"Oops! I appear to have turned onto an active railway. I must remedy this situation. Yes! I shall continue to drive completely onto the tracks and continue forward and just see what happens." 👍
of course I don't know but this screams DUI/impaired driving -- not just making the mistake but then continuing to drive as if nothing is wrong. class sign of a DUI car collision, driver tries to continue driving as if no one saw or nothing happened ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
You're right. I hate to admit it, but if the driver is impaired, they've earned the damage. They need consequences to their actions. Along with facing charges.
A lot of what's happening here in Ashland is morons blindly fallowing their GPS/ Nav Stars or whatever and just plan NOT thinking or looking for themselves.
@@stratman9449 I respectfully disagree. None of them know how to use their brains. See 1-15-22 edition of the Virtual Railfan clip at the Ashland VA station and you will see why.
@@DrHenry1987 interferes with ROW, need much better lighting. Of course actually looking where your going would help a lot , that had to be someone Blindly fallowing their GPS.
@@trimberfox9141 a ramp to the street would be better, I would hate to come to Ashland having never been there before. If you have never been there before you rely on the GPS. It is amazing Ashland has never done anything to fix it even though it keeps happening. Over and over again. But not to worry they aren’t the only ones now. It happened in Flagstaff too.
@@mikemalo47 Yeah, I can see that(GPS)"Turn right down middle of RR tracks". 'Continue until you realize the bonehead move, get stuck, and can't reverse". "I will now have 'SIRI" contact the local towing service" (They're waiting for your call!) "You have reached your destination, and WELCOME TO ASHLAND"!!
Obviously this should’ve never happened in the 1st place, but here’s my question; why couldn’t they have just backed the car up to the crossing and gotten it onto the tow truck there? Seemed like this was way harder than it needed to be.
Looking at the point where the car made the turn, it looks like there's quite a bit of vertical drop of at least 6" (same height as the rail). Probably couldn't back up straight enough. Probably too impaired to drive in reverse. GPS doesn't have a "back up feature" to help correct the driver's mistake. There are a lot of drivers who can't think past their front bumper or see past their windshield.
Nice job on getting the important parts on screen. Watching it live - it was engrossing to see all the minor adjustments the tow truck operator was doing to minimize the damage but still get the car off the tracks. It was almost an hour from on the tracks to cleared.
You and I could have but it does seem lots of folks cannot back...was that drive on drugs or something.? Did you find out? Was quite obvious not the place to turn....
@@erwingreven627 The driver tried to back up, but got in the rail. Backing up, like parallel parking, the pivot's behind the direction of travel... easier to go forward and try again if you flub it. By that time the train had arrived (you can see the headlights) and an onlooker, probably drinking at the bar judging by voice, implored the passengers to flee the vehicle. Police arrived with their customary languor a few minutes later. There was a similar one a few weeks ago there, and some people managed to push the car out before the police even arrived, finding nothing.
You know theres no excuse for this especially after they turned off the street and noticed they were driving on stones! This is definitely someone that doesn't need to be on the roads. Good thing a train wasn't coming on either track.
@@fedupgamer9075 maybe it was a "new" reisdent from a neighbouring village.....:-) or a tourist wanting to see where all the croosing / RR action on youtube happens....
In the middle between the tracks, you could actually put a post with a warning sign. Here in Germany, the towing company would have to pay for the damage during recovery. I also don't understand why the car wasn't recovered from the level crossing, as usual.
@@trainguy7261 he would still be on the tracks though (the crossing has tracks!) meaning we now have two vehicles blocking the tracks possibly endangering the train crew and recovery driver. Damage to the car? Well ok then next time this happens then what...who is gonna recover the vehicle? I'm curious if it was a recovery driver contracted by the local government for emergencies like this and what are the actual liabilities for a recovery driver in an emergency situation. I mean if I'm liable for damages recovering a vehicle in a time sensitive emergency situation I wouldn't make my self available for situations like that. I would like to see some goofball argue damages to their car caused during a recovery like this.
@@paticusmaximus12 Authorities already had made the appropriate call and traffic (Amtrak) was aware. No worries about the tow truck blocking the tracks at the crossing.
Gotta love the tow truck driver for teaching them a good lesson on bad driving. The car wasn't damaged until the towman ripped it to shreds. Well done!
I've noticed from working next to that line that Amtrak horns are so shrill compared to the CSX trains. It's like my old roommate's two dogs, I can tell the difference between her male and female dog barking. ;-)
I can’t believe why they didn’t stop after the front wheels went into the gap between the tracks. Are they totally oblivious to the drop from the road. Seriously that driver should hand in their license.
@@marietemax7963 This is where owning a good metal shovel comes in handy. Move a bit of ballast to build a ramp up and drive away like it never happened.
I'm beginning to wonder about the sanity of Ashland motorists. It's quite clear that there's a railway crossing which to most will mean that there is a 100% chance of railway track being right in front of you. You turn right then drop down onto the track ballast....well, there's a sign that you've just cocked up! Rather than stop immediately realising the error of your ways, no, you continue along the track maybe hoping that you can get out of this situation...But wait, all those pedestrian walkways across your railroads will mean you have absolutely zero chance of rectifying your mistake. Either people's Sat Nav are really s**t, or these drivers have no common sense. Maybe it's time that the crossing was lit up better to help protect the local motorists. The recovery company must absolutely love this crossing and they'll be enjoying another festive season with all these wonderful drivers in Ashland. Does make you wonder.......still, good for a bit of Railfan grab bag and a laugh!
Yeah, I was thinking about it, and that blocked off road is not well marked. Just the kind of barriers you see on lane shifts at construction sites. For instance, it does not say "Road Closed" or even have reflective markers. I don't think there are signs not to turn. So maybe you think this is where you go around the jersey barrier. I mean, you have to make more mistakes than that, but roads should be designed to be safe to various drivers. Then there's the fact that the crossing is three lanes, with the center lane marked as a turn lane *towards the blocked off road.* The turning lane's use now is for a major angle turn just a bit further west, out of view of the camera. Changing that section of Railroad Avenue into a pedestrian zone was done with minimal care. Kind of like the slapdash job on Broadway in NYC. Meanwhile some people in Virginia will tell you VDOT only fixes intersetions when there are collisions.
#1. Need better lighting at these grade crossings! #2 make a "sloped" area from the grade crossing, down to the tie area/ballast area between the tracks! That way "someone" should be able to back/drove the vehicle out, without the need for tow trucks/ rollbacks!
it seems to be a common reaction of american (and other nationals) drivers to keep on driving in the hope to "escape" the situation they have got into....sadly...
I really dont understand why they did not just back it up again and use some wooden support to get the car up the concrete where she came ? Or did she travel several kilometers before realizing the obvious fact?
Tow truck driver probably did more damage to the car than the original incident by dragging it across the rails. I agree with others, this is not just impaired driving, it is poor signage, unreliable GPS, or ??? The Ashland City Council should hire an engineer to review all of the incidents.
It's not just impaired driving, it's a lack of common sense and intelligence by some of those drivers. If you don't know not to make a turn onto, or between, those railroad tracks, you have no business operating a vehicle. Take the bus.
Missing detail: Amtrak was approaching for a station stop about the time the automobile stopped trying to back up. People urged the driver and two passengers to flee the vehicle, which they did, the driver a little reluctant. Then the popo arrive. It’s almost always a slow response time at Ashland, up to 10 minutes,
There's a video of someone making the exact same mistake here and they couldn't back the car out because the drop off to the gravel is too sudden and high. If an incline was there it would work.
At some point don’t you actually look where you’re driving though? You wouldn’t walk into traffic just because someone told you to. I don’t understand people driving in obviously dangerous non roadways because “the GPS told me to.”
Holy crap...I don't know what was worse, watching that idiot drive between the tracks or watching to tow truck operator try to winch the car onto the flatbed. Around the 3 minute mark I thought to myself, "this guy has no effing clue as to what he's doing" and then at 4:00 the bumper rips...lol. The driver should have their license revoked and the tow guy needs to find another job.
Earlier on the Ashland page we were talking about this, the issue the tow truck driver is having is the car, as most cars today are too low to make it over the tracks. If there is no damage to the underside of that car, the driver is very lucky
As often as this happens you would think the tow trucks would have some sort of ramp to allow the wheels to come up and over the rails. Jesus man a 100 dollar tow just became a thousand bucks with body damage.
God bless America, Ashland and it's car drivers.....may you keep on delivering "exceptional" footage.......:-D maybe Jeremy Clarksons estimation of americans was not sooo wrong after all......:-)
I pondered for quite awhile on what or how to respond and in the end just do not have words for this or any other driver dumb enough to drive a vehicle onto tracks. I honestly believe that HUGE signs posted to indicate which way to proceed would still not be enough
I wonder which did more damage to the vehicle: the car's driver or the tow truck's driver.... Of course, the Amtrak locomotive could have easily topped them both!
Without tempting fate...how long will it be before somebody does this with a train coming (that has yet to set the gates down) that isn't able to stop in time? Only so many times that luck can dodge the bullet.
Horns were great! Soft and musical. Sigh about the cars on the tracks, it just seems to be mainly this crossing. I have never liked this crossing, it its Rt 54, it was or is still sideways. Always made me nervous. Ashland, maybe its time for a bridge for cars and pedestrians. Be a safe way to cross and to take photos of trains!
.How many intersections does Ashland have? How many times is this happening but we don’t see it cuz there’s no camera to catch it? Ashland & CSX should just pave between the tracks and turn this into the new LaGrange, but with a passenger stop
Ashland has the most possible crossings, road and pedestrian. Sure, it looks like a Christmas card, but it's a problem on the extended Northeast Corridor and freightway. "It's always been this way" is another response you'll hear. Another college town, Charlottesville, saw miles of heavy black fencing installed. In Ashland, town, college and rural came together to successfully oppose any changes, in town or via a bypass. Instead the platforms were upgraded to ADA, and one ped crossing will be ADA, the one at the the station. Also a message board is coming. Amtrak can arrive on either track, so till then a sentinel passenger or two will stand between the tracks to tell people which one it's coming in on. The station is unstaffed, and not even actually a station. It's a visitors center, closed when most trains arrive. (The state & feds did not penalize Ashland for its intransigance, such as closing the stop. I suppose rail gets a popularity boost from the picture-perfect town.)
Also, the road crossing in question is three lanes, with a turning lane for an angled southwest turn a bit to the right, out of the picture. Usually when a car goes between the tracks, it's from that lane, turning left around the poorly marked new barrier on Railroad Avenue. This time it was a right turn around the barrier. Changing streets into pedestrian zones is fine, but it can be done well (Charlottesville, Boulder), or slapdash (NYC, Ashland).
As a pilot I am now much more greatful for the large chain link fences around air ports. Aircraft landing at 80-90 mph and a Kia turns left onto active runway.
@@erwingreven627 yep just started opening domestic borders in the last week & limited international arrivals at the moment, here in queensland we've done really well with only 4 new cases in the state overnight of which all were discovered in quarantine from interstate or international arrivals. New south Wales & Victoria are still the biggest problems with nsw recording over 800 new cases since yesterday & Victoria over 1000.
I have a hard time understanding why this situation continues to occur in Ashland. This has happened several times. If this car had made that move about 10 minutes earlier the outcome could very well have been tragic. Q415 had just passed through town a few moments earlier. There is no way they could have stopped in time to avoid a collision. The city of Ashland as well as CSX need to get together and find a solution to stop this from happening before someone is killed. But then again there is only so much you can do about careless drivers.
well In this case I would guess it was someone BLINDLY fallowing their GPS Mapper and not looking where they were going , It pretty clear that there is NO left turn there anymore. Obviously Not one of us .
Yeah thats the remote operating system lagging behind what actually happening , there was a crew member in the on coming lane blocking traffic till the gate was down .
Well used to be Ashland was the only place that happened. But this last week we see that Flagstaff AZ had a car that drove on the part between the two tracks. GPS told him it was a street. He had a hard time getting back on the next street. Thank goodness no trains were coming for awhile. Just put a ramp up to the street. On both sides just like Ashland should do.
I disagree that the tow truck driver did an excellent job; I don't think he "needed" to haul the car across the rails, back to the crossing to pull the car out from there.
Stay focused Henry. They didn't NEED to build a town there, either. The point is they moved the car closer to the extended ramp which gave him a bigger step to climp. Back it up to the original entry point and then pull it onto the tow truck.
How many in all cams have you recorded let alone seen this year. This show that people really need to be tested on how a GPS works or there eyesight specially at night
Nice job by tow truck operator? I was once told by a professional tow operator that you should never cause any additional damage to a vehicle. All the damage to that vehicle appears to have happened at the hands of the tow truck operator. Having said that, it is possible that police told him to remove the car as quick as you can, don't worry about damaging the car. He should have said I will get it out as quickly as I can without wrecking it. I would have towed out the way it went in or since trains were stopped BACK IT OUT THE WAY IT CAME IN BY DRIVING IT.
Yes, perhaps the Amtrak waiting to go just might have had cause to hurry. It’s not the tow truck drivers fault if the car is damaged on removal…it’s the driver’s fault if the car is damaged
@@PamB81 No it is the tow truck drivers fault for damage after the fact. There are many ways to remove a vehicle from a bad situation without causing further damage.
Message to tow guy. Why not just back the car up and get it from the street instead of rail jumping it at a bad angle? From looking at lots of towing and wreak recovery videos most say the best way out is the way it went in.
Truck probably doesn't fit in between the rails . And the damage is mostly to the bumper COVER which most of the time can be snapped back into place and be very little visual damage. I would get a 4 wheel alignment just to make sure everything else is alright.
Tow company has this down, must be one of their training requirements. We had someone turn onto the tracks(he went around the workers replacing the crossing) by my house. The tow company destroyed his little sports car by dragging it across the tracks.
The driver was trying to answer the question we've all had, "Can I off-road in my Mazda 3?" I guess the answer is "yes", although it looks like it's not advised.
"Oops! I appear to have turned onto an active railway. I must remedy this situation. Yes! I shall continue to drive completely onto the tracks and continue forward and just see what happens." 👍
Was about to say the same thing 🙄
Well... I kinda expected to see them try to keep going. We are talking about people here
of course I don't know but this screams DUI/impaired driving -- not just making the mistake but then continuing to drive as if nothing is wrong. class sign of a DUI car collision, driver tries to continue driving as if no one saw or nothing happened ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Yeah not too bright just like the rest of them that find their way onto the tracks lol
Had someone do this recently in Ashland, MA. The commuter train I was on, was delayed because of the person who thought the tracks were a road.
Thinking it would have been faster and safer to pull the car back to the crossing and ramp it up from there. Less damage to the car, as well.
Exactly my thoughts as well!
@@scottsmith2483 Mine too
That was my thought as well. Would be a lot easier, with a lot less damage to the vehicle and potential for track issues.
You're right. I hate to admit it, but if the driver is impaired, they've earned the damage. They need consequences to their actions. Along with facing charges.
I agree yes, but if a train were to come it would cause more damage than to do what they did
I get the feeling that La Grange and Ashland are vying for an award for the most railroad track mishaps! 🚂 BOING!!
i'll go with that.....american "motorists" and Railroads are a Toxic combination......:-D
neither of them know how to use the brakes.......
A lot of what's happening here in Ashland is morons blindly fallowing their GPS/ Nav Stars or whatever and just plan NOT thinking or looking for themselves.
@@stratman9449 I respectfully disagree. None of them know how to use their brains. See 1-15-22 edition of the Virtual Railfan clip at the Ashland VA station and you will see why.
Plenty of scrap metal on offer.
There are NO words!!!
LOL
i wish i owned a tow company in Ashland, I could retire in a year
"Ashland towing, how can we assist you?"
"Yeah hi, our car is stuck on the..."
"Right. On our way!"
don't forget the pannel body repair shop plus exhaust bay.....:-D
Rail level illuminated markers together with improved streetlight illumination and signage. The city needs to sort this once and for all.
@@DrHenry1987 interferes with ROW, need much better lighting. Of course actually looking where your going would help a lot , that had to be someone Blindly fallowing their GPS.
My only thought... These are people.. Do you really think all the lighting and all the signs will be enough to stop this from happening?
@@trimberfox9141 a ramp to the street would be better, I would hate to come to Ashland having never been there before. If you have never been there before you rely on the GPS. It is amazing Ashland has never done anything to fix it even though it keeps happening. Over and over again. But not to worry they aren’t the only ones now. It happened in Flagstaff too.
@@maureenolin199 I have driven across the country 3 times, no gps, wife not allowed to say the words (turn here) No pone/No radio just enjoy driving
@@mikemalo47 Yeah, I can see that(GPS)"Turn right down middle of RR tracks". 'Continue until you realize the bonehead move, get stuck, and can't reverse". "I will now have 'SIRI" contact the local towing service" (They're waiting for your call!) "You have reached your destination, and WELCOME TO ASHLAND"!!
Obviously this should’ve never happened in the 1st place, but here’s my question; why couldn’t they have just backed the car up to the crossing and gotten it onto the tow truck there? Seemed like this was way harder than it needed to be.
Exactly!
Is there an oil pan and tire shop on the block?
The professional truck operator looks like he did more damage to the car...
Looking at the point where the car made the turn, it looks like there's quite a bit of vertical drop of at least 6" (same height as the rail). Probably couldn't back up straight enough. Probably too impaired to drive in reverse. GPS doesn't have a "back up feature" to help correct the driver's mistake. There are a lot of drivers who can't think past their front bumper or see past their windshield.
@@michaelmccarthy4615 Good! Maybe they'll learn a lesson..lol
Everyone of those drivers need to have their license suspended and forced to go through driver training before they can reapply to drive.
i have a sneeking suspicion that that would not help much....it's like shutting the stable door, after the horse has bolted.....:-)
How does someone NOT see that what they are driving on is not the road anymore but is the RR tracks?
She looks elderly and was probably confused or not paying attention.
maybe the driver/ess of said vehicle lives at the end of a graveled road...??
I wondered about that too. I think I would have recognized that I wasn't on the road any longer and backed up rather than going forward.
@@stratman9449 running over the tie butts is nothing like driving a gravel road......
Nice job on getting the important parts on screen. Watching it live - it was engrossing to see all the minor adjustments the tow truck operator was doing to minimize the damage but still get the car off the tracks. It was almost an hour from on the tracks to cleared.
So why didnt someone just hop in the car and back it out.... This tow guy just ruined the car..
@@keyman1202 That's the same I was thinking while watching this, why not just back it out.
You and I could have but it does seem lots of folks cannot back...was that drive on drugs or something.? Did you find out? Was quite obvious not the place to turn....
That job really called for a heavy duty tow truck with an extendable boom to lift the front of the car
@@erwingreven627 The driver tried to back up, but got in the rail. Backing up, like parallel parking, the pivot's behind the direction of travel... easier to go forward and try again if you flub it. By that time the train had arrived (you can see the headlights) and an onlooker, probably drinking at the bar judging by voice, implored the passengers to flee the vehicle. Police arrived with their customary languor a few minutes later. There was a similar one a few weeks ago there, and some people managed to push the car out before the police even arrived, finding nothing.
Driver to passenger: Gee Mabel, this road sure is rough! I think they need to repave it.
😂
🤣🤣
LOVE IT PRICELESS
I want to give a shout out to Mrs. Clause in the background she seemed pretty gleeful in the moment
It was nice to see a crowd show up to help again.
yeah....mobile phone footage is a big help in removing a vehicle out of the RR tracks.....
I sure would hate to be take tow service's insurance company.
As a tow truck driver that could have been done way different with out most of the damage
I was wondering why they didn’t back up to where they went in and go out that way…
The isthmus between the tracks isn’t wide enough for the tow truck barely wide enough for the car
@@coryhoover01 you reach over lift the car off the tracks and back it up done it tons of times
@@hrstang001 if you have access to a heavy duty wrecker and most insurance companies don't want the added cost. Damage they have deductible
He should have dragged it back to the road
You know theres no excuse for this especially after they turned off the street and noticed they were driving on stones! This is definitely someone that doesn't need to be on the roads. Good thing a train wasn't coming on either track.
You would think the residents there should all be aware of this area by now, but no, they just keep driving onto the tracks.
@@fedupgamer9075 maybe it was a "new" reisdent from a neighbouring village.....:-) or a tourist wanting to see where all the croosing / RR action on youtube happens....
Love the holiday decorations. They add a festive touch to the scenario.
yes...i really appreciated that too.....it's like a christmas / winter wonderland scene....i love it.....:-)
Anyone notice the lady behind the barrier in her very historic traditional costume?
Yes! It appears that she had a little too much egg nog!
oh dear another horseless carriage mishap
In the middle between the tracks, you could actually put a post with a warning sign. Here in Germany, the towing company would have to pay for the damage during recovery. I also don't understand why the car wasn't recovered from the level crossing, as usual.
I don't think he wanted to drive onto the tracks and I don't blame him!
@@trainguy7261 he would still be on the tracks though (the crossing has tracks!)
meaning we now have two vehicles blocking the tracks possibly endangering the train crew and recovery driver.
Damage to the car? Well ok then next time this happens then what...who is gonna recover the vehicle?
I'm curious if it was a recovery driver contracted by the local government for emergencies like this and what are the actual liabilities for a recovery driver in an emergency situation.
I mean if I'm liable for damages recovering a vehicle in a time sensitive emergency situation I wouldn't make my self available for situations like that.
I would like to see some goofball argue damages to their car caused during a recovery like this.
Wave enough money under a lawyer's nose, you can get them to argue the earth is flat.😂
@@paticusmaximus12 Authorities already had made the appropriate call and traffic (Amtrak) was aware. No worries about the tow truck blocking the tracks at the crossing.
Maybe he should have just left it on the tracks for the Amtrak that was waiting! 🤨
Looks like the railway companies need to provide additional barriers across the tracks here and elsewhere.
They tried building brick walls on either side of the road across the tracks but trains kept knocking them down.
Gotta love the tow truck driver for teaching them a good lesson on bad driving. The car wasn't damaged until the towman ripped it to shreds. Well done!
I'm surprised the tow truck didn't back to the car between the tracks and get them out that way
I've noticed from working next to that line that Amtrak horns are so shrill compared to the CSX trains. It's like my old roommate's two dogs, I can tell the difference between her male and female dog barking. ;-)
You guys may have cars on the tracks, but I have a car in the Upper Niagara River Rapids in my neighborhood.
Been to the falls on American side. Being near those rapids made me nervous. Can't imagine putting a car there.
I just want to know how long did it take for the person to realize that they were in between the tracks? That should be a suspension for that....wow.
I think the driver could continue to the next cross and get out of there. But the walk cross was too steepy to try
I can’t believe why they didn’t stop after the front wheels went into the gap between the tracks. Are they totally oblivious to the drop from the road. Seriously that driver should hand in their license.
@@konewone361 No turn signal used also.
@@marietemax7963 This is where owning a good metal shovel comes in handy. Move a bit of ballast to build a ramp up and drive away like it never happened.
Can we get more of the ones with the funny music?
There was so much light! How in the heck did they not see the tracks??
When I drive past last night I noticed there is now a tow truck permanently in wait...not a bad idea! 😂
I'm beginning to wonder about the sanity of Ashland motorists. It's quite clear that there's a railway crossing which to most will mean that there is a 100% chance of railway track being right in front of you. You turn right then drop down onto the track ballast....well, there's a sign that you've just cocked up! Rather than stop immediately realising the error of your ways, no, you continue along the track maybe hoping that you can get out of this situation...But wait, all those pedestrian walkways across your railroads will mean you have absolutely zero chance of rectifying your mistake.
Either people's Sat Nav are really s**t, or these drivers have no common sense.
Maybe it's time that the crossing was lit up better to help protect the local motorists. The recovery company must absolutely love this crossing and they'll be enjoying another festive season with all these wonderful drivers in Ashland. Does make you wonder.......still, good for a bit of Railfan grab bag and a laugh!
Now the car driver can go home and have a Christmas Spiked egg nog. NO Wait, maybe he has already had a couple. 🥴
Yeah, I was thinking about it, and that blocked off road is not well marked. Just the kind of barriers you see on lane shifts at construction sites. For instance, it does not say "Road Closed" or even have reflective markers. I don't think there are signs not to turn. So maybe you think this is where you go around the jersey barrier. I mean, you have to make more mistakes than that, but roads should be designed to be safe to various drivers. Then there's the fact that the crossing is three lanes, with the center lane marked as a turn lane *towards the blocked off road.* The turning lane's use now is for a major angle turn just a bit further west, out of view of the camera.
Changing that section of Railroad Avenue into a pedestrian zone was done with minimal care. Kind of like the slapdash job on Broadway in NYC.
Meanwhile some people in Virginia will tell you VDOT only fixes intersetions when there are collisions.
#1. Need better lighting at these grade crossings! #2 make a "sloped" area from the grade crossing, down to the tie area/ballast area between the tracks! That way "someone" should be able to back/drove the vehicle out, without the need for tow trucks/ rollbacks!
it seems to be a common reaction of american (and other nationals) drivers to keep on driving in the hope to "escape" the situation they have got into....sadly...
I suspect it mostly people unfamiliar with the city who get into trouble, or drunks.
I really dont understand why they did not just back it up again and use some wooden support to get the car up the concrete
where she came ?
Or did she travel several kilometers before realizing the obvious fact?
Tow truck driver probably did more damage to the car than the original incident by dragging it across the rails. I agree with others, this is not just impaired driving, it is poor signage, unreliable GPS, or ??? The Ashland City Council should hire an engineer to review all of the incidents.
It's not just impaired driving, it's a lack of common sense and intelligence by some of those drivers. If you don't know not to make a turn onto, or between, those railroad tracks, you have no business operating a vehicle. Take the bus.
Boy that tow guy didn’t do that car any favors. What’s going on in that town?
A simple, bright yellow spring loaded bollard between the tracks would fix this a bit.
I still say old-fashioned swinging gates that close across the tracks would stop this altogether.
Like the ones in the UK. But here in Ashland, there's no place for the gates to move to without blocking non-conflicting traffic.
maybe..but then where would that leave us.....we have rights too.....
Shh!!! Look what happened to the 11-foot-8 bridge! :-)
Missing detail: Amtrak was approaching for a station stop about the time the automobile stopped trying to back up. People urged the driver and two passengers to flee the vehicle, which they did, the driver a little reluctant. Then the popo arrive. It’s almost always a slow response time at Ashland, up to 10 minutes,
They should move the donut shop next to the intersection.
Small town, rural area...
@@trish2179 One of the fastest growing counties in the state, suburban.
I was on that train!!
Probably like the rest of many areas in the US and are short on emergency response staff.
Great show!!!!😄😄😄
Why on earth didn’t they just back the car up??? Tow truck driver did this the hard way, plus they damaged the car!
Exactly
There's a video of someone making the exact same mistake here and they couldn't back the car out because the drop off to the gravel is too sudden and high. If an incline was there it would work.
remember when the now closed pedestrian space was a street? well their GPS still thinks it is a street and tells them to turn right.
At some point don’t you actually look where you’re driving though? You wouldn’t walk into traffic just because someone told you to. I don’t understand people driving in obviously dangerous non roadways because “the GPS told me to.”
As it's known in aviation "controlled flight into terrain".
Dove into the clouds
good one...are you a pilot.....with amtrack....??.
@@stratman9449 - Neither, but I have been involved in accident investigations.
A BIG pole with flashing lights might work. Just a thought.
You should do a compilation of all the times that cars went in the rails in Ashland, VA
i'd watch that....it would be a 2 hours of the very best of ashland....:-)
Holy crap...I don't know what was worse, watching that idiot drive between the tracks or watching to tow truck operator try to winch the car onto the flatbed. Around the 3 minute mark I thought to myself, "this guy has no effing clue as to what he's doing" and then at 4:00 the bumper rips...lol. The driver should have their license revoked and the tow guy needs to find another job.
Not nice your comment! Is this your work? The car was realy stuc on the rail!
@@anjaschweertman705 it was stuck cause the idiot driving the tow truck pulled it over the rails!
Ashland needs a truck with a grab on it, just pick up the car in the claws and take it straight to the crusher.
.... with the driver still in it 👍
Earlier on the Ashland page we were talking about this, the issue the tow truck driver is having is the car, as most cars today are too low to make it over the tracks. If there is no damage to the underside of that car, the driver is very lucky
What a cars-on-the-tracks season
yup....its almost better than this years f1 season......almost....:-)
Since they closed the street off maybe The gps still staying it a open street?
There was a driver in Flaggstaff that did this very same thing a few days ago.
Looked like the car was either impounded or damaged to the point of not being drivable. Did the cops bust the driver for DUI?
As often as this happens you would think the tow trucks would have some sort of ramp to allow the wheels to come up and over the rails. Jesus man a 100 dollar tow just became a thousand bucks with body damage.
God bless America, Ashland and it's car drivers.....may you keep on delivering "exceptional" footage.......:-D
maybe Jeremy Clarksons estimation of americans was not sooo wrong after all......:-)
Have you shown this to the local media? Many word can spread out of this occurring problem
Drivers who drive on train tracks are crazy
I pondered for quite awhile on what or how to respond and in the end just do not have words for this or any other driver dumb enough to drive a vehicle onto tracks. I honestly believe that HUGE signs posted to indicate which way to proceed would still not be enough
When the red and white gates come up and traffic can flow, perhaps other red and white gates should go down across the tracks.
That's what I said a couple weeks ago!
@@chiefguns1980 I’m thinking it’s a racket.
Virtual Railfan should make a playlists of all these videos of cars going onto the tracks in Ashland Va lol
Do we think it is the same car from last time?
I wonder which did more damage to the vehicle: the car's driver or the tow truck's driver.... Of course, the Amtrak locomotive could have easily topped them both!
the "clearance" of the track would have been quicker and more "effiecient" ba amtrack for sure...:-D
Any specific reason why it's happening frequently?.
Without tempting fate...how long will it be before somebody does this with a train coming (that has yet to set the gates down) that isn't able to stop in time? Only so many times that luck can dodge the bullet.
Other than the tow bill i wonder if the city fines people for this
worst tow job i ever seen in my life!! just BACK the car out the same way it got in there! id be suing that tow company!
Did you hear the ns southern 8099 derailed last night
Horns were great! Soft and musical. Sigh about the cars on the tracks, it just seems to be mainly this crossing. I have never liked this crossing, it its Rt 54, it was or is still sideways. Always made me nervous. Ashland, maybe its time for a bridge for cars and pedestrians. Be a safe way to cross and to take photos of trains!
.How many intersections does Ashland have? How many times is this happening but we don’t see it cuz there’s no camera to catch it? Ashland & CSX should just pave between the tracks and turn this into the new LaGrange, but with a passenger stop
Ashland has the most possible crossings, road and pedestrian. Sure, it looks like a Christmas card, but it's a problem on the extended Northeast Corridor and freightway. "It's always been this way" is another response you'll hear. Another college town, Charlottesville, saw miles of heavy black fencing installed. In Ashland, town, college and rural came together to successfully oppose any changes, in town or via a bypass. Instead the platforms were upgraded to ADA, and one ped crossing will be ADA, the one at the the station. Also a message board is coming. Amtrak can arrive on either track, so till then a sentinel passenger or two will stand between the tracks to tell people which one it's coming in on. The station is unstaffed, and not even actually a station. It's a visitors center, closed when most trains arrive. (The state & feds did not penalize Ashland for its intransigance, such as closing the stop. I suppose rail gets a popularity boost from the picture-perfect town.)
Also, the road crossing in question is three lanes, with a turning lane for an angled southwest turn a bit to the right, out of the picture. Usually when a car goes between the tracks, it's from that lane, turning left around the poorly marked new barrier on Railroad Avenue. This time it was a right turn around the barrier. Changing streets into pedestrian zones is fine, but it can be done well (Charlottesville, Boulder), or slapdash (NYC, Ashland).
Never a dull moment!
As a pilot I am now much more greatful for the large chain link fences around air ports. Aircraft landing at 80-90 mph and a Kia turns left onto active runway.
Don't fly into Gibraltar
If a motorist did that here in Queensland Australia it would be about a $3000 fine although that was about 5 years ago so could even be more now.
Are you guys down under even unlocked enough to be able to drive anywhere?
@@erwingreven627 yep just started opening domestic borders in the last week & limited international arrivals at the moment, here in queensland we've done really well with only 4 new cases in the state overnight of which all were discovered in quarantine from interstate or international arrivals. New south Wales & Victoria are still the biggest problems with nsw recording over 800 new cases since yesterday & Victoria over 1000.
Awesome horn action
Back it out the same way you pulled in eer maybe somebody needed a christmas bonus what a bunch of shysters
I have a hard time understanding why this situation continues to occur in Ashland. This has happened several times. If this car had made that move about 10 minutes earlier the outcome could very well have been tragic. Q415 had just passed through town a few moments earlier. There is no way they could have stopped in time to avoid a collision. The city of Ashland as well as CSX need to get together and find a solution to stop this from happening before someone is killed. But then again there is only so much you can do about careless drivers.
well In this case I would guess it was someone BLINDLY fallowing their GPS Mapper and not looking where they were going , It pretty clear that there is NO left turn there anymore. Obviously Not one of us .
nah,Let Darwinism take care of it. Problem is we have made things TOO safe.
They have several a week! Only a matter if time despite the police and tow trucks and fire dept being right by that spot...🙄
Is it reasonable to assume the police have immediate contact with a RR authority for those lines? I hope so.
Dark, looked like a road.
They need a railroad crossing for the railroad from the cars…😂😂
Did anyone notice that the crossing gates went down after Amtrak was halfway across the roadway already?
Yeah thats the remote operating system lagging behind what actually happening , there was a crew member in the on coming lane blocking traffic till the gate was down .
Fun fact, the crowd that came to help were all at an event at the Depot, all workers and owners of Red Vein haunted house. Great peeps!
Well used to be Ashland was the only place that happened. But this last week we see that Flagstaff AZ had a car that drove on the part between the two tracks. GPS told him it was a street. He had a hard time getting back on the next street. Thank goodness no trains were coming for awhile. Just put a ramp up to the street. On both sides just like Ashland should do.
Why didn't the driver reverse back to the gate?
Do you win your driving licence at bingo in Ashland?
Amtrak❤❤❤
He should have made that Left turn in Alburquerque!!
Must be something in the water in Ashland!
Nice footage
🌷🍁🇮🇳🍁🌷
Why didn't they just back up?
SMH My town needs to get it together
I disagree that the tow truck driver did an excellent job; I don't think he "needed" to haul the car across the rails, back to the crossing to pull the car out from there.
100% correct! Back it to the street. He should pay for the back bumper.
I dont think the person “needed” to drive down to middle of the right of way. I guess the tow truck driver should be blamed for that as well?
Stay focused Henry. They didn't NEED to build a town there, either. The point is they moved the car closer to the extended ramp which gave him a bigger step to climp. Back it up to the original entry point and then pull it onto the tow truck.
I would guess that they didn't want to block the crossing.
@@stephenwalls9277 Well they can go 300 feet up to the next block and cross
How many in all cams have you recorded let alone seen this year. This show that people really need to be tested on how a GPS works or there eyesight specially at night
And I will say it again will it ever end 😔
Nice job by tow truck operator? I was once told by a professional tow operator that you should never cause any additional damage to a vehicle. All the damage to that vehicle appears to have happened at the hands of the tow truck operator. Having said that, it is possible that police told him to remove the car as quick as you can, don't worry about damaging the car. He should have said I will get it out as quickly as I can without wrecking it. I would have towed out the way it went in or since trains were stopped BACK IT OUT THE WAY IT CAME IN BY DRIVING IT.
Yes, perhaps the Amtrak waiting to go just might have had cause to hurry. It’s not the tow truck drivers fault if the car is damaged on removal…it’s the driver’s fault if the car is damaged
@@PamB81 No it is the tow truck drivers fault for damage after the fact. There are many ways to remove a vehicle from a bad situation without causing further damage.
Has the city still not blocked off that left-turn lane into the road that’s been blocked off FOR MONTHS?!?!
what happened to the smart people there?
Happy Holidays
Let's ALL try to
think "SAFE"
Message to tow guy. Why not just back the car up and get it from the street instead of rail jumping it at a bad angle? From looking at lots of towing and wreak recovery videos most say the best way out is the way it went in.
$$$$$$$
Might have damaged the tracks doing it that way, and could be sued.
Truck probably doesn't fit in between the rails . And the damage is mostly to the bumper COVER which most of the time can be snapped back into place and be very little visual damage. I would get a 4 wheel alignment just to make sure everything else is alright.
They should install better lighting at all railroad crossings in Ashland along with fences between the tracks.
Lol, not again have they been drinking
How do people in Ashland KEEP DOING THIS JUST LOOK. AT THE ROAD
maybe it was a visitor from NY city...or better still from "california".....:-)
If they would make a ramp of ballast between the tracks so cars could get back on the crossing it might help a lot.
Does anyone have any insight as to why the drivers are soooooooo terrible around this area???
Tow company has this down, must be one of their training requirements.
We had someone turn onto the tracks(he went around the workers replacing the crossing) by my house. The tow company destroyed his little sports car by dragging it across the tracks.
Why did he keep going ..I would have stopped as soon as the front wheels hit the gravel !
Why not reverse the car out or recover the car in a straight line! 🤦♂️
Oh wait, that’s too smart an idea. 😩
When the same mistake happens over and over in the same spot, the spot is flawed.
lol yeah blame anything other than the driver right? mmmkay
The driver was trying to answer the question we've all had, "Can I off-road in my Mazda 3?" I guess the answer is "yes", although it looks like it's not advised.
Anyone know how many cars go onto the tracks here per year?