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?? ..........

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?? ..........

hmmmmmmmmmmmm

Here 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. 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. 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.

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

[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.