A TRAIN COMING!!!!".
I was under the impression that all carriages had to carry reflectors on the side in NSW?
Some of the big Fletcher's International Exports trains that chug through here can be 118 carriages (containers) long.
Never had a problem with them (they take a long time to pass with lamb to about 173 overseas destinations, so nothing to do but count them).
I reckon a lot of you guys are right, responsibility should lie with the driver to be aware of dangers on the roads.
To me a train track is like a bridge over a creek at night, that is where roos often live, a train track is often where you will see a train.......
The highest number I counted was 240 carriages. About 38 thousand tonnes.
Not a good idea to argue!
Not sure if the term is still used. Licence out of a Cornflake packet!
The way people drive these days they probably think the train has to give way to them.
Now, that is a great idea! The train drivers, being highly skilled, surely could instantly stop the train to avoid hitting a vehicle that has been driven through a STOP sign.
After all, the train weighs only 38,000 ton. What a great idea Simon! Cheers
-- Edited by yobarr on Monday 24th of July 2023 05:50:46 PM
one very dark moonless night in the wee hours i was travelling somewhere in north western nsw i noticed what appeared to be a very black hole appear in front of me as i was puzzling what it was going on another vehicle came from the opposite direction their head light started flickering between the box-cars it was long train if it was not for the other vehicle i wonder how close i would have got before i realize what it was
Did you actually read and understand my appraisal of the driving standards of today or did you partially read it and decide on a sarcastic putdown?
Sorry if you misunderstood my intentended message Simon, as I was simply supporting your comment! With the way the world is going, where there seems to be no personal responsibility for anything,it is possible that some do-gooder would act on your tongue-in-cheek suggestion! Not sarcasm at all. Cheers.
Don't think train lights would help the dipstick truck drivers who try to cross the tracks and get hit at full speed during the day !!!, a few car drivers as well in that category.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkTU-fEpADI
I suggest permanent reflectors (3+) on the wheels of trains would eliminate the risk purely because they would be in the line of headlight shine and spinning as well. Add also ripple strips.
We dont hear of many accidents of coal trains v motor vehicles in Qld, there is approximatly 70 coal train movements daily into Hay Point near Sarina, Gladstone and Abbot Point near Bowen.
Perhaps they could affix those yellow reflective strips to all Railway wagons like whats all vehicles entering mining areas.
-- Edited by Gundog on Tuesday 25th of July 2023 06:36:20 PM
A simple stop at the STOP sign could have avoided all this.
Today I read of a recent rail crossing accident in NZ where a young driver had her car hit by a train after she ignored both the flashing lights and a STOP sign at a rail crossing. Luckily, her injuries were not serious but now all the local do-gooders and Safety Eggspurts are demanding that "safety barriers be installed at the crossing.
Spare me! If a driver chooses to ignore a STOP sign, and flashing lights, all a barrier will do is give them something else to hit before the train hits their car.
Many moons ago, about 50 years in fact, a company that I was driving for had one of our semi-trailers caught on a rail crossing in heavy rush hour traffic.
After a prolonged delay when he couldnt move the truck forward the driver had the barrier come down between the prime-mover and the trailer.
He simply turned hard to the right and drive forward, pulling the barrier down but getting the trailer off the railway line before the train arrived.
And "Yes" , I am well aware of the rules concerning traffic crossing rail lines. Cheers
-- Edited by yobarr on Wednesday 26th of July 2023 10:30:34 PM
Plain stupidity. In 1987 on my travels through Canada I caught a train so I could view the spectacular scenery between Victoria and Courtenay. A bit of smooth talk got me up front and in to the drivers cabin for most of the journey, where I had a birds eye view of the wildlife, rivers and ravines etc.
The drivers were very easy to talk with, and had many stories to relate, but the ones that stood out were the many stories of the vehicles the train had hit at various crossings, and how many people had died in each of these accidents. Horrific details will not be revealed on a forum, but I was shocked.
Although I was amazed at their recollection of each crash I later realized how hard it probably would be for them to forget how they had been involved in an accident where the irresponsible actions of others had resulted in the deaths of those same people. Cheers
-- Edited by yobarr on Wednesday 26th of July 2023 08:34:11 PM