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But he DID according to the NTBS report. The brakes were applied for 30 seconds. And that was apparently not enough time for the train to slow down very much.
I agree, the third rail is a poor design choice, the lack of bells is a poor design choice and those bad choices makes the MTA potentially liable even if the train was driven by the Angel Gabriel with Satan behind the wheel of the Mercedes.
Try hitting the brakes of your car when going 50mph and see how long it takes you to stop. Life is not a Bugs Bunny cartoon where the vehicle stops *bing*. If it was you would end up like in said cartoon, being flung out of said car through the windshield. The laws of physics are what they are, end of story.
As for the fire; upon impact the fuel tank of the SUV ruptured pouring out petrol as the vehicle was shoved down the tracks. That fuel ignited causing the care to burst into flames as well as the train fire. If look at crash pictures the entire front of that train looks as if it was hit by a fireball.
There is a big difference between roads and vehicles on it versus train track and trains. A road is shared between drivers of different kind of vehicles and therefore one should be able to manage in case there is something wrong with one of the vehicles on the road eg disabled vehicle in a lane. Otoh train tracks are not shared with any other vehicles. This is why there are bells and whistles and gates. This means even though a road is crossing the tracks - you have no access to it. And this is why they don't need to run in such a way that they can stop if they see a vehicle where it is not supposed to be. If I was stupid enough to be the driver of that suv i'd have not come out to check paint damage rather crashed in the barrier and be out of way. Hell i'd have put it in reverse and slammed into the car behind me if that was going to give me those few very much needed inches rather than slam into the train. And these friends and families testimony thing does not mean that she couldn't have done that stupidity and it must be either train or the cars around.
But he DID according to the NTBS report. The brakes were applied for 30 seconds. And that was apparently not enough time for the train to slow down very much.
I agree, the third rail is a poor design choice, the lack of bells is a poor design choice and those bad choices makes the MTA potentially liable even if the train was driven by the Angel Gabriel with Satan behind the wheel of the Mercedes.
No, I meant the engineer didn't have 30 seconds to stop when he saw her car pull onto the tracks in front of him. He was much closer. It took him 30 seconds to stop the train, yes, but he hit her only a few seconds after she pulled into the path of the train.
Think about it--if he was 30 seconds away when she was driving over the tracks, she would have had enough time to clear the tracks and there would have been no accident. She wasn't STOPPED on the tracks.
Last edited by Mightyqueen801; 02-08-2015 at 03:26 PM..
She got out and inspected the gate lying on the rear of the car and then got back into the car. Gotta be stopped for that.
She was stopped next to the tracks, in between the tracks and the crossing arm gate, when she got out to look at the rear of the vehicle. After she got back in, she then drove across the tracks and the rest is history.
The 3rd rail design is certainly being called into question here. I've taken the Metro North a couple times when visiting the NY Tri-State area. Here in the Chicago area, our commuter railroad system is known as Metra. Metra seems to operate on a much heavier rail fleet compared to the Metro North. Most of our lines are not electrified, and are actually operated with large diesel locomotives I believe. I think that in a collision such as the Valhalla one, no one in the Metra train would've died most likely (the SUV would be destroyed of course). The Metro North & LIRR trains, on the other hand, almost look like sleeker New York subway trains that travel faster along longer distances (no locomotive). But unfortunately they do not seem as sturdy as our Metra trains in Chicago or the long-distance Amtrak trains.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kefir King
But he DID according to the NTBS report. The brakes were applied for 30 seconds. And that was apparently not enough time for the train to slow down very much.
I agree, the third rail is a poor design choice, the lack of bells is a poor design choice and those bad choices makes the MTA potentially liable even if the train was driven by the Angel Gabriel with Satan behind the wheel of the Mercedes.
The 3rd rail design is certainly being called into question here.
Yes but I'm not sure what the alternative is. We're not going to go back to overhead catenary and forget about diesel locomotives Chicago is in the stone age in that regard, we're not going to start polluting more. This was a pretty freak accident, perhaps the third rail can be re-enforced at grade crossings so that it's literally impossible to get dislodged in such a situation
That would be a good idea, as would eliminating as many grade crossings as possible within the system. Perhaps implementing some sort of protective bumper may need to be looked into as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BlakeJones
Yes but I'm not sure what the alternative is. We're not going to go back to overhead catenary and forget about diesel locomotives Chicago is in the stone age in that regard, we're not going to start polluting more. This was a pretty freak accident, perhaps the third rail can be re-enforced at grade crossings so that it's literally impossible to get dislodged in such a situation
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