# A kid got hit by a train here the other day, he had his earbuds in **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 6, 2009, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179 "2009-12-06T06:57:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/21 "2009-12-06T13:26:23Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > I often tell people that there’s no way to get hit by a train that does not make you an idiot - barring a guy with a handlebar mustache tying you to the tracks. > > Their immediate reaction is to say “that’s not true, what if… uh… like… well…” > > They’re all Darwin award candidates. Got hit from behind while walking down train tracks with music blasting so high on your ipod that you can’t hear a train? FUCK YEAH! Glad your sperm will not be meeting an egg. > > I mean, come on. This is nothing like getting hit by a car, although that’s generally the result of stupidity too. Trains only travel on one place - in train tracks, in exactly predictable patterns. They are also gigantic and easy to see. They also make a ton of noise. Aside from the last sentence, the GOOD, I agree with this completely. Fine, call me evil. But it impossible to get hit by a train unless you’re doing something stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Peg\_Leg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/90db22/32.png) [@Peg\_Leg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peg_Leg)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/22 "2009-12-06T13:41:45Z")
Interestingly enough, I heard [this](http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09111754-walking-hazard-cell-phone-use-but-not-music-reduces-pedestrian-safety) on VOA radio here yesterday. The Professor on the radio was saying that the cognitive ability required to listen to music while performing another function is so low that it has no effect on a pedestrians ability walk safely. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/23 "2009-12-06T13:59:39Z")
I guess I challenge the underlying assumption- just because someone’s acting stupid doesn’t mean their death is not a tragedy. People make stupid mistakes all the time. Doesn’t mean if they die from it it’s not terrible- what a wasted life, what a tragedy for the people that loved them and for the innocent people involved. Kids and teens in particular are prone to very poor judgment- it’s why we protect them legally from their own inexperience and youth. Was walking on the train tracks act? It was extremely foolish. Does he deserve a gruesome death and to be called an idiot- no. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/24 "2009-12-06T14:04:38Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Wonder what he was listening to? Train Kept A-Rollin’. Last year a pair of teenage girls near here thought it would be a good idea to take a nap on the train tracks while playing hooky. They missed out on winning a Darwin Award because while they both lost limbs, they survived. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/25 "2009-12-06T14:15:15Z")
> [@Peg\_Leg](#): > > Interestingly enough, I heard [this](http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09111754-walking-hazard-cell-phone-use-but-not-music-reduces-pedestrian-safety) on VOA radio here yesterday. > > The Professor on the radio was saying that the cognitive ability required to listen to music while performing another function is so low that it has no effect on a pedestrians ability walk safely. That’s not a valid comparison. Yes, you can listen to music without suffering the ability to walk and visually avoid traffic. No, you can’t listen to music without losing the ability to hear things approaching in your blind spot. Any pedestrian who dies in a traffic/train accident with earbuds in is a fucking moron. My sympathies are only for the victim’s famly. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/26 "2009-12-06T14:32:59Z")
I used to play near the railroad tracks all the time when I was a kid. I loved putting pennies on the rails and letting them get smashed flat by the train. I was smart enough to be afraid of trains though. If the kid was walking on the tracks when he died, I think it was a suicide. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/27 "2009-12-06T14:46:13Z")
**dnoonan** , did the news story you didn’t link to say that the earbuds \*caused \*the dead kid to be unaware of the train? Usually even if you can’t see or hear a train, if you’re a pedestrian you can \*feel \*it coming, especially if you’re on the tracks. I doubt the kid died because of the earbuds. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/28 "2009-12-06T15:32:56Z")
> [@dnooman](#): > > The sad reality, is that he should never have been on the tracks, and should have been aware of his surroundings. Please take another look at the last line of your OP, because it’s the ONLY relevant point. He didn’t die because he was listening to his ipod. He died because he was walking on the train tracks. That was stupid. Sometimes we are punished disproportionately for doing stupid things. It’s the way of the world. I’m the first to admit that effectively deafening yourself isn’t always a smart thing to do. Personally, while I’m walking, if I’m having any trouble at all seeing (too bright, too dark, wearing my glasses instead of my contacts), I don’t use my ipod, because that’s just too many of my senses compromised. But to blame this on the earbuds, when the kid was _walking on the railroad tracks_, is ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/29 "2009-12-06T15:37:51Z")
> [@Peg\_Leg](#): > > Interestingly enough, I heard [this](http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09111754-walking-hazard-cell-phone-use-but-not-music-reduces-pedestrian-safety) on VOA radio here yesterday. > > **The Professor on the radio was saying that the cognitive ability required to listen to music while performing another function is so low that it has no effect on a pedestrians ability walk safely.** Maybe he was also chewing gum. Along with all that’s been said about how loud a train is, you can feel the things when they get close. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/30 "2009-12-06T16:58:51Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > _Runaway Train_ by Soul Asylum? Oh man, on so many levels. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/31 "2009-12-06T17:02:22Z")
**dnooman** has obviously never actually stood on railroad tracks or worn earbuds. In addition to being able to hear outside noises through your earbuds and having the option of looking around to be certain of your surroundings, you can also FEEL the train coming through the railroad ties you are standing on. Also, I guess he doesn’t understand the difference between Broadway (with cars) and the subway where it’s odd to be standing on the tracks for any reason. When I am walking with my earbuds in, I am in the habit of doing a 360 rotation every once in a while to be sure I know what’s going on with my surroundings. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/32 "2009-12-06T17:18:11Z")
I think a bigger problem perhaps is that some people either use music to tune out the world both sound wise AND mind wise or that listening to music tends to DO that to them even if it isnt the purpose of listening to the music in the first place. I know damn well I’ve had interactions with people that were highly engrossed in something visual, acoustical, or mental and it took MUCH effort to shake them out of their own little world so to speak. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/33 "2009-12-06T17:18:31Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > _Drops of Jupiter?_ If only. I picture a bystander screaming at him, “TRAAAAIIIINNN!!!” and the kid replying by pointing at his ears, shaking his head, and shouting back, “NO, NO! GOO GOO DOLLS!!!” ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/34 "2009-12-06T17:28:17Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > I think a bigger problem perhaps is that some people either use music to tune out the world both sound wise AND mind wise or that listening to music tends to DO that to them even if it isnt the purpose of listening to the music in the first place. > > I know damn well I’ve had interactions with people that were highly engrossed in something visual, acoustical, or mental and it took MUCH effort to shake them out of their own little world so to speak. Sure. I find for myself that it’s better to do that at the park than on the train tracks. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/35 "2009-12-06T17:44:52Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Wonder what he was listening to? [The Best of Old 97’s?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hit_by_a_Train:_The_Best_of_Old_97%27s) ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/36 "2009-12-06T18:03:56Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Wonder what he was listening to? [Sometimes nothing.](http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/03/15/miss.deaf.texas/index.html) > [@Peg\_Leg](#): > > Interestingly enough, I heard [this](http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09111754-walking-hazard-cell-phone-use-but-not-music-reduces-pedestrian-safety) on VOA radio here yesterday. My father was the editor of that journal for more than a decade. Rodale Press it ain’t. I don’t even need to read the published results—that brief synopsis alone was sufficient to make me sit up and take notice. From now on the phone stays in my pocket while I’m walking. ---
**Author:** ![Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamaika_a_jamaikaiake)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/37 "2009-12-06T18:16:52Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Have you ever used earbuds? They just kind of sit there on the lower edge of the ear cup and don’t go into or cover the ear canal, therefore they don’t block external sound much at all. Even if I turn the sound up all the way on my iPod touch, I can still hear road noise, traffic, etc. Where I live it’s not even illegal to wear them while driving (this from a local police officer whom I asked about it). > > I don’t know why the kid got hit, but I’m certain it wasn’t because he was wearing earbuds. I think most people wear them shoved halfway into their ear canal. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/38 "2009-12-06T18:22:27Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Wonder what he was listening to? Probably humming _Casey Jones_ ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/39 "2009-12-06T18:26:52Z")
They shoulda had a sign [like this one.](http://doorbell.net/tlr/sign_trn.jpg) (The missing letters said “Don’t play on the tracks.”) ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/40 "2009-12-06T18:34:10Z")
> [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](#): > > I think most people wear them shoved halfway into their ear canal. Sure. I’ve never seen anyone wear them the way Starving Artist insists they go. How would that even work? They’d be falling out constantly, if you could even get them to settle in the right place at all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179.md?page=3)