He was in a hurry to get to work. He won’t be in a hurry anymore. I am sure it took several hours just to scrap his remains out of his demolished vehicle, off the track and off the Brightline train.
Trying to beat a train that would have come and gone in less than 10 seconds.
And just one of many recent Darwin Award winners (or nominees) in the last several months with Brightline.
They just don’t seem to understand the concept that a Brightline train travels multiple the speed of a Florida East Coast Railway train.
His kids, step kids and fiancé are with out a father/husband because he was a stupid moron.
And worse yet, all these morons are going to drive up costs by forcing Florida East Coast Railway to build enhanced barriers at all crossings.
I hope we don’t have to go to the lengths they go in Europe to save morons from themselves.
Raised concrete barriers that make it impossible for vehicles to force their way across. That is an extremely expensive undertaking.
We certainly will have to go to four quadrant crossing arms, where both sides of the road are blocked on both sides of the track.
It would be cheaper if people would just stop being morons, but we all know THAT will never happen.
I should also mention this incident in Frostproof, Florida involving an Amtrak train.
Same deal, driver went around crossing arms to try to beat the train. The vehicle was literally split cleanly in half.
The driver survived with injuries.
The driver’s sister and the sister’s baby in the back seat were both killed.
Bet that lady will have a lot to think about every day for the rest of her life. Essentially murdering her sister and nephew/niece for the sake of gaining perhaps 30 seconds.
We live in a world where bottles labeled “rat poison” have to have a full explanation on why you shouldn’t ingest it.
Humans like to brag that we are the smartest of all the apes. Yet I don’t see Gorillas doing dumb ■■■■ like we do every day.
2 Likes
Darwin award, indeed.
From the article:
“What needs to happen is education and proper behavior around railroad tracks,” said Brightline Senior VP Ben Porritt. “The railroad is safe. It is behavior that we need to educate and change around these railroad tracks.”
Seems to me there is already plenty of education around railroad tracks. Not sure what else could be taught on the matter.
My grandfather had a saying: “If you don’t want to listen, you’re gonna have to feel.”
1 Like
It should be common sense.
“Oh wow, that object is thousands of times my mass and is traveling at high speed. Maybe I should be patient instead of running in front of it because if I do that there’s a chance I could get smashed by it.”
1 Like
Oh, I don’t know. Monkeys aren’t exactly rocket surgeons….
1 Like
What is done in Europe to prevent such accidents?
Incidentally I do believe being a father disqualifies one from winning a Darwin Award, and it appears this doofus was both a stepdad and a dad.
Also don’t you have to die in a pretty creative manner to get one? Trying to beat a train is stupid, but not very creative.
Shooting oneself in the head with a firecracker, like the young Beauty and the Beast performer, now that’s getting creative.
A hunter panicking when encountering a snake, and he gets shot when the snake slithers up his rifle & manages to squeeze the trigger, now that’s original.
Or falling asleep on your roof under the stars, forgetting the roof is slanted & rolling to your death—that’s why these awards exist.
I’m sorry if Florida actually tries to protect these idiots from themselves. It not only will raise costs, but what harm will come if someone whose dumb enough to beat the train gets hit and dpares the universe their DNA?
Pick up all volumes of The Darwin Awards books & make yourself laugh.
I’ve always taken “Darwin award” to be a play on Darwin’s theory of the survival of the fittest. The unfit fail. Nothing about creativity in that.
Someone who thinks he can outrun a train is demonstrating unfitness.
2 Likes
