Why is it so dangerous to walk on train tracks?

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I have heard many stories of people getting hurt or even dying on train tracks because they were hit by the train. Aside from obvious intentional damage that someone wants to inflict on themselves, what makes it so dangerous to be walking on them? You can see the train, it makes vibrations, there are so many signs that are around that a train is coming, couldn’t you simply walk out of the way?

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7 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

One of the huge problems with trains is that some of them make a shitload of noise. Those are the really heavy ones, that go slowly. Filled with cargo. When you feel the vibrations on the track from them, they’re still a mile away. And they are heard long before you see them.

The high speed passenger trains, that’s a whole different story. When you feel the vibrations from them, they are already too close. You don’t have time to get out of the way. When the train driver sees you, you are already too close. If he hits the brakes fully, the train will still be moving at a speed lethal for you when it hits you.

It’s totally useless for high speed trains to slow down in bad weather. Fog? Passing a train station? Full speed. There is no use slowing down, because it won’t change the outcome. They are literally hitting everything they see, and can’t avoid it. There is no use adapting to poor visual conditions, because the visual condition is too poor to begin with.

It’s literally part of their training, that they will be technically unable to stop for people who stand on the tracks. That hitting them, killing them, is a fact of life. That they sit in the front of this really heavy piece of machinery that is only able to safely stop for already known obstacles. Where I live, in Sweden, train drivers are – statistically – killing someone while working sometime throughout their career. Every. Train. Driver. Hits. And. Kills. Someone. And. Can. Do. Nothing. About. It. Except. Watching. It. Inevitably. Happen.

You…can at least stay off the tracks for the sake of their mental health, alright?

Anonymous 0 Comments

first of all, you would need to constantly monitor a track in both directions. That is very difficult as the train could just come from behind.
Then second, if you hear a train you don’t know which track it is and which direction it is coming from. With modern trains (high speed and low noise) you only have a couple of seconds to react.

Third thing, because trains are so fast, even if you see a train, it is difficult to be judge how much time you have. or on which track it is. or how large it is.

And the forth thing: watching out for trains gets difficult. try stay focused on a task where nothing happens most of the time, but where you need fast reaction time when something happens.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Also under a certain speed, trains are basically silent while moving. (Assuming the engine is off and inertia is just doing its job). Trains yards are some of the most dangerous places if you aren’t paying attention.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Also, I was raised by me father (whose family was in railroads) that rails are so smooth as to be slick, and some people have slipped on them and broken a let on the rails.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Would you walk down the middle of a highway knowing that you can hear and see the vehicles coming at you and step out of their way?

Imagine trains as heavier, faster cars that don’t slow down.

Also, many people erroneously think that all you have to do is clear the tracks to be safe, forgetting that the train can stick out a good four feet to either side of the track. Most people don’t get hit standing between the rails.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Trains traction aka stopping power or length is extremely long, add the mass than do the engineering thing F=MA and you will realize death
..

Anonymous 0 Comments

Trains don’t make as much noise as you think and they move faster than you expect. There’s a lot of dead people who followed your exact reasoning.