And a reminder to those inclined to beat out a train at a crossing, that a long freight carrier can't stop just like that. I'm sure the engineer went to emergency as soon as the obstacle was seen. Long before the train came into camera view.
@@WattsTheFedIf you’re an expert on trains, I guess you would know. But it looked to me like the train was already slowing before impact. I think it takes a substantial time after commanded brakes application for the brakes to really apply and then to effect the stopping of that much mass riding on steel rails.
@@Andrew-13579exactly. The train was already slowing down. Too many people think that a train engineer can just hit the emergency brakes and the train will stop within a couple of seconds.
A quick PSA for anyone wondering: no, the driver of the car was not injured in any way. They were warned by nearby pedestrians that a train was coming, and they got off the tracks just in time. The car itself, on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky.
A passerby had to tell them a train was coming. I would have thought it was dang obvious, with the bells, flashing lights and lowering of the arms. If that wasn’t enough to tell you a train is coming, well…
If you ever get stuck on the tracks like this there is a little blue sign on the post for the gates that has a phone number and a crossing number. Make that call right away. This an international system in North America
We have a similar system in Britain. It's a grey box with a black X on it. It has a direct phone line to the local signal box. On some smaller rural line crossings without automatic gates, you have to phone the signal box for permission to cross.
@@AnotherDougIt would have mattered so that the engineer knows the car he’s about to hit is clear and he’s not killing anyone. Trauma from hitting cars on tracks is a big problem in the railroad industry
Every public crossing should have a blue sign with a dispatch phone number. If you're stuck on the tracks, call that number IMMEDIATELY and tell the dispatcher what it says. They will order train traffic to stop until you are unstuck. 911 CANNOT HELP YOU. THEY CANNOT STOP THE TRAINS.
Would not have helped in this situation. I have called to several times to report malfunctioning crossing lights, the average call length before they figure out what crossing even after giving them the crossing ID, is a least 3-4 minutes.
As a good idea as this is, it's sadly not feasible. The thing is, it would take time for the operator to find the crossing, search for any nearby trains, then send word to the dispatcher for the dispatcher to tell the train that there's a car stuck on the tracks. This could take a few minutes. Plus, there maybe several trains on the line as well. A train CANNOT stop on the line, they need sidings to stop. Stopping a train is stopping millions of dollars worth of cargo and time. Also, they would have no idea if it was a prank call. Sadly, if you get stuck on the rails, call for a tow truck and pray a train doesn't come. That's reality.
Every potential car driver should take an IQ test with a minimum level necessary to get a license. Then idiots like this wouldn't be on the roads to begin with...
911 does actually know the phone number of the train dispatch and the crossing numbers in it’s district. Once the gates come down it is definitely too late. Get out of car first, and then call 911 or the number on the crossing.
She did after she slept off her drunk in a holding cell for 8 hours. Then she wanted to know where her car was 🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂 Then she was shocked that she had to pay for the damage to the train, the rails and the rail bed. 💸💸💸💸💸 And then she was mad when she realized that she was getting a ‘leaving the scene of an accident’ charge, a DUI charge and losing her license for a year. Don’t drink and drive. Alcohol does not make you smarter. Ever.
@@Aitutaki9582 Seeing the truck's lights or not made zero difference; even with that much more warning, the train wouldn't have been able to stop completely in time.
People in the comments are saying how could someone not see the gravel and tracks. Very easily. Especially if they aren’t from that area and dumb gps says turn right, turn right as if we’re about to past our turn. And at night it makes it even harder. I wear glasses and my headlights are basically dimmed lights, I need new headlights, so by the time she saw the gravel and tracks, she probably was like oh shux, but the tire was already over the rail 🤷🏽♀️ this is why I tell my children, when they go out of town, don’t drive like you do here in Florida, we know these roads with our eyes closed, we don’t elsewhere. I just turned left on to oncoming traffic just two weeks ago. It was in one of my last videos here on UA-cam, I backed up immediately, and it was day time. The road looked weird to me. And yes I was out of town.
What the hell made them think that was their turn? They'd just gone past a crossing gate, there was oncoming traffic in the opposite lane, and their headlights revealed...absolutely _nothing_ but gravel and woods in the direction they were turning. If they actually drove onto the tracks thinking they were road, then they really had no business driving at all.
GPS is what I was told, he was trying to make a turn on Railroad Road that lines the tracks but the GPS took him on the tracks themselves. If you look on Google maps you will see another road that connects to Main Street. It was also dark out so the LED Streetlights and LED headlights could have been a factor as well in this incident.
Wait a minute everyone is talking about this and that but what was the driver of the car doing why did he make a right turn and stop completely on the tracks? Was he trying to get himself killed due to depression? What was the story of this incident?
@@foxwolf316 Hard to tell, but to me they paced around like they were frantic, I think they realized they went over train tracks, but for some reason the vehicle was stuck and it might have needed special equipment to pull it out. Notice that it's snowy so I'm betting the tires were just spinning in place over the tracks.
We had a problem like this at the CSX Broad Blvd. crossing for several years. The Akron Expressway, which is also state Route 8, runs parallel to the tracks. Due to a misleading sign people would turn short of the northbound on- ramp onto Main 1. I personally saw this numerous times and had to call 911. Eventually the sign was moved and concrete curbs were installed to prevent this, and also to keep people from going around the gates.
Sometimes people don’t look at the GPS Accurately. Sometimes you’ll turn down on a wrong street that’s Runs parallel with The other it could be an Unmarked Gravel or Dirt Road.
@@derrynelson4637 I hate “dynamic zoom” on google maps so much. There needs to be a locked zoom so that I can actually know where to turn. Regardless of whether I look 12 seconds before a turn or 8 seconds before a turn.
only if hes blind? you know city busses? Traveling the same speed have plenty of time to see if someone is standing at a bus stop. Of course seeing and being able to stop are two different things. This guy clearly had enough time to see no one was there.... but seriously, you are Blind, A bad driver or you can't pay attention to whats in front of you. For you to think other people are as bad as to miss basic things other people see so very clearly..
Had the same thing happen to us (Train crew) back on January 10th 20:25 in the evening. At 70mph we hit a Toyota pickup 5 miles north of Chowchilla California on the UPRR fresno sub. Truck missed a crossing driving right off in the ballast and up on to the tracks. We pushed the truck a mile down the tracks across a bridge ripping it in half before we got stopped. Nobody was hurt.
@@JazznRealHipHopWas this a derailment???? It was a moron driving onto train tracks!!! I know you want to blame train here! But, get real! Goof drove where one shouldn't!
Call the number on the blue sign under the blinking red lights. Fastest way to stop train. Faster than 911. Also it gets you out of your car to safety.
What blue sign? There isn't a blue sign on any of the crossings within a mile of my home...I know for a fact because I went and looked specifically after the first person mentioned the signs
@Plasmastorm73_n5evv Can't put links here but it's a federal law. It's a small blue sign typically on the main pole where the gate comes down in between the big red flashing lights right underneath them.
I’m sorry, but if said red lights are “blinking” it’s likely too late, a train is approaching and you should depart the immediate premises and remove to a safe distance whilst continuing to attempt to contact the RR. Before all things, leave the vehicle!
@@tomhanna2714 Yes it's something that you should think To Do immediately when you're stuck hopefully before the light start blinking but while you're leaving the vehicle. You may as well look for the blue sign and call It in. Depending on how busy the area is you may be in luck.
Note to drivers: there is a sign / lights / arm when you get to the tracks. The other side has the same thing on the opposite side of the road. You are not fully across the tracks until you pass the opposite set of warning devices.
note to drivers who only live in large cities..... most small cities have dirt paths that follow the train tracks. Ever hear of the wrong side of the tracks? Like in Texas, the tracks split the rich people(European descendants) and the immigrants(non European descendant) where you turn right where they did and its a dirt road... Though this is also the place where they parked a pick up truck on the tracks during a Veterans day parade. Train came and mowed it down. No one even tried to get off of it, they thought the train would stop for them since they could stop the Japanese and Germans in WW2....should show how stupid the practice and they are down there. Basically like asking for it to happen more than once.
On a real foggy night years ago I did basically the same thing. I thought I was turning on the road that ran right along side the tracks. I was in a 4wd truck and managed to get off the tracks. A police officer showed up and held up traffic so I could move the truck. He did not ticket me cause you could barely see 10 feet in front of you. He just said to take it slow. Really nice guy.
Sorry donald, I didn't mean to be rude, but driving on the train tracks is unforgivable in my world. I could never in 1 million years "accidentally" drive onto the train tracks 😂
A little piece of advice if you ever end up stuck on a railroad crossing. There is a blue sign that should be on the crossbucks themselves or otherwise nearby them that tells you to call the number shown in case of an emergency. That number takes you to a dispatch center and they can order any train traffic scheduled to go through that crossing to stop before they can get there, If there's time obviously. So I'll repeat, if you ever get stranded on a railroad crossing and if there's a blue sign with an emergency number to call, make that your FIRST priority after getting out of the vehicle and away from the tracks. You can also call that number if there's a different situation at or near that crossing such as broken/malfunctioning crossing gates or an obstruction on the tracks. You can also call 911 and they'll get in touch with railroad dispatch about what's going on.
When driving on railroad tracks at night, you must make sure your vehicle has the proper ground clearance to negotiate the drop between the roadway and the rail bed.
Where I live, we've seen drunk drivers go some distance down the tracks before wedging their vehicles in some awkward spot, where the next passing freight train will turn it into scrap. Perhaps some people need a free ticket to the nearest 15-minute city.
I had a friend who accidentally (drunkenly, more like it) went down the tracks on a big Yamaha XS1100. He flipped but he managed to pick the bike up and gtfo before cops came.
My guess is, phone or car said,"turn right here". Prob a street just beyond the tracks. People turn on my dead end street all the time. They want the next street. @@charlesballard5251
They should actually really start holding award shows like the 15 CMAs they do every year or Oscar’s, golden globes etc for Darwin candidates. How do you make this wrong turn…
I’ve had to go do an inspection on a locomotive for this very same reason. Nothing derailed, nobody was hurt. The guy got out of the car. They didn’t call the number on the signal enclosure next to the crossing in time to get the train stopped before it hit the car. The driver had about 3 too many.
Many of us Virtual Railfan viewers see this alot on the Fairport NY, Ashland VA, La Grange KY, Elkhart IN, and Kansas City MO cams. The people in that particular car weren't so lucky.
The UK at level crossing has the swing gates block off the tracks from the road when the road is open. If vehicles turning onto the track and getting stuck is a common problem then maybe there should be blocking off of the tracks in the USA. Those level crossing typically had a human attendant that actually moved the gates and evacuated the cars out of the way. In the USA that would be far too expensive. The UK has only about 1000 public road level crossings and about 4,000 private level crossings typically a farmer's driveway between fields.
When my father was an engineer in the 40's, 50's and 60's {Boston & Maine}, he made it very clear to me that you NEVER brake for a vehicle on the track and actually give it some throttle. Much better to go through something than hit it slowly and have it get under your trucks, derail the locomotive and maybe get your ass killed. Made sense then and makes sense today.
And everyone just keeps driving past them, without knowing if they were stupid, drunk, or had a medical emergency. There's a little blue sign on the gate structure with a number to call and a crossing number so you can try to get the train to stop before it gets there.
You're right, Pat! If ANYONE would've dialed 911 or called the number on the box, that train would've gone into emergency stop before the engineer knew what was happening. Possibly 1 mile back.
@@meanwolverine4573 unless this video was edited for time, it seems like the train was pretty close already. And by the time the appropriate dispatcher got that info, and passed it along to the train, it would have been too late.
At every railroad crossing there will be a sign on each of the crossing lights. The sign has the crossing number and the number of the railroad. If you ever find yourself in this situation first off evacuate your vehicle then call the number listed and give them the crossing number. The dispatcher will contact nearby trains and inform them to stop until the crossing is cleared.
@@jameslovasziii6917 I have a cellphone, but like every one made today you have to install an app to run the light function and I don't need to get daily advertisements from apps. Besides, people don't stop and say "hey, I should check for a special number to call instead of doing the easy thing and calling 911 which is what we have been told for years and let THEM use their direct connections to the railroad."
In Drivers Ed, they taught us it usually takes a train a mile to stop (averaging load and speed on the prairie). That has definitely stuck with me all these years later.
Yes, that was a fast stop as freight trains go. Most people don't realize, trains are like ships, they DONT have the ability to stop on a dime, it takes most large freight trains several miles to come to a stop if going 45 mph or more. You can hear that the engineer had the locomotive brake / regenerative braking on full bore as the diesel went past. But the engine braking alone can't stop a freight train, it takes time for the brakes on each car to fully kick in, and then is still takes a lot of distance to fully stop a freight train. even after that. It didn't sound like the trains emergency braking on the individual freight cars actually kicked in until right after the loco hit the car.
Most people? More likely very few people. Nobody has ever seen a freight train at speed stop on a dime, so I doubt there are many people who think they do.
Even if the driver knew to call the little blue emergency number I don't think it would have helped in this instance since there was approximately only 2 minutes between the car turning and the crossing activating, which by the time you've got connected, told the operator what crossing you're at and they've contacted the dispatcher the train is probably going to be too close for the engineer to stop short even if a signal drops to red in front of them. Very unlucky timing on the car driver's part, as well as getting stuck on the 1 of 3 tracks the train was coming on.
@@DerekWhite-yx2ce The train was waiting up the tracks, in silence. Waiting to catch a car turning onto the tracks. Once the turn was made, the train pounced upon the helpless car. Sort of like a fly in a spider's web.
@@DerekWhite-yx2ce Trains also hire off-duty mechanics with money problems to sabotage cars. Much like English aristocracy using beaters to flush birds to shoot.
@@timdowney6721 people laughed at my comment about being worried about people unplugging EVs, this a wild comment. Wouldn't the company lose money with the train being held up?
I read it, and said to myself, "Don't tell me he turned onto the railroad tracks." He did. So now railroad crossings will have to post "No Right Turn" signs. Is this the same guy who made them put "remove before driving" notes on car windshield sun blockers?
Actually, that all went surprisingly well under the circumtances. Great response time by the rail police. And I can totally see how that could happen given the non-existant lighting into that turn. And yes, he stopped about as fast as he possibly could have giveb that load. The only other system I could envision could use a split of the load into a siding, which is just way too impractical to ever do unless you made it like a runaway truck ramp but the... yea. Nevermind. I just woke up. Bad idea : )
@@cantstanddogs4776by doing what? helping pull the 2-tonne car out of the massive height difference between the road and trackbed, risking their lives on a railroad crossing?
@@MaxLai_0104 putting something under the tires so they have traction and they can reverse. I’m sure 5 people could’ve pushed it back far enough to grab the ground again or even 1 could’ve put enough weight on the front to grab traction? Maybe someone had a rope to pull. Many options.
It's not a turn. It's a well lit street with lights right before the tracks. The tracks are clearly signed and the absence of lighting along them is the opposite of every other street and parking lot on that road, they are ALL lit up. To get to the point where the car dropped off the crossing, they had to move a good 10+ feet off the road since the railway installed metal track crossing plates extending across both traffic lanes and the sidewalks on each side after years of the villagers complaining about how poor the crossing had been maintained.
Well, if you cant recognize tracks vs. road by how the railway crossing is positioned, and the fact someone yelled at you a few times to get out of your car as a trains bright lights were getting closer, questions this person's ability to drive at night, and common sense.
a good note if you are a passerby and see someone do something like that driver, call the number on the crossing and give dispatch the crossing number and warn them the tracks are obstructed. they will make all trains due to for that crossing stop. And if you make the call immediately they might even be able to stop the trains when they are far enough away to stop in time.
Those brakes were super impressive stopping that train! 😮 I remember I heard that it takes a half a mile to stop a train, that was under that I believe. What a moment.
Possibly mentioned already (sooo many good comments-): I imagine the car got hung up on the rails (probably front wheel drive too?) That, and the crossing lights were off at that time, and then came on; just that much more to rattle the driver, whether innocently disoriented, or drunk/medically impared...
Looks like a basic sedan. 99% sure it was front wheel drive, meaning the fronts were spinning in dirt, while the rear wheels were touching the asphalt but couldn't help
How the hell did the driver not know that was railroad tracks, not a road??!! Intoxicated driver maybe?? How would you not know?! Some folks should never drive.
Not for nothing, I’ve driven through grade crossings that are exactly like this, and for a driver from out of the area at night time the tracks look similar to a road at night due to the flat grade.
I understand and don't understand. You see signs and railroad gates but you think to turn right for some reason. This is a person who is on drugs or trying to commit suicide.
@@ericcallender1575 - Stop the car anyplace off the tracks, and help them get the car off the tracks if possible! Are you kidding?! This is just common sense!
@@TheRealScooterGuy One where expect people to recognize what a road looks like compared to train tracks. Also, the roads are all lit up like noon in Fairport so turning onto the only dark area is pretty stupid.
Look at all those good caring people rallying to save this individual, it so comforting to know that your fellow American will be there when you need them.🙄🙄
@@StishFicksThere’s a blue sign at EVERY level crossing with an emergency number and the crossing number. If you see someone stuck, call it and the dispatchers will stop train traffic for that area until the crossing is cleared. Granted, considering it only took about a minute and a half after the car got stuck for the crossing to activate, it likely would not have helped here, but 99% of the time it will.
@@StishFicks No one had to help the guy move his car. The point is someone could have stopped to make sure the driver was ok and could exit his car. That’s how you help.
Why are people so stupid around level crossings it's simple you see the lights on the level gates flashing you stop and let the train or trains go by mess around instead and this happens.
I noticed that too. Kind of strange, right? Is it protocol to slam an obvious obstacle then go into Emergency, or vice-versa? The engineer also seemed to "stick to the paperwork" in terms of blowing the horn through and after the crossing, all while pushing the car!
@@charlesbonkleyadmittedly I don’t have a source for this, but I heard some time back that it’s recommended to not apply the emergency until after a collision has occurred. The reason being that after dumping the air it can take a really long time to build back up again, so if you apply the emergency brakes before a potential collision, and the collision is avoided, you will have to wait a while to get the train moving again. Keep in mind I don’t necessarily believe this is the correct choice, but its what I’ve heard
Just because he didn't dump it right away doesn't mean he wasn't applying the automatic. The difference in cylinder pressure between emergency application and full service cannot happen until that is achieved first.
@@mistertagnan A different possible reason for not slamming on the brakes just as the train hits: It can be that when brakes apply, they propagate from the head-end to back, and the cars contract. (the back cars slam into each car in front of it). If that is happening at the same time as the engine is colliding at the front, there is greater possibility of kicking cars off of the rails? I'm guessing? either; if there is enough time ahead, they apply the emergencies right away, (cars are contracting far enough back that weight of already contracted cars buffers shock to the engine of each jolt); or, if collision is imminent, since the impact will happen just as cars would be contracting into the engine coupling, then they apply the brakes just after the front impact(s)???
Never listen to your GPS at night telling you to make a right turn now. Auto Body Detail shop on the right . Turn now and wait for your technical support
I played this a second time though earbuds at full volume. 1:40, right as the crossing arms are coming down, you immediately start to hear the ominous, rhythmic thunder in the background....gave me chills!!
Impressive as the braking was in this train it still took 1749ft or 0.33 miles to stop after hitting the car, approx assuming all the well cars have a length of 53ft as indicated on the sides of the car and the loco's being a similar length. And it's reasonable to assume that the engineer was braking well before the train came onto camera.
I have seen this same situation on several videos now, and I must say I am perplexed as to how someone can mistake a railroad crossing with all the signage indicating as such, for an automotive road and to then turn onto to it and get stuck. That's a special kind of stupid. Do they want their car back, because it's probably about a mile down the tracks.
Well, there are a LOT of cities and small towns that have train tracks running down streets. In this case the GPS said it was Railroad Street and they turned down what was supposed to be a street.
I really have a doubt that oncoming LED lights contributed to this unfortunate event. I do believe that there is a stronger likelihood that GPS contributed. But… let’s get down to the real cause… SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. The driver did not pay attention - period! Kudos to that pick up driver for stopping and assisting (unlike the other drivers). There just was not enough time to get the car off the tracks. Also, whenever a train goes into emergency braking, the risks climb tremendously for the train too!
@@gregwhitehead7206 the "BS and paperwork" amount to: "you need relief?" "Yes" crew waits for a recrew. The only stress involved is waiting for them to determine if hitting an unoccupied car warrant the usual paid time off associated with such events.
GPS does not directly do that. However, many users fail to enlarge their screen (hone it) and pay attention. Also, GPS units depending on the quality and if the satellite signal is somehow blocked, there is lag time. Im a professional driver and operate multiple OTR units. Believe me it happens quite frequently. But again, this driver failed to “see around”. Ultimately it is the driver’s responsibility to safely operate the vehicle.
@@mikeuk4130 Because a train pushing a smashed up car causes the railroad ballast (the rocks on the railroad bed) to scatter and become projectiles that could hurt or kill.
@@Plasmastorm73 Thanks, I get that, but how does running towards that help you? Surely, if you run away, you buy more time to get away and any impact with train/ballast is at a lower closing speed.
@@mikeuk4130 I believe they mean to run parallel with the track (probably better to do it in a diagonal direction so you can also make distance from the track as well) towards the train so that the resulting projectiles happen behind you and not inline with you
That driver's license should be immediately suspended and they should be required to take some testing to ensure they are capable of responsible driving. Dumb or drunk?
Interesting, I'm a retired locomotive engineer. The engineer of this train, if I heard the audio correctly, didn't put the train into emergency for nine seconds after he struck the vehicle - 2:20 to 2:29. Listen for the "pssst" sound of emergency air valves tripping on the cars.
I used to work at the King Street coach yard in Seattle, WA and we had a police car do pretty much the same thing at our crossing and it got high centered. Fortunately it got pulled off before anything serious happened.
You’ve gotta be the worst kind of unlucky when you not only get your car stuck on a crossing, but also when a train comes up not too long after on the exact track your car is stuck on
I am a retired special needs school bus driver. My biggest fear was being caught on train tracks. Every school year, two weeks before we picked up our first student, I would have nightmares about being stuck on train tracks or not being able to get my kids home safely. Maybe the public needs to see the videos we saw during our in service days. This train amazingly was stopped fairly soon after hitting the car. Even up to 2 years after retiring I still had those nightmares around August every year. Now 11 years later, I still will have them occasionally. In my car, I slow to this day, at tracks. Anyhow, everyone needs to be aware and suitably afraid of them, for their own good. ✌🏻🤍
Whenever there are three or more separate tracks at a grade crossing, there should be a bright streetlight shining on the crossing. It might help keep it from looking like a dark street. Just a thought.
If you can't tell the difference between a road and a railroad track when you have two powerful headlamps lighting up in front of you, you don't need a streetlamp. Just a white stick and a guide dog.
Headlights shine out in front; they don't shine to the right where you think there might be the street you're looking for. Have you never had trouble making out the streets at night in the rain? Besides, I'm not looking for perfection. I'm trying to save lives of inexperienced, elderly, handicapped and drunken drivers. Not perfect drivers such as yourself.@@jackx4311
Having these cameras along various railroads throughout the country is a valuable thing in my opinion. There is no question about what happened in this situation.
About the only thing they could have done: 1. Make sure the driver was safely out of the vehicle! 2. Call the number on the control box reporting the car on the track. 3. Move everyone to a safe location to watch the crash! I not sure that if they had called the control center there would have been enough time to identify the train and give them instructions to stop!
@@DPBGMODELRAILROAD I have a tow strap with me all the time and I would have done more. That would have been a easy removal to say the least as long as the train wasn't to close and this one wasn't. I hear what your saying but these pathetic people just drove on and did nothing.
Yep - near where I live, I found an ordinary saloon car (sedan) stuck on a steeper than 25% gradient, on a FOOTPATH halfway up a mountain, with the back end propped up by a massive boulder, and what did the driver say? "I was following TomTom!"
Thanks for the attribution. This is not the only car crash caught by VRF. One note though: If you find yourself on track, call the number on the crossing gate immediately! This will alert rail personnel and attempt to halt trains until the vehicle is removed from the tracks.
in this situation, not sure if they would have had enough time, as it was less than 2 minutes from the time the vehicle got stuck until the train hit it
Calling will not halt trains all it does is inform the railroad of a problem with the crossing and as a railroad conductor that information may NOT get to the crew of the train in time to stop!
@@Paul070 At least the crew will be aware. We've experienced a bunch of crashes here and the crews were upset until they found out the vehicle was empty.
No, it will NOT "halt trains". All it will do is to inform the despatcher, who then has to get a message to the train crew, who then have to apply the brakes - and depending on the speed / weight of the train, it make take them as much as a *MILE AND A HALF* to pull up.
@@jackx4311 Dispatcher will get some kind of track restriction in place ASAP, obviously depending on the time-delay it may not be possible to stop a train if it's going at track-speed and within a certain distance of the crossing already. But every possible effort will be made to stop the train. Trains will indeed be halted, speed and distance will determine if the train halts prior to the collision occurring, but it WILL halt.
OMG the poor people running the train, they probably figured someone just died in that car. I don’t drink but I think I’d need a drink when I got off that shift.
100% wrong. Had nothing to do with the ability of the driver to operate the vehicle. It was a GPS error that caused the situation with...according to police.@@frafraplanner9277
He wasn't drunk according to reports. Virtual Railfan doesn't show any train vs. car accidents to the media if its reported that their were injuries/death to respect the family. His GPS took him on the tracks and was able to get out of the car uninjured. We wouldn't be seeing this footage of the collision had anybody in the car been injured or killed.
@@chrispotempa2900 that's not true. There has to be fault, or a rules infraction, or something that the engineer did wrong to warrant a pee test. I've smacked hundreds of cars and never wee'd a drop.
no gps ever took anyone on a route that isn’t a road! GPS is a guide only and all drivers have eyes that they are expected to use! The driver remains in control of his car at all times. If you can’t manage that stop driving.
The driver of that vehicle needs to be charged with creating a catastrophic event and make them pay for all damages and rail delays caused by the collision. If they are unable to pay send them to prison.
I can only say, that you have obviously never misinterpreted instructions from your satnav nor, for that matter, made any driving error. We all make mistakes. Luckily most of those you and the rest of us have made were inconsequential. This persons mistake will have cost them plenty, so please cut them some slack.
USA hands out cracker jack licenses and there's no incentive to change or have actual safety because then the Local Cities and Police departments would lose profits on their citation revenue.
The emergency braking on that train was pretty impressive. You can really hear the brakes working as hard as the can to stop the train.
And a reminder to those inclined to beat out a train at a crossing, that a long freight carrier can't stop just like that. I'm sure the engineer went to emergency as soon as the obstacle was seen. Long before the train came into camera view.
I think the activation took longer than it needed to but I agree.
@@WattsTheFed I was thinking the same thing.. like 10 seconds after impact I was like.. did he just dump the brakes?
@@WattsTheFedIf you’re an expert on trains, I guess you would know. But it looked to me like the train was already slowing before impact. I think it takes a substantial time after commanded brakes application for the brakes to really apply and then to effect the stopping of that much mass riding on steel rails.
@@Andrew-13579exactly. The train was already slowing down. Too many people think that a train engineer can just hit the emergency brakes and the train will stop within a couple of seconds.
This should be mandatory for teenagers to watch as it shows just how long it takes a train to stop
In 1:14, you can see ut
For everyone to watch people still think 18 wheelers can stop fast
p=mv. It's the law.
It is. We watched dozens of this type of thing in Driver's Ed class. Most were produced by the Ohio State Patrol for nationwide training.
How do you know it was a teenager? Rather good vision you have there! Magical even.
A quick PSA for anyone wondering: no, the driver of the car was not injured in any way. They were warned by nearby pedestrians that a train was coming, and they got off the tracks just in time. The car itself, on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky.
guess it's a toss up. IQ or BAC
@@davep6977 Or old age.
“But my GPS said…”
A passerby had to tell them a train was coming. I would have thought it was dang obvious, with the bells, flashing lights and lowering of the arms. If that wasn’t enough to tell you a train is coming, well…
@@davep6977too macho for their own good
I feel truly awful for the train engineer who had no way of knowing that the driver had vacated the car.
What exactly are you a doctor of? Inquiring minds would like to know.
😂
@@3rdeyelionheart Pediatrician.
engineer or driver?
@@PRATEEKsirjiIt's just semantics, everyone knows what was being said.
If you ever get stuck on the tracks like this there is a little blue sign on the post for the gates that has a phone number and a crossing number. Make that call right away. This an international system in North America
I was just wondering if there was a way to quickly figure out who to call to warn somebody. Good to know! ill have to give a look next time I see one
We have a similar system in Britain. It's a grey box with a black X on it. It has a direct phone line to the local signal box.
On some smaller rural line crossings without automatic gates, you have to phone the signal box for permission to cross.
@@cccenturion4480 There is no phone at the crossing like there is in Europe just a phone number and a crossing number. You need to use your own phone
Would not have helped in this incident. Train arrived 1 & half minutes after car turned onto the tracks
@@AnotherDougIt would have mattered so that the engineer knows the car he’s about to hit is clear and he’s not killing anyone. Trauma from hitting cars on tracks is a big problem in the railroad industry
Every public crossing should have a blue sign with a dispatch phone number. If you're stuck on the tracks, call that number IMMEDIATELY and tell the dispatcher what it says. They will order train traffic to stop until you are unstuck.
911 CANNOT HELP YOU. THEY CANNOT STOP THE TRAINS.
This. More people need to know this.
Would not have helped in this situation. I have called to several times to report malfunctioning crossing lights, the average call length before they figure out what crossing even after giving them the crossing ID, is a least 3-4 minutes.
As a good idea as this is, it's sadly not feasible. The thing is, it would take time for the operator to find the crossing, search for any nearby trains, then send word to the dispatcher for the dispatcher to tell the train that there's a car stuck on the tracks. This could take a few minutes. Plus, there maybe several trains on the line as well. A train CANNOT stop on the line, they need sidings to stop. Stopping a train is stopping millions of dollars worth of cargo and time. Also, they would have no idea if it was a prank call.
Sadly, if you get stuck on the rails, call for a tow truck and pray a train doesn't come. That's reality.
Every potential car driver should take an IQ test with a minimum level necessary to get a license. Then idiots like this wouldn't be on the roads to begin with...
911 does actually know the phone number of the train dispatch and the crossing numbers in it’s district. Once the gates come down it is definitely too late. Get out of car first, and then call 911 or the number on the crossing.
That person in the car does not understand how lucky they are that that guy in the truck with the flashing lights stopped.
I’m guessing he does!
She did after she slept off her drunk in a holding cell for 8 hours. Then she wanted to know where her car was 🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂 Then she was shocked that she had to pay for the damage to the train, the rails and the rail bed. 💸💸💸💸💸 And then she was mad when she realized that she was getting a ‘leaving the scene of an accident’ charge, a DUI charge and losing her license for a year.
Don’t drink and drive. Alcohol does not make you smarter. Ever.
Loco pilot cannot see the truck lights due to the tree and buildings
@@Aitutaki9582 Seeing the truck's lights or not made zero difference; even with that much more warning, the train wouldn't have been able to stop completely in time.
The guy in the white truck is a volunteer firefighter and a retired 911 dispatcher right place right time
One of the clearest outdoor videos I have seen in a long time
virtual railfan cameras are pretty fabulous.
I do gotta say, for a train, that was some impressive braking.
Yep. Like to see a FLIR view of this fast stop.
No it wasnt, the car was dragged forever
@@JesusLightsYourPathI don’t think you realize how long it takes trains to stop…that was quick by train standards lol
@@CarolinaPride95 You may be right
its going through a city...going max speed of 59 mph, thats not really impressive.
People in the comments are saying how could someone not see the gravel and tracks. Very easily. Especially if they aren’t from that area and dumb gps says turn right, turn right as if we’re about to past our turn. And at night it makes it even harder. I wear glasses and my headlights are basically dimmed lights, I need new headlights, so by the time she saw the gravel and tracks, she probably was like oh shux, but the tire was already over the rail 🤷🏽♀️ this is why I tell my children, when they go out of town, don’t drive like you do here in Florida, we know these roads with our eyes closed, we don’t elsewhere. I just turned left on to oncoming traffic just two weeks ago. It was in one of my last videos here on UA-cam, I backed up immediately, and it was day time. The road looked weird to me. And yes I was out of town.
What the hell made them think that was their turn? They'd just gone past a crossing gate, there was oncoming traffic in the opposite lane, and their headlights revealed...absolutely _nothing_ but gravel and woods in the direction they were turning.
If they actually drove onto the tracks thinking they were road, then they really had no business driving at all.
As I said, only one word, stupid.
LED streetlights + LED headlights. It's very likely that they had no way of seeing the situation in time.
Indeed. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a senior citizen in that car.
Drunk, or wanting to end it all. This very thing happens more than you may realize.
GPS is what I was told, he was trying to make a turn on Railroad Road that lines the tracks but the GPS took him on the tracks themselves. If you look on Google maps you will see another road that connects to Main Street. It was also dark out so the LED Streetlights and LED headlights could have been a factor as well in this incident.
That was a pretty fast stop actually.
I thought so too!
Especially for how fast it was goin!
Emergency stop, but still takes hundreds of feet to stop moving. The poor locomotive crew will need some anxiety meds.
@@utubewatcher806 especially because at night, the engineer might not have been certain the car was empty before it was hit.
Intermodal trains (Containers or trailers) stop a lot quicker than regular freight trains. Because they are not as heavy.
That poor driver not knowing if he’s killed someone 🥺
Engineer, you don't drive a train, you run it. There's an 8-Notch throttle that controls the speed.
Wait a minute everyone is talking about this and that but what was the driver of the car doing why did he make a right turn and stop completely on the tracks? Was he trying to get himself killed due to depression? What was the story of this incident?
@@foxwolf316 Hard to tell, but to me they paced around like they were frantic, I think they realized they went over train tracks, but for some reason the vehicle was stuck and it might have needed special equipment to pull it out. Notice that it's snowy so I'm betting the tires were just spinning in place over the tracks.
At 0:51 you can hear him start to rev the engine trying to find traction to get off the tracks, had to be so frustrating
he actually didn’t cuz the car driver abandoned the car
We had a problem like this at the CSX Broad Blvd. crossing for several years. The Akron Expressway, which is also state Route 8, runs parallel to the tracks. Due to a misleading sign people would turn short of the northbound on- ramp onto Main 1. I personally saw this numerous times and had to call 911. Eventually the sign was moved and concrete curbs were installed to prevent this, and also to keep people from going around the gates.
Sometimes people don’t look at the GPS Accurately. Sometimes you’ll turn down on a wrong street that’s Runs parallel with The other it could be an Unmarked Gravel or Dirt Road.
@@derrynelson4637 or, "the hood"...
I live in Stow go by there all the time
@@meanwolverine4573 or past the phone in their hand.
@@derrynelson4637 I hate “dynamic zoom” on google maps so much. There needs to be a locked zoom so that I can actually know where to turn. Regardless of whether I look 12 seconds before a turn or 8 seconds before a turn.
These people are why we have warnings on on detergent cubes and plastic bags.
Don't forget hair dryers and other electrical devices that they warn you to not use in the shower or bathtub......😮
@@gonphercoughie897 The best one I ever saw was a laundry tag on a kid's T shirt: "Remove child before washing".
TRUE!!!
And warnings on coffee cups that the contents are hot.
And those sun shades you unfold across your windshield to not drive with those in place.
Gasoline is flammable.
Damn. Even Jake from State Farm can’t help out here.
Life is short, I learned the hard way, Mayhem from Allstate@!
Oh, yeah. That Mayhem guy was probably watching from home on the Virtual Railfan UA-cam channel, having a good laugh.
Because the current Jake is a big phony, and totally annoying.
The Farmer's guy has seen a thing or two, and he's seen this one before. Claim denied.
@@MokkaMattihow?
The train operator must have his heart pounding thinking he just killed some
They sounded pretty calm on the radio. Just another day as far as they're concerned.
some what
@jamesm6638 they who
only if hes blind? you know city busses? Traveling the same speed have plenty of time to see if someone is standing at a bus stop. Of course seeing and being able to stop are two different things. This guy clearly had enough time to see no one was there....
but seriously, you are Blind, A bad driver or you can't pay attention to whats in front of you. For you to think other people are as bad as to miss basic things other people see so very clearly..
Had the same thing happen to us (Train crew) back on January 10th 20:25 in the evening. At 70mph we hit a Toyota pickup 5 miles north of Chowchilla California on the UPRR fresno sub. Truck missed a crossing driving right off in the ballast and up on to the tracks. We pushed the truck a mile down the tracks across a bridge ripping it in half before we got stopped. Nobody was hurt.
I've often wondered what goes on when the crew spots something on the tracks.
It's really amazing how some people in this world are even allowed to drive...
remember: the train is NEVER to blame !
Truck drivers are the blame and so are regular drivers they don't know what red means and don't know why the crossing gates are for
The train is to blame in many derailments. Skipping necessary maintenance and upgrades or having faulty equipment. East Palestine, Ohio to name one.
The key word being "derailments."
@@JazznRealHipHopWas this a derailment???? It was a moron driving onto train tracks!!!
I know you want to blame train here! But, get real! Goof drove where one shouldn't!
@@alanhughes5868fr why he changing the subject 😂
Call the number on the blue sign under the blinking red lights. Fastest way to stop train. Faster than 911. Also it gets you out of your car to safety.
What blue sign? There isn't a blue sign on any of the crossings within a mile of my home...I know for a fact because I went and looked specifically after the first person mentioned the signs
@Plasmastorm73_n5evv Can't put links here but it's a federal law. It's a small blue sign typically on the main pole where the gate comes down in between the big red flashing lights right underneath them.
I’m sorry, but if said red lights are “blinking” it’s likely too late, a train is approaching and you should depart the immediate premises and remove to a safe distance whilst continuing to attempt to contact the RR. Before all things, leave the vehicle!
@@tomhanna2714 Yes it's something that you should think To Do immediately when you're stuck hopefully before the light start blinking but while you're leaving the vehicle. You may as well look for the blue sign and call It in. Depending on how busy the area is you may be in luck.
I learned something new. Did not know about the blue sign. I may be able to help at a crossing one day.
Note to drivers: there is a sign / lights / arm when you get to the tracks. The other side has the same thing on the opposite side of the road. You are not fully across the tracks until you pass the opposite set of warning devices.
note to drivers who only live in large cities.....
most small cities have dirt paths that follow the train tracks. Ever hear of the wrong side of the tracks? Like in Texas, the tracks split the rich people(European descendants) and the immigrants(non European descendant) where you turn right where they did and its a dirt road...
Though this is also the place where they parked a pick up truck on the tracks during a Veterans day parade. Train came and mowed it down. No one even tried to get off of it, they thought the train would stop for them since they could stop the Japanese and Germans in WW2....should show how stupid the practice and they are down there. Basically like asking for it to happen more than once.
On a real foggy night years ago I did basically the same thing. I thought I was turning on the road that ran right along side the tracks. I was in a 4wd truck and managed to get off the tracks. A police officer showed up and held up traffic so I could move the truck. He did not ticket me cause you could barely see 10 feet in front of you. He just said to take it slow. Really nice guy.
Donald, are you an idiot sandwich? Yes, yes you are.
Sorry donald, I didn't mean to be rude, but driving on the train tracks is unforgivable in my world. I could never in 1 million years "accidentally" drive onto the train tracks 😂
@@adam.677thank god youre perfect.
@@Dislob you don't have to be perfect to NOT drive on the train tracks!! You just need 1 functioning brain cell. Seems nether you have any brain cells
@@adam.677 Werent you pretending to be perfect in your last comment? How can you make no mistakes then?
A little piece of advice if you ever end up stuck on a railroad crossing. There is a blue sign that should be on the crossbucks themselves or otherwise nearby them that tells you to call the number shown in case of an emergency. That number takes you to a dispatch center and they can order any train traffic scheduled to go through that crossing to stop before they can get there, If there's time obviously. So I'll repeat, if you ever get stranded on a railroad crossing and if there's a blue sign with an emergency number to call, make that your FIRST priority after getting out of the vehicle and away from the tracks. You can also call that number if there's a different situation at or near that crossing such as broken/malfunctioning crossing gates or an obstruction on the tracks. You can also call 911 and they'll get in touch with railroad dispatch about what's going on.
When driving on railroad tracks at night, you must make sure your vehicle has the proper ground clearance to negotiate the drop between the roadway and the rail bed.
Or just don't.
Gotta remember that for next time I wanna pretend real life is just grand theft auto
Where I live, we've seen drunk drivers go some distance down the tracks before wedging their vehicles in some awkward spot, where the next passing freight train will turn it into scrap. Perhaps some people need a free ticket to the nearest 15-minute city.
I tend to avoid driving on rail road tracks....
I had a friend who accidentally (drunkenly, more like it) went down the tracks on a big Yamaha XS1100. He flipped but he managed to pick the bike up and gtfo before cops came.
On the side of the locomotive they'll need a sticker of a car. The number of stickers indicating the number of cars they've totalled.
Those stickers you refer too are for confrontations of a nowhen encounter . These are unknown encounters with idiots . 🐙
Train Driver must be an "Ace" by now 😂😂
It's called a scorecard, and it indicates the total number of kills. I'd like to know why that person tried turning there. Drunk? Stupid? Why?
My guess is, phone or car said,"turn right here". Prob a street just beyond the tracks. People turn on my dead end street all the time. They want the next street.
@@charlesballard5251
What a gruesome yet hilarious comment!
They should actually really start holding award shows like the 15 CMAs they do every year or Oscar’s, golden globes etc for Darwin candidates.
How do you make this wrong turn…
Following GPS or maps app instead of using your wits.
Texting is one way. However I would say "had a few too many".
This one was intentional. She pulled off onto the tracks, and then moved out in front of the train.
LED streetlights + LED headlights. It's easy to make a wrong turn when you can't see where you're going.
I’ve had to go do an inspection on a locomotive for this very same reason.
Nothing derailed, nobody was hurt. The guy got out of the car.
They didn’t call the number on the signal enclosure next to the crossing in time to get the train stopped before it hit the car.
The driver had about 3 too many.
Many of us Virtual Railfan viewers see this alot on the Fairport NY, Ashland VA, La Grange KY, Elkhart IN, and Kansas City MO cams. The people in that particular car weren't so lucky.
Lucky enough to have time to get out of the car and get far enough away!
The UK at level crossing has the swing gates block off the tracks from the road when the road is open. If vehicles turning onto the track and getting stuck is a common problem then maybe there should be blocking off of the tracks in the USA. Those level crossing typically had a human attendant that actually moved the gates and evacuated the cars out of the way. In the USA that would be far too expensive. The UK has only about 1000 public road level crossings and about 4,000 private level crossings typically a farmer's driveway between fields.
You can see them getting out and running as the train approaches
Um, i don't know where you saw the driver was unluck, but several news sources say the driver was able to get out of the vehicle
VR wipes the footage of injuries/death. If there were I/F in this collision you wouldn’t be watching this clip.
When my father was an engineer in the 40's, 50's and 60's {Boston & Maine}, he made it very clear to me that you NEVER brake for a vehicle on the track and actually give it some throttle. Much better to go through something than hit it slowly and have it get under your trucks, derail the locomotive and maybe get your ass killed. Made sense then and makes sense today.
And everyone just keeps driving past them, without knowing if they were stupid, drunk, or had a medical emergency.
There's a little blue sign on the gate structure with a number to call and a crossing number so you can try to get the train to stop before it gets there.
You're right, Pat! If ANYONE would've dialed 911 or called the number on the box, that train would've gone into emergency stop before the engineer knew what was happening. Possibly 1 mile back.
@@meanwolverine4573 unless this video was edited for time, it seems like the train was pretty close already. And by the time the appropriate dispatcher got that info, and passed it along to the train, it would have been too late.
The dummy who drove on the tracks should call not people passing
@@WLeon3350 You are expecting too much from someone dumb enough to drive onto the tracks.
@@meanwolverine4573 Would not have helped in this incident. Train arrived 1 & half minutes after car turned onto the tracks
Why is it that every country in the world, other than the US, can understand how a railway crossing works?
At every railroad crossing there will be a sign on each of the crossing lights. The sign has the crossing number and the number of the railroad. If you ever find yourself in this situation first off evacuate your vehicle then call the number listed and give them the crossing number. The dispatcher will contact nearby trains and inform them to stop until the crossing is cleared.
Good luck reading those numbers in the dark.
@@TruthFiction I guess if you don’t have a cellphone that could illuminate the sign in the dark you won’t be calling the number anyway…
@@jameslovasziii6917 I have a cellphone, but like every one made today you have to install an app to run the light function and I don't need to get daily advertisements from apps. Besides, people don't stop and say "hey, I should check for a special number to call instead of doing the easy thing and calling 911 which is what we have been told for years and let THEM use their direct connections to the railroad."
@@jameslovasziii6917I carry a folding mechanic flashlight from Snap-On at all times.
In Drivers Ed, they taught us it usually takes a train a mile to stop (averaging load and speed on the prairie). That has definitely stuck with me all these years later.
Trains scare me. I never take any risks when it comes to them. A lot of people do though whether it’s freight trains, subways etc.
Yes, that was a fast stop as freight trains go. Most people don't realize, trains are like ships, they DONT have the ability to stop on a dime, it takes most large freight trains several miles to come to a stop if going 45 mph or more. You can hear that the engineer had the locomotive brake / regenerative braking on full bore as the diesel went past. But the engine braking alone can't stop a freight train, it takes time for the brakes on each car to fully kick in, and then is still takes a lot of distance to fully stop a freight train. even after that. It didn't sound like the trains emergency braking on the individual freight cars actually kicked in until right after the loco hit the car.
Most people? More likely very few people. Nobody has ever seen a freight train at speed stop on a dime, so I doubt there are many people who think they do.
Several miles is a misnomer. You can stop a big freight train in a mile, without emergency application.
Even if the driver knew to call the little blue emergency number I don't think it would have helped in this instance since there was approximately only 2 minutes between the car turning and the crossing activating, which by the time you've got connected, told the operator what crossing you're at and they've contacted the dispatcher the train is probably going to be too close for the engineer to stop short even if a signal drops to red in front of them. Very unlucky timing on the car driver's part, as well as getting stuck on the 1 of 3 tracks the train was coming on.
Pretty amazing that the operator was able to bring this train to a stop that quickly
it wasn't quick, it still took them a mile or more...and thats kinda slow. Now them stopping at a mile when going over 55 mph would be...
The operator probably started emergency brake earlier as he would have seen the lights on the car and that truck. Still impressive though!
Unfortunate and so unlucky that a train came just minutes after getting stuck…
It seems if you get stuck on the track, a train is quickly there.
@@DerekWhite-yx2ce The train was waiting up the tracks, in silence. Waiting to catch a car turning onto the tracks. Once the turn was made, the train pounced upon the helpless car. Sort of like a fly in a spider's web.
A train? Came along a *RAILROAD TRACK???*
Jeeez . . . who could have foreseen THAT?
@@DerekWhite-yx2ce
Trains also hire off-duty mechanics with money problems to sabotage cars.
Much like English aristocracy using beaters to flush birds to shoot.
@@timdowney6721 people laughed at my comment about being worried about people unplugging EVs, this a wild comment. Wouldn't the company lose money with the train being held up?
Luckily, the train didn't derail. Can't fix stupid.
I read it, and said to myself, "Don't tell me he turned onto the railroad tracks." He did. So now railroad crossings will have to post "No Right Turn" signs. Is this the same guy who made them put "remove before driving" notes on car windshield sun blockers?
Actually, that all went surprisingly well under the circumtances. Great response time by the rail police. And I can totally see how that could happen given the non-existant lighting into that turn. And yes, he stopped about as fast as he possibly could have giveb that load. The only other system I could envision could use a split of the load into a siding, which is just way too impractical to ever do unless you made it like a runaway truck ramp but the... yea. Nevermind. I just woke up. Bad idea : )
It didn’t go well at all. 30 people passed when they could’ve helped
@@cantstanddogs4776by doing what? helping pull the 2-tonne car out of the massive height difference between the road and trackbed, risking their lives on a railroad crossing?
@@MaxLai_0104
putting something under the tires so they have traction and they can reverse.
I’m sure 5 people could’ve pushed it back far enough to grab the ground again or even 1 could’ve put enough weight on the front to grab traction?
Maybe someone had a rope to pull.
Many options.
It's not a turn. It's a well lit street with lights right before the tracks. The tracks are clearly signed and the absence of lighting along them is the opposite of every other street and parking lot on that road, they are ALL lit up. To get to the point where the car dropped off the crossing, they had to move a good 10+ feet off the road since the railway installed metal track crossing plates extending across both traffic lanes and the sidewalks on each side after years of the villagers complaining about how poor the crossing had been maintained.
@@cantstanddogs4776 the car is jammed, if it wasn't they'd be able to reverse. there must be a drop between the road and railroad tracks
That's gotta be so heartstopping for the train driver...
It still wouldn’t have stopped the train…😂😂😂
@@93a_asp826 it would not have stopped your soul either because you have no heart
Another incompetent driver endangering everyone else around them. 🤨
You can't fix stupid
Well, if you cant recognize tracks vs. road by how the railway crossing is positioned, and the fact someone yelled at you a few times to get out of your car as a trains bright lights were getting closer, questions this person's ability to drive at night, and common sense.
a good note if you are a passerby and see someone do something like that driver, call the number on the crossing and give dispatch the crossing number and warn them the tracks are obstructed. they will make all trains due to for that crossing stop. And if you make the call immediately they might even be able to stop the trains when they are far enough away to stop in time.
I bet that drivers heart stopped when those bells started ringing.
Those brakes were super impressive stopping that train! 😮 I remember I heard that it takes a half a mile to stop a train, that was under that I believe.
What a moment.
Possibly mentioned already (sooo many good comments-): I imagine the car got hung up on the rails (probably front wheel drive too?) That, and the crossing lights were off at that time, and then came on; just that much more to rattle the driver, whether innocently disoriented, or drunk/medically impared...
Looks like a basic sedan. 99% sure it was front wheel drive, meaning the fronts were spinning in dirt, while the rear wheels were touching the asphalt but couldn't help
How the hell did the driver not know that was railroad tracks, not a road??!! Intoxicated driver maybe?? How would you not know?! Some folks should never drive.
The idiot behind them honked at them, but didn’t pull over to help.. nobody helped… that’s what’s wrong with our world
Ohhhh..... so THATS how they make Smartcars !
Very well done!!
Not for nothing, I’ve driven through grade crossings that are exactly like this, and for a driver from out of the area at night time the tracks look similar to a road at night due to the flat grade.
I understand and don't understand. You see signs and railroad gates but you think to turn right for some reason. This is a person who is on drugs or trying to commit suicide.
Yes
Amazed how nobody stopped to help them..
That was the weirdest part!
Stop their car, where? Get out and help them do what?
@@ericcallender1575 - Stop the car anyplace off the tracks, and help them get the car off the tracks if possible!
Are you kidding?! This is just common sense!
Truck with blinky lights stopped. I wonder what kind of neighborhood they were in.
@@TheRealScooterGuy One where expect people to recognize what a road looks like compared to train tracks. Also, the roads are all lit up like noon in Fairport so turning onto the only dark area is pretty stupid.
They should charge the stupid driver for all the damages to the train and the delays.
Car didn’t make the wrong turn, the person driving it did.
Look at all those good caring people rallying to save this individual, it so comforting to know that your fellow American will be there when you need them.🙄🙄
We have enough idiots.
Right. Because the more people you have, the stronger they are to overcome physics and get that locomotive to stop faster. Great logic.
@@StishFicksThere’s a blue sign at EVERY level crossing with an emergency number and the crossing number. If you see someone stuck, call it and the dispatchers will stop train traffic for that area until the crossing is cleared. Granted, considering it only took about a minute and a half after the car got stuck for the crossing to activate, it likely would not have helped here, but 99% of the time it will.
You know its America when people casually drive by as if you're invisible or as if they're saying " if i ignore it it'll go away."
Unless you're... ALOT stronger than you look, that car is not moving anywhere. What would you have done? Tell the train to swerve?
@@StishFicks No one had to help the guy move his car. The point is someone could have stopped to make sure the driver was ok and could exit his car. That’s how you help.
@@pamelasmith6221 Andddd someone did help. So why are we even talking?
I completely fail to understand how anyone could possibly make that mistake
Why are people so stupid around level crossings it's simple you see the lights on the level gates flashing you stop and let the train or trains go by mess around instead and this happens.
from the time the engineer hit the emergency brake to complete stop was 44 seconds. And they hit the E-Brake after the collision.
I noticed that too. Kind of strange, right? Is it protocol to slam an obvious obstacle then go into Emergency, or vice-versa? The engineer also seemed to "stick to the paperwork" in terms of blowing the horn through and after the crossing, all while pushing the car!
@@charlesbonkleyadmittedly I don’t have a source for this, but I heard some time back that it’s recommended to not apply the emergency until after a collision has occurred. The reason being that after dumping the air it can take a really long time to build back up again, so if you apply the emergency brakes before a potential collision, and the collision is avoided, you will have to wait a while to get the train moving again.
Keep in mind I don’t necessarily believe this is the correct choice, but its what I’ve heard
@@charlesbonkleyaccording to another commenter there’s also a risk of derailment if you apply the emergency brakes at high speed
Just because he didn't dump it right away doesn't mean he wasn't applying the automatic. The difference in cylinder pressure between emergency application and full service cannot happen until that is achieved first.
@@mistertagnan A different possible reason for not slamming on the brakes just as the train hits:
It can be that when brakes apply, they propagate from the head-end to back, and the cars contract.
(the back cars slam into each car in front of it). If that is happening at the same time as the engine is colliding at the front, there is greater possibility of kicking cars off of the rails?
I'm guessing? either; if there is enough time ahead, they apply the emergencies right away, (cars are contracting far enough back that weight of already contracted cars buffers shock to the engine of each jolt); or, if collision is imminent, since the impact will happen just as cars would be contracting into the engine coupling, then they apply the brakes just after the front impact(s)???
Hey you scratched the paint on my train !
Never listen to your GPS at night telling you to make a right turn now. Auto Body Detail shop on the right . Turn now and wait for your technical support
You can’t steer a train, and they always have the right of way.
That train coming to a stop sounded like tornado sirens! YIKES!!! I feel bad for the crew who had to deal with this. Thank God no one was killed.
"Triple A,.......never mind".
Maroon
The train always wins. Worth remembering.
Is this video used with permission from Virtual Railfan?
Virtual Railfan sent the video to multiple news sources. The only time they wouldn't do that is if their was any injuries/death.
I played this a second time though earbuds at full volume. 1:40, right as the crossing arms are coming down, you immediately start to hear the ominous, rhythmic thunder in the background....gave me chills!!
Impressive as the braking was in this train it still took 1749ft or 0.33 miles to stop after hitting the car, approx assuming all the well cars have a length of 53ft as indicated on the sides of the car and the loco's being a similar length. And it's reasonable to assume that the engineer was braking well before the train came onto camera.
I have seen this same situation on several videos now, and I must say I am perplexed as to how someone can mistake a railroad crossing with all the signage indicating as such, for an automotive road and to then turn onto to it and get stuck. That's a special kind of stupid. Do they want their car back, because it's probably about a mile down the tracks.
Understandable how it cahappen. Do they have a thick white line on the right showing thathe street continuestraight?
Well, there are a LOT of cities and small towns that have train tracks running down streets. In this case the GPS said it was Railroad Street and they turned down what was supposed to be a street.
The space bar is your friend...@@robertgift
I really have a doubt that oncoming LED lights contributed to this unfortunate event. I do believe that there is a stronger likelihood that GPS contributed. But… let’s get down to the real cause… SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. The driver did not pay attention - period! Kudos to that pick up driver for stopping and assisting (unlike the other drivers). There just was not enough time to get the car off the tracks. Also, whenever a train goes into emergency braking, the risks climb tremendously for the train too!
I feel sorry for the train crew......all the BS & paperwork they have to go through after such an incident 😢!!!!
@@gregwhitehead7206 the "BS and paperwork" amount to: "you need relief?" "Yes" crew waits for a recrew. The only stress involved is waiting for them to determine if hitting an unoccupied car warrant the usual paid time off associated with such events.
Agreed!! I used to be a thru freight conductor for CSX. Everything was always a long drawn out process!!
Why would GPS direct a car onto railway tracks?
GPS does not directly do that. However, many users fail to enlarge their screen (hone it) and pay attention. Also, GPS units depending on the quality and if the satellite signal is somehow blocked, there is lag time. Im a professional driver and operate multiple OTR units. Believe me it happens quite frequently. But again, this driver failed to “see around”. Ultimately it is the driver’s responsibility to safely operate the vehicle.
Protip: run perpendicular to the tracks in the direction the train is coming from, not away from it.
Edit: clarification
yes, make the demise quicker… genius lol
Why would you do that, please?
@@mikeuk4130 Because a train pushing a smashed up car causes the railroad ballast (the rocks on the railroad bed) to scatter and become projectiles that could hurt or kill.
@@Plasmastorm73 Thanks, I get that, but how does running towards that help you? Surely, if you run away, you buy more time to get away and any impact with train/ballast is at a lower closing speed.
@@mikeuk4130 I believe they mean to run parallel with the track (probably better to do it in a diagonal direction so you can also make distance from the track as well) towards the train so that the resulting projectiles happen behind you and not inline with you
Wow that train stopped on a dime! I had no idea they could stop that fast!
Dime maybe, car nah! It doesn't pay.😉
In a Hollywood movie the driver would have jumped clear at the last second and the car would have exploded in a fireball.
Always have the railroad's emergency toll-free number on Speed Dial if you make these crossings regularly.
And today's 'close but no cigar Darwin award' goes to...
How in the heck does that happen!
That driver's license should be immediately suspended and they should be required to take some testing to ensure they are capable of responsible driving. Dumb or drunk?
Interesting, I'm a retired locomotive engineer. The engineer of this train, if I heard the audio correctly, didn't put the train into emergency for nine seconds after he struck the vehicle - 2:20 to 2:29. Listen for the "pssst" sound of emergency air valves tripping on the cars.
Operation Lifesaver is needed for all drivers • Gary from Michigan 🚂
I used to work at the King Street coach yard in Seattle, WA and we had a police car do pretty much the same thing at our crossing and it got high centered. Fortunately it got pulled off before anything serious happened.
How are you so unaware that you turn onto train tracks?
You’ve gotta be the worst kind of unlucky when you not only get your car stuck on a crossing, but also when a train comes up not too long after on the exact track your car is stuck on
Evening Martha! Where's your car?? Oh, we took the train instead!!!
How can drivers keep making these stupid mistakes!!!!!???
I am a retired special needs school bus driver. My biggest fear was being caught on train tracks. Every school year, two weeks before we picked up our first student, I would have nightmares about being stuck on train tracks or not being able to get my kids home safely. Maybe the public needs to see the videos we saw during our in service days. This train amazingly was stopped fairly soon after hitting the car. Even up to 2 years after retiring I still had those nightmares around August every year. Now 11 years later, I still will have them occasionally. In my car, I slow to this day, at tracks. Anyhow, everyone needs to be aware and suitably afraid of them, for their own good. ✌🏻🤍
Whenever there are three or more separate tracks at a grade crossing, there should be a bright streetlight shining on the crossing. It might help keep it from looking like a dark street. Just a thought.
If you can't tell the difference between a road and a railroad track when you have two powerful headlamps lighting up in front of you, you don't need a streetlamp.
Just a white stick and a guide dog.
Headlights shine out in front; they don't shine to the right where you think there might be the street you're looking for. Have you never had trouble making out the streets at night in the rain? Besides, I'm not looking for perfection. I'm trying to save lives of inexperienced, elderly, handicapped and drunken drivers. Not perfect drivers such as yourself.@@jackx4311
@@jackx4311....and a pair of dark glasses to complete the ensemble.....😂
Having these cameras along various railroads throughout the country is a valuable thing in my opinion. There is no question about what happened in this situation.
The "car" did not make a wrong turn!! The DRIVER did!!
Look at all the jerks who just pass by and don't even try to help, they will all get theirs one day when they are in need. Pathetic!!
And what, exactly, could they have done to help?
@@SynchroScoreSame attitude as "them" I see. Pathetic.
@@georgeallen4495 What could they have done to help? You tell me, before complaining about 'attitude'. Did you see any tow trucks pass by?
About the only thing they could have done:
1. Make sure the driver was safely out of the vehicle!
2. Call the number on the control box reporting the car on the track.
3. Move everyone to a safe location to watch the crash!
I not sure that if they had called the control center there would have been enough time to identify the train and give them instructions to stop!
@@DPBGMODELRAILROAD I have a tow strap with me all the time and I would have done more. That would have been a easy removal to say the least as long as the train wasn't to close and this one wasn't. I hear what your saying but these pathetic people just drove on and did nothing.
But my GPS said...
Apple Maps be like
And this is why I want there to be a GPS voiced by Gordon Ramsay.
@@stephenp448 "No you Bloody idiot!...Right AFTER the tracks!"
Yep - near where I live, I found an ordinary saloon car (sedan) stuck on a steeper than 25% gradient, on a FOOTPATH halfway up a mountain, with the back end propped up by a massive boulder, and what did the driver say?
"I was following TomTom!"
@@jackx4311 We need a vaccine for stupid.
Thanks for the attribution. This is not the only car crash caught by VRF. One note though: If you find yourself on track, call the number on the crossing gate immediately! This will alert rail personnel and attempt to halt trains until the vehicle is removed from the tracks.
in this situation, not sure if they would have had enough time, as it was less than 2 minutes from the time the vehicle got stuck until the train hit it
Calling will not halt trains all it does is inform the railroad of a problem with the crossing and as a railroad conductor that information may NOT get to the crew of the train in time to stop!
@@Paul070 At least the crew will be aware. We've experienced a bunch of crashes here and the crews were upset until they found out the vehicle was empty.
No, it will NOT "halt trains". All it will do is to inform the despatcher, who then has to get a message to the train crew, who then have to apply the brakes - and depending on the speed / weight of the train, it make take them as much as a *MILE AND A HALF* to pull up.
@@jackx4311 Dispatcher will get some kind of track restriction in place ASAP, obviously depending on the time-delay it may not be possible to stop a train if it's going at track-speed and within a certain distance of the crossing already. But every possible effort will be made to stop the train. Trains will indeed be halted, speed and distance will determine if the train halts prior to the collision occurring, but it WILL halt.
You should lose your car if you’re this incompetent
OMG the poor people running the train, they probably figured someone just died in that car. I don’t drink but I think I’d need a drink when I got off that shift.
Not everyone is capable of operating a motor vehicle responsibly. Perhaps the US needs more 15-minute cities and fewer cars on the road.
100% this
100% wrong. Had nothing to do with the ability of the driver to operate the vehicle. It was a GPS error that caused the situation with...according to police.@@frafraplanner9277
Perhaps the US needs less government run schools.
Someone’s getting a DUI test
He wasn't drunk according to reports. Virtual Railfan doesn't show any train vs. car accidents to the media if its reported that their were injuries/death to respect the family. His GPS took him on the tracks and was able to get out of the car uninjured. We wouldn't be seeing this footage of the collision had anybody in the car been injured or killed.
The engineer will be getting a pee test asap as well even though he's clearly not at fault.
@chrispotempa2900 they always have to try to blame the working man
@@chrispotempa2900 that's not true. There has to be fault, or a rules infraction, or something that the engineer did wrong to warrant a pee test. I've smacked hundreds of cars and never wee'd a drop.
no gps ever took anyone on a route that isn’t a road! GPS is a guide only and all drivers have eyes that they are expected to use! The driver remains in control of his car at all times. If you can’t manage that stop driving.
Wonder if carshield gonna cover that?
Or will the damage just buff out.
The car suffered several dents & scrapes, but a little "Bondo" and buffing the paint will make it like New.
i remember watching this live
The driver of that vehicle needs to be charged with creating a catastrophic event and make them pay for all damages and rail delays caused by the collision. If they are unable to pay send them to prison.
I can only say, that you have obviously never misinterpreted instructions from your satnav nor, for that matter, made any driving error.
We all make mistakes. Luckily most of those you and the rest of us have made were inconsequential.
This persons mistake will have cost them plenty, so please cut them some slack.
People should watch were they drive.
USA hands out cracker jack licenses and there's no incentive to change or have actual safety because then the Local Cities and Police departments would lose profits on their citation revenue.
That’s brilliant advice. Where did you come up with that one? Genius, pure genius.