WOW let's be careful out there!

[Pax]

There is a story in the Chicago Tribune today about a female cyclist that was killed while crossing train tracks.

"The bicyclist was in a pedestrian crossing when she apparently disregarded flashing lights, bells and warning gates, rode around the stopped train and was struck by an express train operating on the northernmost track, Miller said."

Very sad and scary, everyone please be careful. :(

[CorsairMac]

I just wanna be sure I read that right: she disregarded the flashing red lights and bells, rode around the gates And the stopped train?? :eek: ..........

hmmmmmmmmmmmm

[Pax]

I just wanna be sure I read that right: she disregarded the flashing red lights and bells, rode around the gates And the stopped train?? :eek: ..........

hmmmmmmmmmmmm
Here (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ch-050823metra,1,1489955.story?coll=chi-news-hed) is a link to the full story.

[nuthatch]

This slipping around the stopped train thing seems to be a real problem around here - there are so many commuter trains and freight trains all sharing the tracks. Whether you're walking, running or riding, stop at the lights!! I can tell more folks are out cycling in the Chicago area because we hear of so many more accidents these days.

[betagirl]

This is what we call Darwinism. :confused: I'm sorry, but if you ride around gates and stopped trains I find it hard to feel bad for you if you get creamed by a train. Pedestrians do this too and end up getting killed. I know that metra line well, used to commute to school on it in college. Those express trains FLY. And while yes they normally operate on the center tracks, you have to be pretty careless to assume a train isn't coming by on the outside track.

[DeniseGoldberg]

This is what we call Darwinism. :confused: I'm sorry, but if you ride around gates and stopped trains I find it hard to feel bad for you if you get creamed by a train.
My thoughts exactly - I'm so glad that you found the words to say this nicely. The person I really feel for is the engineer of the train.

Something similar happened in the Boston area in the not-to-distant past, and the paper published an interview with the engineer. Even if they wanted to stop, it takes quite a distance to bring a train to a halt - as in there is not a chance that the driver of the train can stop in time to not hit the person who jumped out in front of it.

--- Denise

[Jo-n-NY]

My thoughts exactly Denise and Betagirl. Years ago when my children were young we took the Amtrak to Florida. We were held in Washington DC for 5 hours because we hit someone on the track that was picking up cans. I am sorry to say I did not feel bad for this person. That must sound horrible but he did not belong there, he broke all the rules and made for our 22-24 hour trip end up a 30 hour trip. I just don't understand people like this.

Here on Long Island most train tracks are now built up from the ground. There are still some on the ground on the north shore but by me they are all raised. This would be the Long Island Rail Road. At least they made one smart move in all there years of existance.

~ JoAnn

[Pax]

YIKES! Never thought I'd hear such cynicism here. :eek:

People make mistakes everyday, we forget to turn off the coffee maker so our house catches fire...well we shouldn't have left it on in the first place. We think the track is clear, we've had a hellish day /or/ we're running late for work (and might get fired if we're late again) so we look around and make a dash for it...well we broke the rules so no compassion for this lost life.


Maybe the person collecting cans along the track was living in poverty and was at least trying to make a little money buy picking up gross old cans. Their DEATH delayed your trip 5 hours and you feel no compassion?

I don't understand people who've lost their compassion. :(

[bentforlife]

Every human life is precious. It doesn't matter how that life was ended, it is still a person who lived, breathed, and important in some way to this world.

As a Christian I'm a little appalled at the remarks I see concerning this. We all make stupid mistakes and yes, sometimes fatal mistakes. We should all mourn at least in some way when a tragedy like this occurrs.

Donna

[betagirl]

What good does your lost job or collected cans do you if you're dead? What if that cyclist caused the engineer to derail the train and commuters were killed in the process? We could get real deep into who should feel bad for whom here with many "what ifs". I guess my opinion just makes me a heartless, noncompassionate, non-christian. That's cool :D

[Pax]

Interesting turn for a thread that was simply encouraging people to be careful.

I'm not a christian either and my point about compassion is simply an outgrowth of my own personal requirements for MY life. I strive to live my life with honor and compassion, those are two very fundamental cornerstones of my life. When I feel my compassion slipping (since I work in welfare this happens A LOT), I have to look at the people around me and realize that if I lose my ability to feel compassion then I become someone I don't want to be.

Yes the person who went around the flashing lights and the person picking up cans were doing something they shouldn't have been doing...this doesn't mean their death was "deserved". Again, feeling compassion doesn't mean excusing behavior.

[betagirl]

Hey Queen, I understand what you're saying. But I don't think because I voiced the one opinion I did makes me completely without compassion. It's not a black and white area of life. I don't consider myself completely altruistic. If I did, I wouldn't make comments like I have. But that doesn't mean I go home and kick my dog either :)

[Crankin]

I guess it does sound mean and i certainly don't wish someone to die, but these kinds of accidents are just like when they report on a traffic accident death.... and the victim was not wearing a seatbelt. I understand that someone in poverty might need to pick up cans, but don't do it around a parked train!!! Most of these things happen because someone was in a hurry. Safety is always first. It goes along with the helmet issue, listening to music, etc. It's hard for me to feel bad for someone who doesn't follow the basic safety rules in any aspect of life.

[singletrackmind]

A college girl in MO lost part of her leg and her jaw was broken among other critical injuries when she was hit by a car and sent under a utility truck. It took a quarter hour to extract her. She ran a red light.

What I got from Queen's post was to think a bit about the rules that some of us riders tend to skirt. Like stopping at lights when you don't think there are any cars-or in Queen's post, trains. Like Denise, I feel awful for the people I believe to be the victims of both these crashes, the drivers of the vehicles that resulted in the ruin. I don't think I'd ever be the same person again even though it wouldn't have been my fault. I feel terrible for the family members of the deceased and the broken. I think about how often I am tempted to-and occasionally have-broken the rules too and am glad I haven't met the same fate. Betagirl's right, it is a bit of Darwinism. Not on the awards level by any means but I don't think it's harsh to point that out. I certainly don't believe either person "deserved" their fate but they each laid an easily avoidable path to it. Queen's right too, be careful out there. Don't be a victim of yourself just from neglecting simple safety rules, like the 'don't use your hands and bodyweight to unclog the tree grinding machine'! THAT happens disturbingly often. :(

Ok, now I'm just rambling...

[Kimred]

These post are way to judgemental. Let's just look at this terrible accident for what it is and hopefully it will prevent others from making the same mistake. Nobody know's what was going threw her mind and why she did what she did, let's just learn from it and not judge. If we all started judging eachother on mistakes we make in life it would be a harsh world to live in. :(

[Lynne]

Hmmmm...really, I can see both sides of this issue. Initially I agreed about the Darwinism thing. If you go out of your way to disregard so MANY safety precautions, then it was unfortunately an eventuality not an accident.

On the other hand, I can think of so many times when I've left a candle burning or moved a pot off a burner thinking I'd turned it off, but left it on. It's so very easy to do that, and that makes me think the person gathering cans probably WAS homeless and tired and trying to get some money together. Gathering cans, bending over all the time like that, wandering around on your feet all day, that's not easy. That's a hard way to earn five cents. So yes, I felt the comment about that person's death was a bit too cynical.

Overall, I agree with the original sentiment. Especially for bike commuting; it's so easy to be tired at the end of the day, riding home, assuming that the car turning right actually sees you and won't turn in front of you. We need to be careful and I would hope none of us are eventualities rather than accidents waiting to happen.

[Trek420]

Lately it seems that any news report on cycleist death or injury has somewhere in it what they were doing wrong. Here in the Bay Area recently a teenager was killed and all the reports seemed to lean on that he was stopped to put out a cigarette.

So he was a teenager who smoked, does not make it any less tragic.

We all think this, see someone ride without a helmet, wrong way, dark clothes at night "idiot, hope he's signed his organ donor card" But we also read about cyclists doing everything right, signaling, riding correctly and get hurt or worse.

[CorsairMac]

and once again I am humbled and honoured to be a part of this board. There were several different viewpoints offered over Queens news flash. There was even some disagreement but no one got out of hand, no one became vicious or ugly. We just agreed to disagree or to offer compromising viewpoints. It is the people here that keep me coming back. Thank you again ladies for voicing your opinions while still keeping the peace!

[Pax]

:( An update to the story from the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation:

Oak Park teacher killed by Metra train
Aug 23, 2005

By DAN HALEY

Patricia Quane, a veteran Oak Park elementary school teacher, and president of the Oak Park Cycle Club, was killed early Tuesday morning when the bicycle she was riding was struck by a Metra train in Riverside.

Quane is an Oak Park resident. She has three daughters, Abigail, 17; Amelia, 21; and Allegra, 23.

Quane has taught in Oak Park District 97 schools since 1989 and was currently speech and language teacher at Holmes School, 508 N. Kenilworth Ave., said Gail Krantz, district spokeswoman.

"This is just devastating. She was a very safe biker. She is the last person you'd expect to be in an accident," said Brain Crawford, spokesperson for the Oak Park Cycle Club.

The accident occurred Tuesday morning about 7:45 at the Riverside station, according to a report on the Chicago Tribune's web site. Quane was struck by an inbound express train on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe line.

According to a Metra spokesperson a minor freight train derailment earlier Tuesday had the commuter train running on a different track than normal. It is not clear if that change had any impact on the accident. According to the Metra spokesperson, a local train was stopped to take on passengers at the Riverside station. Quane allegedly rode around the stopped train and was struck by the express.

Quane was not carrying identification and her body was not identified for several hours. District 97 said it received word of the accident on Tuesday afternoon.

[sisson]

Queen
Thanks for the reminder and sticking with this point. It is ok to disagree in this forum. In fact it makes it lively and interesting and good. A horrible mistake is when we make one that gets us or any one killed. It is a loss. Another mistake is to judge especially without alot of information. Your article speaks volumes. Compassion begins with forgiving ourselves and then extends to others. I like what you said alot Queen. Honor and Compassion is an awesome combination. Even more awesome is the daily practice to do just that. Glad you're here.
Suzanne

[bouncybouncy]

First of all my heart goes out to those young women who lost there mother and the train engineer who wished he could have stopped in time (i am sure he had those thoughts or similar) it is a fatal reminder to all of us who have made mistakes and have forgotten them only to make more...i have always lived and learned by my own mistakes but have also learned to see the reality in others unfortunate behaviors and chose to learn from that too...in this case...do not cross a railroad track without looking!!!! i always ride with the thought in mind that NO ONE sees me...i am my only defense in safety!!! never assume...expecially when it is between me and a car (vehicle) the car always wins ;)

second...has anyone noticed that news reports always seem to blame the vehicle???

"bicycle she was riding was struck"

was her bike in control??? did the bike MAKE her cross the track at the wrong time??? we always see this with car accidents..."the suv she was driving ran the red light" is it me or are we eliminating blame on the rightful person?

I speak of this from personal experience...I have struck a cyclist with my car (let's not mention he was a homeless man wearing only an speedo in a part of town where there is nothing or nowhere for him to be...it was a shipping port...and he was riding in the MIDDLE of the road going the WRONG direction) many workers in that area actually ride thier bikes FOLLOWING THE RULES...not only did i not expect a cyclist to be there I would not have expected another vehicle...it was a ONE WAY!!!! if i had killed him I would have had to live with that for the rest of my life...Thank God he survived but i ask myself all the time "is it fair that I have to live with that pain because of his mistake???" i think of this every time i go out for a road ride...

BTW: i was following the rules of the road...he came out of nowhere!