Smile as you go under
It's reassuring, isn't it, that if a WES train mows you down, at least there'll be a video?
Be safe near WES tracks. Don't die for a train nobody rides.
| Posted at 1:48 PM | Permalink |
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Comments (6)
The MAX platforms on the freeways are some of the most dangerous places to walk in PDX. You are mere inches away from death or dismemberment and at the mercy of your fellow traveler's regard for safety.
Posted by Tim | July 13, 2012 2:04 PM
Once upon a time trains had cow-catchers so why not hi-tech people catchers today?
A huge fish-net screen might be ugly but so then are crushed bodies of successful suicide players.
Posted by Abe | July 13, 2012 6:04 PM
I know I am old, but way back in Kindergarten I was taught by my teachers to stop at any crossing, look both ways, then look again, and if safe, cross.
What are they teaching now-a-days? (Hope to be alive to pay the fine?)
Posted by Comguy | July 13, 2012 7:45 PM
Tim,
You could say that about any sidewalk in PDX, couldn't you? If I'm walking down Burnside and someone bumps into me I could end up splattered across the asphalt if I get hit but a truck, right?
There's a difference between standing on a train platform and wilfully riding around a barrier with flashing lights and ringing bells. This guy was a first-degree idiot, and I suspect even the bike nuts would have had to admit that if the guy had gotten hit he'd have had it coming.
Posted by nobody | July 14, 2012 12:59 AM
Once upon a time trains had cow-catchers
A VERY long time ago, and they were only effective at slow speeds (as in less than 20 MPH).
Of the dozens of steam locomotives I have personally seen, exactly ONE had a cow-catcher.
My question is why doesn't TriMet release the video of stupid things people do around TriMet buses. There are three WES trains in operation a day, seven hours a day, five days a week. On a specific fixed guideway with very limited interaction with pedestrians and motor vehicles.
There are up to 600 TriMet buses operating on the road, up to 20 hours a day, seven days a week - even on Christmas Day. They operate WITH cars and pedestrians, not in a fenced enclosure largely separated from them. People do some very stupid things around buses. They are 40,000 pounds - your car might be 4,000 pounds. Who do you think is going to lose?
Posted by Erik H. | July 14, 2012 6:58 AM
The problem got so bad with MAX that they made crossing the Max tracks (between stops) a felony. Which, when you considered the grossly overburdened court system, is a tad nutty.
Posted by HMLA-267 | July 14, 2012 11:49 AM