[Magdalen] another train wreck

[Jim Guthrie]

From: James Oppenheimer-Crawford

>Well, the driver is dead, so it is hard to get her side of the story.  I
>have no idea where the information came from that said she got out of her
>car and tried to get back in again and then was struck.  It's so sad that

Sad indeed. But no matter how many times we read of these things, people don’t 
think it applies to THEM. Think of the train that hit the parade float killing 
those veterans in Texas. The NTSB  Investigation concluded the driver simply 
ignored the flashing lights and warnings.

By law, the flashing lights always start some seconds before the gates come 
down. One would have to suspect that she ignored the flashing lights. By all 
accounts, she got back in the car and then drove forward into the path of the 
train. You'd think that someone in a car hit by closing gates gates might have a 
clue that the gates indicated that a train was coming.

In many states, they teach drivers that if they get stuck on the tracks to exit 
the car and run in the direction the train is coming because there may be flying 
debris at the site or forward of it.

What is interesting are the comments by friends of mine who work for MN in train 
service. If you're on FB, look up Wayne Koch (who often posts on my Timeline). 
His wife was on the train immediately ahead of the one the woman whose concern 
about a scratch to her car ignored the fact that the gates closed because a 
train was coming.

Cheers,
Jim