Women struck, killed by C-Train

[Winsor_Pilates]

That's pretty sad. I could see that happening to lots of people, I almost did that myself once.
The high horse people in this thread who act like they've never had a brain fart are full of sh*t. Internet angels who never make mistakes.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by fotze

Maybe you haven't noticed but this board has the most intelligent and good looking population that has ever existed. We are flawless.

You forgot sarcastic, but that is something you would forget.

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by fotze

Maybe you haven't noticed but this board has the most intelligent and good looking population that has ever existed. We are flawless.

I'm like that Jehovah Witness Jesus all buff, good looking, and completely free of imperfection.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

That's pretty sad. I could see that happening to lots of people, I almost did that myself once.
The high horse people in this thread who act like they've never had a brain fart are full of sh*t. Internet angels who never make mistakes.

My big one was walking out of Home Depot and moving to in between the entrance and the exit to light my smoke. I lit it and turned around to see 20+ full propane tanks in the little cages not 5 feet from me.

Needless to say I moved very quickly and was very thankful I did not end up as a Darwinian statistic.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

You forgot sarcastic, but that is something you would forget.

We are not sarcastic! You take that back.

Although, I must say that I am surprised at the lack of Darwin love...hes driving a bumper car...a BUMPER car!!

[chemgear]

Well, here we go again:

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/ca...795/story.html

Police recovered surveillance footage that confirmed the woman walking into the path of the train, despite the barrier arms, flashing lights and warning sounds being activated.

"She's paying no attention to what's happening around her," said Sgt. Colin Foster of the Calgary police traffic reconstruction unit.

"We think there's some form of distraction.

"All the warning signs are there and this pedestrian pays no heed," Foster said. The surveillance footage also showed three other pedestrians similarly ignoring the warnings, though they made it safely across.

There are ample warning systems for pedestrians, Foster said.
"There's only so much transit can do, the city can do, (police) can do," Foster said.

"It all comes down to an individual's decision to flout the rules."

[Bonded]

Pour soul, Whenever I see these things I am always scared it is one of my sisters.

[jar_e]

Talk about a broken record with these pedestrians vs. trains...hard to be entirely sympathetic when it was totally preventable on her part.

[Nehkara]

Originally Posted by jar_e

Talk about a broken record with these pedestrians vs. trains...hard to be entirely sympathetic when it was totally preventable on her part.

I'm sympathetic. If other people are crossing you tend to think it is okay for you to do it as well. Might not be right but its just a fact.

She made a mistake. Very sadly, she died for her mistake.

Similarly to missdpuck, I accidentally ran a red light the other night and felt awful after... at any point you can make a simple mistake and occasionally if you are unlucky enough you die from it.

[Wormius]

I don't fully understand why the city can't install a system that makes it impossible to cross while the train is crossing - like a turnstyle that locks until the trains have passed. This isn't excusing human error in crossing, but it seems a little to easy to end up in the way of a train in this city. I also find it kind of dumb that the C-Train pops up by Stampede Park. A subway type system could have been employed, instead of messing up that whole Macleod Tr. & 21st Ave. intersection.

[ken0042]

I wonder with these level crossings- are some of them setup where you are sometimes supposed to cross when the bell and lights are going?

Look at 9th street at 5th ave SW. If a train is waiting to cross the lights and bells will start right when the light turns green for 5th ave traffic. Which also means pedestrians are supposed to cross at that point; they even get the walk symbol. Now I know this because I work close to that crossing and I have seen how it works. It is just counter-intuitive to cross when the lights and bells are going.

I just wonder if some lights along 36 street NE are the same, and the person thought she was safe to cross when really she wasn't.

[Wormius]

I also think its partly to do with the looking down at their cells phones, their peripheral vision catches some people crossing, and they just follow.

[pylon]

People nowadays are in lala land with iPods.

It would be interesting to see the stats on iPod related deaths, similar to this one. I have almost run down at least a dozen joggers completely zoned out by iPods on city bike paths, because they just walk right out onto the path without looking.

I in turn have walked right into a guy at the gym that was doing deadlifts, because I was busy changing playlists, and wasn't paying attention.

Great devices, but man they can be hazardous to your health.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by Wormius

I don't fully understand why the city can't install a system that makes it impossible to cross while the train is crossing - like a turnstyle that locks until the trains have passed. This isn't excusing human error in crossing, but it seems a little to easy to end up in the way of a train in this city. I also find it kind of dumb that the C-Train pops up by Stampede Park. A subway type system could have been employed, instead of messing up that whole Macleod Tr. & 21st Ave. intersection.

Sure a subway system could have been used, it also would have entailed significant costs. As for making it impossible to cross, I don't see how that's at all possible. There are significant warnings and barriers present, if someone wants to cross despite those they will cross despite any other devices that are implemented. You can't protect everyone from everything.

[Jake]

Really sad news.

There are some terrible/thoughtless posts in this thread. Everyone makes mistakes like this. Nobody deserves to die for them.

[NuclearPizzaMan]

Originally Posted by pylon

People nowadays are in lala land with iPods.

It would be interesting to see the stats on iPod related deaths, similar to this one. I have almost run down at least a dozen joggers completely zoned out by iPods on city bike paths, because they just walk right out onto the path without looking.

I in turn have walked right into a guy at the gym that was doing deadlifts, because I was busy changing playlists, and wasn't paying attention.

Great devices, but man they can be hazardous to your health.

In no way are these devices hazardous to your health. YOU are responsible for being aware of your surroundings and acting accordingly. If you wrap your head in a blindfold before crossing the road, the blindfold is not responsible for the result.

[LGA]

Accidents like this make me feel better about my overly paranoid ritual when I cross train tracks. I take my headphones out, look both ways, wait a moment or two after the arms go back up, then cross.

[NuclearPizzaMan]

Originally Posted by LGA

Accidents like this make me feel better about my overly paranoid ritual when I cross train tracks. I take my headphones out, look both ways, wait a moment or two after the arms go back up, then cross.

That is not overly paranoid. You listen for a train, you look both ways for a train, and you wait until the safety bars have reached neutral position? That sounds pretty reasonable to me.

[calumniate]

Originally Posted by ken0042

More details:
The 34-year-old woman stopped to wait for a northbound train to pass at 36th Street and Marlborough Drive N.E. and then stepped in front of an oncoming southbound train.

So that explains it. She saw the lights, stopped, and a train passed. Brain fart occurs and she doesn't look for a train coming the other way.

Ah, a friend of mine did this at SAIT. He's a blue collar guy, had a meeting there in the morning and probably hadn't yet had his coffee and was dreading the day full of meetings. He waited for the first train to fly by.. once that happened everything 'seemed' quiet, like there was no other train coming.

Long story short he almost did the same thing, and SAIT has an awesome bend in the track near the station and can screen your view of another train. So my only conclusion is don't try to 'listen' for trains, just obey the signs. Seems like this can happen to even the best of us.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by valo403

Sure a subway system could have been used, it also would have entailed significant costs. As for making it impossible to cross, I don't see how that's at all possible. There are significant warnings and barriers present, if someone wants to cross despite those they will cross despite any other devices that are implemented. You can't protect everyone from everything.

A turn-style should make it impossible for people to inadvertently cross or get shoved into the path of a train. I doubt this would cost much to implement.

I am sure a debate could be made about the cost/savings of elevating or burying the C-train along 7th Ave or wherever traffic is impeded. It just seems ridiculous that the train is underground right up until 25th Ave where it screws up traffic at that intersection.