As Dennis would say PRACTICE PANIC STOPS

[Charlie]

Kind of graphic but this is why you should practice panic stops!!!!!!!


www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMggpnnt6FQ&NR

[fangerman]

That's absolutely crazy! I think the panic stop wouldn't have helped him, though. It looks like the guy just wasn't paying attention to what was going on around him. I'll agree with the panic stop necessity. If you don't know how to do it, LEARN.

[A J]

charlie said:

Kind of graphic but this is why you should practice panic stops!!!!!!!
/quote

OUCH !
When I see a video like this, I always wonder how the video was running just at that time to catch that action.

[earlwb]

People getting hit by trains, unforutantely, seems to be an all too common occurrance nowadays. Everyone seems to take it for granted that the train will stop. But of course you know trains can't stop, not in any semblance of stopping as we know it, it takes them a long time. I have witnessed morons trying to beat the train with the lights, signals, and guard barriers down no less, before. It wasn't pretty.
Of course you should see the moron drivers panic at rush hour when they stop on the tracks near an intersection, and that is when the train happens to come along. There isn't any place for them to go in bumper to bumper traffic either, and the guard rails are down too.
it was a big freight train no less, and it could not stop.

[Dennis D]

Yeah, I don't really think this one was a failed ability to do panic stops. The deal there is, NEVER go riding across blind intersections without slowing down and making ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that someone isn't coming, no matter who has the right of way.

Driveways and alleys in quiet residential areas take out lots of motorcyclists every year. The guy who just drives right out of his garage, down the alley and into the street 250 days a year uneventfully with barely a sideways glance and is generally unlikely to encounter anyone coming even if he came blasting out of there every morning, sure isn't going to see you. And that car that's always parked at the end of a driveway every day when you go by, just could have a driver in it this time. One who doesn't see you as they glance over their shoulder, and is just waiting til you get there to back out into the street.

Practicing panic stops won't do any good unless you slow down enough to identify the possible hazards before you get to them.

[fulltimerart]

All I can say is WOW! It does look like the driver was distracted or confused and all of a sudden there was a train there. I too think a panic stop wouldnt have helped here, ya gotta pay attention to whats going on around you---its not like a train can sneak up on you. I hope he came out of this OK. Art

[Charlie]

I'm thinking that he didn't survive. That sign went down with him and I think he hit it with his body! Argh. When I was much, much younger I was delivering groceries with a 52 Chevy panel van and the damn thing died on the tracks and yup, a train was coming. I got the thing started in the nick of time (thinking I would lose my job if the van got destroyed) but, never gave a thought about dying, boy has that changed ...lol getting older sucks

[warchild63]

Whoa! after seeing that vid and reading the posts; simply put he was not paying attention approaching a blind intersection. Also, one may think a train makes a lot of noise, as a railfan I can tell you by experience that those trains (freight and commuter) can sneak up on ya right quick.

[aa8vl]

Very true. I lived next to railroad tracks as a kid and played on them all the time. Cant tell you how many times the train was just seconds away when not paying attention. The railroad tracks in my town do not have gates and many no lights...just a yield sign...so you must be very careful.