Horrible accident with an amazing end. Warning: OT
Ignoramus21235
Royston Vasey
"Ignoramus21235" <ignoram...@NOSPAM.21235.invalid> wrote in message
news:AZSdnRXTzK1jEdPW...@giganews.com...
In a similar OT vein - stroller + baby under train in Oz, baby not injured.
So why do train platforms slope toward the tracks???
Bill McKee
"Ignoramus21235" <ignoram...@NOSPAM.21235.invalid> wrote in message
news:AZSdnRXTzK1jEdPW...@giganews.com...
Extremely lucky. In the 1970's a truck frame collapsed and crushed the car
behind me. Between my coworker and me. I had just passed the truck.
Killed the 2 ladies in the car behind me.
Larry Jaques
<ignoram...@NOSPAM.21235.invalid> scrawled the following:
>Reminds me of my own collision with a moving train.
You hit a train? Whuffo? More info and pics, please!
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuNjOfan0zA
He's lucky:
A) it was a soft-sided truck
and
B) it wasn't filled with heavy machinery that day.
C) they didn't deport the illegal son of a bitch.
--
What helps luck is a habit of watching for opportunities, of
having a patient, but restless mind, of sacrificing one's
ease or vanity, of uniting a love of detail to foresight, and
of passing through hard times bravely and cheerfully.
-- Charles Victor Cherbuliez
Ignoramus3181
> On Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:18:22 -0600, the infamous Ignoramus21235
><ignoram...@NOSPAM.21235.invalid> scrawled the following:
>
>>Reminds me of my own collision with a moving train.
>
> You hit a train? Whuffo? More info and pics, please!
It was a crossing without a warning light or a gate.
It was dark, I was tired, the train was slow, and I did not notice
it passing in front of me. I had about 1 year of experience driving.
I did hit the brake, but it was too late.
I was lucky because I hit the wheel carriage in the middle of the
train, and my car was thrown out instead of getting dragged under the
train.
I had a couple of small scratches on my knees. The car was totaled.
No pics.
i
Jim Wilkins
wrote:
> ...
> It was dark, I was tired, the train was slow, and I did not notice
> it passing in front of me. I had about 1 year of experience driving.
> i
An article in the paper here some years ago wondered why so many
people drove into slow trains at crossings.
So I watched. The ribbed wall of a boxcar looks very much like the
ribbed siding on a warehouse. If you swing your head to check the side
mirror for another car trying to sneak around the motion of the train
isn't that evident. The wheels don't have spokes, which are what I use
to detect a car creeping forward to jump into the intersection.
What's even stranger is that you can walk into an elephant. Unless you
see the outline their nondescript skin texture blends in and their
long legs look like posts or tree trunks.
I didn't actually walk into it but got within maybe 20 meters. It was
at an animal park that had been closed and empty for several years. I
smelled the beast from a distance and approached carefully upwind. It
was chained under a canopy that obscured the upper outline.
I had read John Taylor's story of smacking into one he was hunting in
thick brush and wanted to see how far away I could spot it. We see
shape with our sharp central vision and motion with the rest, and a
stationary elephant or slow-moving train against a cluttered
background may not immediately trigger either one. I can catch sight
of a chipmunk further away because they trigger both.
jsw
Ignoramus3181
> On Jan 14, 12:58?pm, Ignoramus3181 <ignoramus3...@NOSPAM.3181.invalid>
> wrote:
>> ...
>> It was dark, I was tired, the train was slow, and I did not notice
>> it passing in front of me. I had about 1 year of experience driving.
> ...
>> i
>
> An article in the paper here some years ago wondered why so many
> people drove into slow trains at crossings.
Very interesting.
In my case, admittedly, I could pay more attention, and it was my
fault 100%, but what was in front of me did not fit a stereotype of a
train that existed in my mind.
The brown/grey, dirty train blended very well with brown/grey, dirty
background, it was moving slowly, so I did not notice empty spaces
between cars, etc. I did not really see a "moving object".
> So I watched. The ribbed wall of a boxcar looks very much like the
> ribbed siding on a warehouse.
Yep
> If you swing your head to check the side mirror for another car
> trying to sneak around the motion of the train isn't that
> evident. The wheels don't have spokes, which are what I use to
> detect a car creeping forward to jump into the intersection.
I was very lucky to remain alive, the luck was that I hit the wheel
and did not go under the train.
However, the chance of me hitting that wheel was about 25% or less,
and I am, to date, very unhappy about the "other possibility".
A very simple measure could help, which is to install reflectors on
the sides of the train cars. Should cost under $20 per train car.
> What's even stranger is that you can walk into an elephant. Unless you
> see the outline their nondescript skin texture blends in and their
> long legs look like posts or tree trunks.
>
> I didn't actually walk into it but got within maybe 20 meters. It was
> at an animal park that had been closed and empty for several years. I
> smelled the beast from a distance and approached carefully upwind. It
> was chained under a canopy that obscured the upper outline.
>
> I had read John Taylor's story of smacking into one he was hunting in
> thick brush and wanted to see how far away I could spot it. We see
> shape with our sharp central vision and motion with the rest, and a
> stationary elephant or slow-moving train against a cluttered
> background may not immediately trigger either one. I can catch sight
> of a chipmunk further away because they trigger both.
Yes, our ability to notice things is very limited if those things are
somehow masqueraded.
i
Jim Wilkins
wrote:
> ...
> A very simple measure could help, which is to install reflectors on
> the sides of the train cars. Should cost under $20 per train car.
F. George McDuffee
how about a simple white stripe on a diagional on the sides of
the cars?
Unka George (George McDuffee)
..............................
The past is a foreign country;
they do things differently there.
L. P. Hartley (1895-1972), British author.
The Go-Between, Prologue (1953).
Ignoramus3181
Jim, This is great tape.
After having my mailbox hit several times by careless drivers (I
am positive that it was not malicious), I have installed this
conspicuity tape on my mailbox. Coincidence or not, but it has not
been hit since. The tape is by now 2 years old, and still looks like
new, despite 2 years of weather exposure.
This mailbox also swivels if hit, to reduce damage from
snowplows. (one incident involved our village snowplow truck)
http://igor.chudov.com/projects/Mailbox/
This involved some welding (of rebar and the mailbox support arm).
i
Cydrome Leader
> On Jan 14, 12:58?pm, Ignoramus3181 <ignoramus3...@NOSPAM.3181.invalid>
> wrote:
>> ...
>> It was dark, I was tired, the train was slow, and I did not notice
>> it passing in front of me. I had about 1 year of experience driving.
> ...
>> i
>
> An article in the paper here some years ago wondered why so many
> people drove into slow trains at crossings.
>
> So I watched. The ribbed wall of a boxcar looks very much like the
> ribbed siding on a warehouse. If you swing your head to check the side
Do the same people who drive into trains also drive into warehouses-
because they looked like parked trains?
Jim Wilkins
> Jim Wilkins <kb1...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > On Jan 14, 12:58?pm, Ignoramus3181 <ignoramus3...@NOSPAM.3181.invalid>
>
> Do the same people who drive into trains also drive into warehouses-
> because they looked like parked trains?
They drive into houses, stores, trucks, gas pumps, boulders, rivers,
anything that looks like a cell phone screen.
jsw
Stuart Wheaton
> C) they didn't deport the illegal son of a bitch.
Wow Larry, just because he speaks another language, you are certain of
his immigration status?
William Wixon
"Jim Wilkins" <kb1...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:0ba6ba37-48ca-4c29...@c3g2000yqd.googlegroups.com...
jsw
LOL. good one.
b.w.
RoyJ
http://www.jmdmanufacturing.com/post.php
I've seen a plow operator drop the blade just before hitting the box,
completely cleans the snow out from under it but also spins the box like
a target at the range.
Bill Noble
"Larry Jaques" <novalidaddress@di\/ersify.com> wrote in message
news:o7muk59hb1ghn5del...@4ax.com...
> He's lucky:
>
> A) it was a soft-sided truck
> and
> B) it wasn't filled with heavy machinery that day.
> C) they didn't deport the illegal son of a bitch.
are you aware that it is possible to be in the USA and speak a language
other than english and still be legal? One can be born here and not speak
much english, one can have a legal visa of any number of types, or one can
have a permanent resident card. In this country, as opposed to whatever
country you are actually from, we believe in the rule that you are innocent
until proven guilty, not the napoleonic code. How would you like it if it
were you, and you were accused of being illegal because someone thought you
looked foreign or had an odd accent - maybe you sounded canadian or
newzeelandish?
Larry Jaques
<ignora...@NOSPAM.3181.invalid> scrawled the following:
>On 2010-01-14, Larry Jaques <novalidaddress@di> wrote:
>> On Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:18:22 -0600, the infamous Ignoramus21235
>><ignoram...@NOSPAM.21235.invalid> scrawled the following:
>>
>>>Reminds me of my own collision with a moving train.
>>
>> You hit a train? Whuffo? More info and pics, please!
>
>It was a crossing without a warning light or a gate.
>
>It was dark, I was tired, the train was slow, and I did not notice
>it passing in front of me. I had about 1 year of experience driving.
>
>I did hit the brake, but it was too late.
OMG! You ran right into a large, moving train?!? So you had only 1
year driving experience, but how many years riding and watching?
Man, that's a bad one, Ig. You literally "hit the broad side of a
barn" with that one. Glad you made it! How slow was slow?
>I was lucky because I hit the wheel carriage in the middle of the
>train, and my car was thrown out instead of getting dragged under the
>train.
You bet you were lucky. Had the wheel ridden up on the car, it would
have smashed it down and cut right through it, probably taken your
legs, at minimum, in the process.
>I had a couple of small scratches on my knees. The car was totaled.
>
>No pics.
No, I guess not.
--
The greatest fine art of the future will be the making
of a comfortable living from a small piece of land.
--Abraham Lincoln
Larry Jaques
<ignora...@NOSPAM.3181.invalid> scrawled the following:
>On 2010-01-14, Jim Wilkins <kb1...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Jan 14, 12:58?pm, Ignoramus3181 <ignoramus3...@NOSPAM.3181.invalid>
>> wrote:
>>> ...
>>> It was dark, I was tired, the train was slow, and I did not notice
>>> it passing in front of me. I had about 1 year of experience driving.
>> ...
>>> i
>>
>> An article in the paper here some years ago wondered why so many
>> people drove into slow trains at crossings.
>
>Very interesting.
>
>In my case, admittedly, I could pay more attention, and it was my
>fault 100%, but what was in front of me did not fit a stereotype of a
>train that existed in my mind.
>
>The brown/grey, dirty train blended very well with brown/grey, dirty
>background, it was moving slowly, so I did not notice empty spaces
>between cars, etc. I did not really see a "moving object".
Right, so you drove smack dab into a 10' high SOLID WALL. Good one,
Ig. <g> How much had you had to drink/smoke/drop?
>A very simple measure could help, which is to install reflectors on
>the sides of the train cars. Should cost under $20 per train car.
Until the kids break them all off. Y'know, those who are already there
tagging the cars at night.
>Yes, our ability to notice things is very limited if those things are
>somehow masqueraded.
Hence the caveat "Drive Defensively!" is driven into our skulls by our
parents, teachers, driver's ed pamphlets, DMVs, and the media.
Larry Jaques
<gmcd...@mcduffee-associates.us> scrawled the following:
>On Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:19:34 -0800 (PST), Jim Wilkins
><kb1...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>On Jan 14, 2:37�pm, Ignoramus3181 <ignoramus3...@NOSPAM.3181.invalid>
>>wrote:
>>> ...
>>> A very simple measure could help, which is to install reflectors on
>>> the sides of the train cars. Should cost under $20 per train car.
>>> i
>>
>>http://www.anytimesign.com/3m_conspicuity_tape.htm
>how about a simple white stripe on a diagional on the sides of
>the cars?
Both "tagged over" in seconds.
Bill McKee
"F. George McDuffee" <gmcd...@mcduffee-associates.us> wrote in message
news:7s6vk5hqp9odiu52v...@4ax.com...
Most of the railcars these days are moving art displays.
Ignoramus3181
> On Thu, 14 Jan 2010 11:58:48 -0600, the infamous Ignoramus3181
><ignora...@NOSPAM.3181.invalid> scrawled the following:
>
>>On 2010-01-14, Larry Jaques <novalidaddress@di> wrote:
>>> On Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:18:22 -0600, the infamous Ignoramus21235
>>><ignoram...@NOSPAM.21235.invalid> scrawled the following:
>>>
>>>>Reminds me of my own collision with a moving train.
>>>
>>> You hit a train? Whuffo? More info and pics, please!
>>
>>It was a crossing without a warning light or a gate.
>>
>>It was dark, I was tired, the train was slow, and I did not notice
>>it passing in front of me. I had about 1 year of experience driving.
>>
>>I did hit the brake, but it was too late.
>
> OMG! You ran right into a large, moving train?!? So you had only 1
> year driving experience, but how many years riding and watching?
Also one year.
> Man, that's a bad one, Ig. You literally "hit the broad side of a
> barn" with that one. Glad you made it! How slow was slow?
I would say, the train was going 10-15 MPH at most.
>
>>I was lucky because I hit the wheel carriage in the middle of the
>>train, and my car was thrown out instead of getting dragged under the
>>train.
>
> You bet you were lucky. Had the wheel ridden up on the car, it would
> have smashed it down and cut right through it, probably taken your
> legs, at minimum, in the process.
I think that my chances would be rather slim, as the car would be
dragged along with the train.
>
>>I had a couple of small scratches on my knees. The car was totaled.
>>
>>No pics.
>
> No, I guess not.
>
i
Ignoramus3181
><ignora...@NOSPAM.3181.invalid> scrawled the following:
>
>>On 2010-01-14, Jim Wilkins <kb1...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> On Jan 14, 12:58?pm, Ignoramus3181 <ignoramus3...@NOSPAM.3181.invalid>
>>> wrote:
>>>> ...
>>>> It was dark, I was tired, the train was slow, and I did not notice
>>>> it passing in front of me. I had about 1 year of experience driving.
>>> ...
>>>> i
>>>
>>> An article in the paper here some years ago wondered why so many
>>> people drove into slow trains at crossings.
>>
>>Very interesting.
>>
>>In my case, admittedly, I could pay more attention, and it was my
>>fault 100%, but what was in front of me did not fit a stereotype of a
>>train that existed in my mind.
>>
>>The brown/grey, dirty train blended very well with brown/grey, dirty
>>background, it was moving slowly, so I did not notice empty spaces
>>between cars, etc. I did not really see a "moving object".
>
> Right, so you drove smack dab into a 10' high SOLID WALL. Good one,
> Ig. <g> How much had you had to drink/smoke/drop?
I was not drunk. I was tired after a work day and gym.
> Hence the caveat "Drive Defensively!" is driven into our skulls by our
> parents, teachers, driver's ed pamphlets, DMVs, and the media.
>
I think that I have learned that, right then.
i
Wild_Bill
eaten by dingos.
--
WB
.........
metalworking projects
www.kwagmire.com/metal_proj.html
"Royston Vasey" <roy...@vasey.com> wrote in message
news:svydndKpzNTxO9PW...@westnet.com.au...
Larry Jaques
<ignora...@NOSPAM.3181.invalid> scrawled the following:
>On 2010-01-15, Larry Jaques <novalidaddress@di> wrote:
>> On Thu, 14 Jan 2010 11:58:48 -0600, the infamous Ignoramus3181
>><ignora...@NOSPAM.3181.invalid> scrawled the following:
>>
>>>On 2010-01-14, Larry Jaques <novalidaddress@di> wrote:
>>>> On Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:18:22 -0600, the infamous Ignoramus21235
>>>><ignoram...@NOSPAM.21235.invalid> scrawled the following:
>>>>
>>>>>Reminds me of my own collision with a moving train.
>>>>
>>>> You hit a train? Whuffo? More info and pics, please!
>>>
>>>It was a crossing without a warning light or a gate.
>>>
>>>It was dark, I was tired, the train was slow, and I did not notice
>>>it passing in front of me. I had about 1 year of experience driving.
>>>
>>>I did hit the brake, but it was too late.
>>
>> OMG! You ran right into a large, moving train?!? So you had only 1
>> year driving experience, but how many years riding and watching?
>
>Also one year.
Really? How is it that you'd never been in a car until you got your
license? Very unusual.
>> Man, that's a bad one, Ig. You literally "hit the broad side of a
>> barn" with that one. Glad you made it! How slow was slow?
>
>I would say, the train was going 10-15 MPH at most.
Wow, I'da thunk you'd see the lights showing from behind the cars as
the couplers went by in front of you. If it ws dark, I can see where
you'd miss that. You sure lucked out.
Ignoramus28589
> On Thu, 14 Jan 2010 23:48:58 -0600, the infamous Ignoramus3181
><ignora...@NOSPAM.3181.invalid> scrawled the following:
>
>>On 2010-01-15, Larry Jaques <novalidaddress@di> wrote:
>>> On Thu, 14 Jan 2010 11:58:48 -0600, the infamous Ignoramus3181
>>><ignora...@NOSPAM.3181.invalid> scrawled the following:
>>>
>>>>On 2010-01-14, Larry Jaques <novalidaddress@di> wrote:
>>>>> On Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:18:22 -0600, the infamous Ignoramus21235
>>>>><ignoram...@NOSPAM.21235.invalid> scrawled the following:
>>>>>
>>>>>>Reminds me of my own collision with a moving train.
>>>>>
>>>>> You hit a train? Whuffo? More info and pics, please!
>>>>
>>>>It was a crossing without a warning light or a gate.
>>>>
>>>>It was dark, I was tired, the train was slow, and I did not notice
>>>>it passing in front of me. I had about 1 year of experience driving.
>>>>
>>>>I did hit the brake, but it was too late.
>>>
>>> OMG! You ran right into a large, moving train?!? So you had only 1
>>> year driving experience, but how many years riding and watching?
>>
>>Also one year.
>
> Really? How is it that you'd never been in a car until you got your
> license? Very unusual.
I did not drive and I did not ride cars much, until I immigrated here.
>
>>> Man, that's a bad one, Ig. You literally "hit the broad side of a
>>> barn" with that one. Glad you made it! How slow was slow?
>>
>>I would say, the train was going 10-15 MPH at most.
>
> Wow, I'da thunk you'd see the lights showing from behind the cars as
> the couplers went by in front of you. If it ws dark, I can see where
> you'd miss that. You sure lucked out.
>
Yep, indeed.
i
Stuart Wheaton
I used to work with a guy who had done a lot of art on railcars. The
guy was an amazing painter with a spray can or airbrush. I was giving
him Hell for being a vandal, and he explained that the fraternity of the
top artists actually have a 'code of ethics' if you will, and they will
not paint over car numbers, warnings, content labels, and other
important markings. In truth, it is partly self serving, a car with
really neat art on it will generally be left alone, but if the required
markings are obscured the car will be repainted, which covers or alters
the art. They will decorate, not deface or damage.
This doesn't apply to all the guys out there, but it does apply to some.
My friend went on to painting murals on buildings for serious
commissions, and then left town to work in a tattoo shop.
Larry Jaques
<ignoram...@NOSPAM.28589.invalid> scrawled the following:
>On 2010-01-15, Larry Jaques <novalidaddress@di> wrote:
>> Really? How is it that you'd never been in a car until you got your
>> license? Very unusual.
>
>I did not drive and I did not ride cars much, until I immigrated here.
No Zil limousines in Ziberia, eh, Comrade? ;) (I just started
Stephen Hunter's _Havana_ and one of the characters is from a 1959
Siberian gulag where his new boss just picked him up in a Zil limo.)
Jim Wilkins
wrote:
> On Fri, 15 Jan 2010 14:09:45 -0600, the infamous Ignoramus28589
> ...
> >I did not drive and I did not ride cars much, until I immigrated here.
>
> No Zil limousines in Ziberia, eh, Comrade? ;) (I just started
> Stephen Hunter's _Havana_ and one of the characters is from a 1959
> Siberian gulag where his new boss just picked him up in a Zil limo.)
I haven't been to Russia but I lived in Germany for a couple of years.
Public transportation was far better than here and in a small city
people didn't need and couldn't park cars. I managed with a bicycle
for a while.
jsw
Gunner Asch
wrote:
>
>I didn't actually walk into it but got within maybe 20 meters. It was
>at an animal park that had been closed and empty for several years
So where did it come from?
Gunner
"I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion of the
means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not
making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of
it. In my youth I travelled much, and I observed in different
countries, that the more public provisions were made for the
poor the less they provided for themselves, and of course became
poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the
more they did for themselves, and became richer." -- Benjamin
Franklin, /The Encouragement of Idleness/, 1766
Jim Wilkins
> On Thu, 14 Jan 2010 11:05:58 -0800 (PST), Jim Wilkins <kb1...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >I didn't actually walk into it but got within maybe 20 meters. It was
> >at an animal park that had been closed and empty for several years
>
> So where did it come from?
>
> Gunner
IIRC it had been sold and the new exhibit wasn't ready, or something
like that, so the original owner took it in. He even had elephants at
his house for a while. An engineer I worked for who was his neighbor
had a grapefruit-sized ball of compacted straw on his desk as a curio.
Guess what it really was!
The reindeer stayed for a while after the park closed, too. Zoos in
general aren't doing well and the animals are moved around when one
has to cut back. The local paper keeps up with the whereabouts of the
more popular ones.
jsw
Michael A. Terrell
Jim Wilkins wrote:
>
> IIRC it had been sold and the new exhibit wasn't ready, or something
> like that, so the original owner took it in. He even had elephants at
> his house for a while. An engineer I worked for who was his neighbor
> had a grapefruit-sized ball of compacted straw on his desk as a curio.
> Guess what it really was!
An unpolished turd.
--
Greed is the root of all eBay.
David R.Birch
You beat me to it, I was going to say Cliff, too.
David
Jim Wilkins
> Michael A. Terrell wrote:
> > Jim Wilkins wrote:
> >> had a grapefruit-sized ball of compacted straw on his desk as a curio.
> >> Guess what it really was!
>
> > An unpolished turd.
>
> You beat me to it, I was going to say Cliff, too.
>
> David
It wasn't THAT offensive.
Michael A. Terrell
Cliffie & Hawkie are a subset of the 'unpolished turd' class.