Posted on 03/07/2017 1:39:03 PM PST by Gamecock
A train has collided with a charter bus in Biloxi, Mississippi, causing an unknown number of deaths and injuries.
Biloxi city spokesman Vincent Creel says emergency responders were still removing injured people from the bus more than 30 minutes after the crash Tuesday.
(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...
Reminds me of many years ago when a neighbor crossed a train track on the High Plains. You could see for miles both ways and he had crossed it hundreds of times before.
Just as he crossed, a train went past behind him. He later said he still does not know how he missed seeing or hearing the train as he stopped to look both ways.
I believe Jeff Cooper called it “Condition White”, being totally oblivious to your surroundings,
This is what happened in that horrific incident with the school bus in Illinois some years ago that precipitated all kinds of changes in Federal grade crossing protection standards.
Stories and videos of people not seeing things that were ‘there’ are all over the place. To wit, the video where the man in a gorilla suit walked right across a basketball game while people were concentrating on how many times the ball got passed is one example.
And it happens while driving as well - not the ‘I didn’t see the gorilla’ part, of course, but being so focused on one task (like fiddling with the radio or heater - c’mon, you’ve all had THAT happen) that you can’t really remember the last minute or more of the road.
Chances are, the driver DID get distracted by something. Couple that with crossing a particular set of railroad tracks every day for years and never encountering a train, and you have the recipe for precisely what happened in Mississippi.
I agree the bus is very intact I have seen some train truck crashes at full train speeds they were spread for a couple of miles of track.
The train wasn’t going very fast when it hit the bus.
Charter Casino Bus most likely. Lots of Casinos in Biloxi.
That will buff right out.
My daughters were on a Mega Bus once. The driver almost didn’t stop in time for a train. The crossbars actually hit the bus.
I made a formal written complaint. I also had a bus driver license at the time and quoted the laws.
Crickets
My dad was District Counsel for Seaboard Coast Line and then Southern Railways for over 30 years and he NEVER lost a crossing accident case.
The railroads are VERY careful about crossings and usually start with the horn over a mile in advance.
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There are several street crossings in that area and there have multiple accidents.
Biloxi is preparing to close the six and install two new ones.
Biloxi, CSX prepare to close railroad crossings
http://www.sunherald.com/news/local/counties/harrison-county/article130238869.html
I agree. It's not just because the railroads are careful at crossings, either. The physical challenge of stopping a train pretty much puts all the responsibility for safety on the motorists. This would most likely be the fault of the driver even if it is determined that the train engineer was sleeping at the wheel.
My dear mother loved the trips.
I was stopped at a crossing one day, when a teenage pedestrian with her earphones in, texting away, walked past me, bumped into the crossing rail, went under it, and crossed the tracks, literally 2 seconds before the train rushed through. TWO SECONDS!! After the train passed, there she was, a block away, still head down, texting. I don’t think she even realized she had a close call. When she walked into that crossing rail, she never looked to the right or the left, just glanced straight ahead before ducking under it. I was praying for her while calling her an idiot at the same time.
I read he got stuck on the tracks.
Reports say senior citizens. Maybe casino.
I believe that buses are to come to a complete stop at RR Xings and look both ways before proceeding.
“Couple that with crossing a particular set of railroad tracks every day for years and never encountering a train...”
As kids we are all taught about the danger of the highways and streets, and that is reinforced all the time as another car comes down the road. “CAR!!!” as it interups shooting hoops.
Railway tracks are almost always empty, and most people are rarely near tracks so they really don’t think much of them. We had some old tracks in town that had been shut down for years. Until somebody got a dinner train going. It went real slow - but I bet that took folks a bit of getting used to.
Oldsters
Slots junket
I’m guessing that the bus got high-centered crossing the track. This eyewitness says the bus was stuck fo 5-10 minutes before train hit it. It seems like it would have be a good idea to evacuate the bus once they got stuck on a railroad crossing! http://www.sunherald.com/news/local/traffic/article136966968.html
Update: Yahoo headline now says that there are 3 dead, and an unknown number are hurt.
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