Passenger Trains > Female cyclist dies in Rail Runner collision (Santa Fe)

Excerpted:

Zia Road west of St. Francis Drive closed late Saturday morning after a female bicyclist was fatally hit by a southbound New Mexico Rail Runner Express train at about 11 a.m., Santa Fe Police Department officials said.

Officials said the train was carrying 99 passengers, and they began exiting the train at about 12:30. Officials were questioning passengers about the accident before they began boarding city buses.

Passenger Steve Duran of Las Cruces, who had taken the Rail Runner to Santa Fe from Albuquerque earlier Saturday and had been heading back to the city on the southbound train, told a New Mexican reporter that he could still see the woman's body under the train as he disembarked.

All trains from and to Santa Fe are delayed as crews investigate the incident, police said, adding at about 1 p.m. that the investigation was expected to take several more hours.

This collision is the second this week for the Rail Runner. On Monday, a southbound train fatally hit a pedestrian in Albuquerque.

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/police-female-bicyclist-dies-in-rail-runner-collision/article_bb299898-d937-5ce9-b2fe-2d90e9665faf.html


The ABQ Journal reports gates and lights were flashing and the train was only traveling about 30 mph at that location in the city.
http://www.abqjournal.com/386586/abqnewsseeker/bicyclist-struck-and-killed-by-rail-runner.html



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/19/14 13:15 by Cumbresfan.

http://main.abqjournal.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/rail-1000x750.jpg

So lets see, we install gates, we install 4 quadrant gates, we install ped gates, we install cattle fencing. just what is it going to take to keep people from killing themselves by train? The obvious doesn't work, so maybe cargo nets from above?

Not saying this crossing had all the above mentioned equipment, but it does have lights, gates and bells. Maybe the tin man was right in his wishes.

sp5312 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So lets see, we install gates, we install 4
> quadrant gates, we install ped gates, we install
> cattle fencing. just what is it going to take to
> keep people from killing themselves by train? The
> obvious doesn't work, so maybe cargo nets from
> above?
>
> Not saying this crossing had all the above
> mentioned equipment, but it does have lights,
> gates and bells. Maybe the tin man was right in
> his wishes.

It will take the reversal of over half a century of people being told trains are unimportant and not to be taken seriously. We still read this on TO.

Ptolemy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> sp5312 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > So lets see, we install gates, we install 4
> > quadrant gates, we install ped gates, we
> install
> > cattle fencing. just what is it going to take
> to
> > keep people from killing themselves by train?
> The
> > obvious doesn't work, so maybe cargo nets from
> > above?
> >
> > Not saying this crossing had all the above
> > mentioned equipment, but it does have lights,
> > gates and bells. Maybe the tin man was right in
> > his wishes.
>
> It will take the reversal of over half a century
> of people being told trains are unimportant and
> not to be taken seriously. We still read this on
> TO.


Can you post a link to something that tells people to disregarded activated crossing protection? Can you post a link that tells people that activated crossing protection is unimportant and not to take it seriously?

Cumbresfan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Excerpted:

>
> The ABQ Journal reports gates and lights were
> flashing and the train was only traveling about 30
> mph at that location in the city.

Not exactly what the Journal said...
"He said the gates that warn drivers and pedestrians of an impending train were down and flashing by the time firefighters arrived."
May be a moot point but "...by the time firefighters arrived." My guess is that they were operating at the time of the incident but, that's not what the paper said.

edited mute to moot...thanks CA_Sou_MA_Agent!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/20/14 09:17 by FrensicPic.

You have to be an idiot, or extremely unlucky, to be killed by a train. I'll never understand it. It's so easy to simply look before crossing.

FrensicPic Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> May be a mute point but "...by the time
> firefighters arrived." . . .

It may be a moot one also.

earphones play a role or texting?

I can't believe ppl wear earbuds while biking, but they do . . . one less sense to help you know what's going on around you.

It's a busy intersection, too. Even without the train, it would have been hard to cross on a bike without being able to hear.

CA_Sou_MA_Agent Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> FrensicPic Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > May be a mute point but "...by the time
> > firefighters arrived." . . .
>
> It may be a moot one also.


Thanks ... got 'em mixed up!

FrensicPic Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Cumbresfan Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Excerpted:
>
> >
> > The ABQ Journal reports gates and lights were
> > flashing and the train was only traveling about
> 30
> > mph at that location in the city.
>
> Not exactly what the Journal said...
> "He said the gates that warn drivers and
> pedestrians of an impending train were down and
> flashing by the time firefighters arrived."
> May be a moot point but "...by the time
> firefighters arrived." My guess is that they were
> operating at the time of the incident but, that's
> not what the paper said.
>
> edited mute to moot...thanks CA_Sou_MA_Agent!

True; I misquoted the Journal article. However from the New Mexican:

According to witnesses of Saturday's collision, the woman, a 60-year-old Santa Fe resident, was wearing headphones as she was riding her bike westbound on Zia Road, said Santa Fe Police Department Lt. Andrew Padilla. Padilla said the crossing gates, which aim to prevent vehicular traffic from crossing the tracks while a train is passing, were down at the time, but witnesses told police the woman was riding on a sidewalk adjacent to the bars.

At that intersection there are quad gates and flashing lights.

Cumbresfan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> FrensicPic Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Cumbresfan Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Excerpted:
> >
> > >
> > > The ABQ Journal reports gates and lights were
> > > flashing and the train was only traveling
> about
> > 30
> > > mph at that location in the city.
> >
> > Not exactly what the Journal said...
> > "He said the gates that warn drivers and
> > pedestrians of an impending train were down and
> > flashing by the time firefighters arrived."
> > May be a moot point but "...by the time
> > firefighters arrived." My guess is that they
> were
> > operating at the time of the incident but,
> that's
> > not what the paper said.
> >
> > edited mute to moot...thanks CA_Sou_MA_Agent!
>
> True; I misquoted the Journal article. However
> from the New Mexican:
>
> According to witnesses of Saturday's collision,
> the woman, a 60-year-old Santa Fe resident, was
> wearing headphones as she was riding her bike
> westbound on Zia Road, said Santa Fe Police
> Department Lt. Andrew Padilla. Padilla said the
> crossing gates, which aim to prevent vehicular
> traffic from crossing the tracks while a train is
> passing, were down at the time, but witnesses told
> police the woman was riding on a sidewalk adjacent
> to the bars.
>
> At that intersection there are quad gates and
> flashing lights.


Well there ya go, lowered gates are only for automobiles, not bikes. If the old noodle was used just for a split second, you just might think, "hey, those gates are down for a reason, maybe I should stop and take a look."

sp5312 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well there ya go, lowered gates are only for
> automobiles, not bikes.

The lawyers may have a field day with this one. I've seen some crossings where they have a separate gate to protect pedestrian traffic. You see, it's not a question of whether or not people have common sense and can surmise that if a gate protecting highway traffic is activated, it might **ALSO** mean that pedestrian traffic should stop too. No, we have to have a "nanny state" that protects people in every aspect --- and some hotshot lawyer will claim that every crossing needs to have a separate gate to protect pedestrian traffic.

Don'tcha just love life in the twenty-first century?

CA_Sou_MA_Agent Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> sp5312 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Well there ya go, lowered gates are only for
> > automobiles, not bikes.
>
> The lawyers may have a field day with this one.
> I've seen some crossings where they have a
> separate gate to protect pedestrian traffic. You
> see, it's not a question of whether or not people
> have common sense and can surmise that if a gate
> protecting highway traffic is activated, it might
> **ALSO** mean that pedestrian traffic should stop
> too. No, we have to have a "nanny state" that
> protects people in every aspect --- and some
> hotshot lawyer will claim that every crossing
> needs to have a separate gate to protect
> pedestrian traffic.
>
> Don'tcha just love life in the twenty-first
> century?

21st century, the generation of "it's everyone else's fault but mine" It's just wonderful isn't it?