# Don't Play Chicken With Trains **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 18, 2003, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-play-chicken-with-trains/162250 "2003-03-18T11:59:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-play-chicken-with-trains/162250/21 "2003-03-19T03:52:22Z")
Are you talking aobut the Caddy spot where the two freight trains are **stopped** just short of a grade crossing and the engineers watch the new Caddy go by? Then after the shinny new Caddy goes by they hit the throttles and pass each other. I have always looked at someone whose Brain is running on empty and did this as being proof that Darwin was right. As my father used to say, the train has the right of weight. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-play-chicken-with-trains/162250/22 "2003-03-19T04:07:58Z")
Back in med school, a friend of mine was on the Trauma service when he got a page to the ER for “pedestrian vs. train”. “No need to hurry,” they said. ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-play-chicken-with-trains/162250/23 "2003-03-19T04:19:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rick \* > \*\*Are you talking aobut the Caddy spot where the two freight trains are **stopped** just short of a grade crossing and the engineers watch the new Caddy go by? Then after the shinny new Caddy goes by they hit the throttles and pass each other. > \*\* Could be. As I said, it’s been a while. My memory of it didn’t have them stopped, though, at least judging by the speed the trains went past each other after the car cleared. IME, most trains hitting the throttle from a dead stop rush forward about like cold tar. You might be right, though. Didn’t mean to misrepresent. Veb ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-play-chicken-with-trains/162250/24 "2003-03-19T10:57:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bjohn13 \* > > > [@](#): > > > > _Originally posted by Broomstick_ > > About 12-15 miles per gallon in cruise… it’s a bit problematic since airplanes are judged by gallons per _hour_ rather than gallons per _mile_, and airplane travel has a vertical as well as horizontal component, but that’s what I’ve worked it out to. There are some that do better than that, maybe up to 20 miles per gallon, but I don’t have access to them at present, I’m using the Cessna/Piper/Mooney figures. > > > > Of course, rather than drive an SUV with that gas mileage 1-3 hours per day Monday through Friday I’m (maybe) flying an airplane with that mileage for just an hour or two on the average weekend - which _still_ means I burn less than the average SUV on a weekly basis. > > I appreciate these statistics, but I don’t really think that is the point. A person who rides a plane as a hobbby is certainly entitled to do that…just as a person who regularly hauls large items or regulary takes trips out into the rugged wilderness is entitled to own an SUV. > > Now, if you used your plane to commute back and forth to work every day, that would be more equivalent to the “average” SUV owner in the USA. Well, I’m truly glad we see eye-to-eye about the “hobby flying” thing… and I’m in agreement about what you said about SUV’s and hauling things, traversing rough roads, and so forth. But actually I _could_ commute to work by plane - I’m a 10 minute drive from my local airport (20 by bicycle), and I’m within walking distance of Meigs airport on the other end (although a bus might be a good thing in bad weather - within range of that, too). Flight time from home airport to Meigs is approximately 15 minutes. Would cut my commuting time in half. That works out to about 3.75 to 5 gallons of gas per day (using the previously given range) or around 25 per week. Now, assume an SUV with similar gas mileage and the 35 mile commute each way, that’s 70 miles a day round trip, or 4.6 to 5.8 gallons per day. Looks like the airplane is slightly more efficient. And that’s assuming no traffic jams, which will impact the SUV. So why don’t I fly to work? Well, airplane gas is running $2.65 a gallon as of last week. This is included in rental costs (I don’t happen to own) which are $60-80 per hour (that’s $30-40 per day in this sceanario) between landing fees and parking Meigs costs about $65-100+ to use the place (varies by airplane size), and cars/SUV’s/trains can deal with rougher weather than the airplane and pilot combination I have to deal with. Too expensive and too many days I’d have to drive/take the train anyway. But might be cool to do it once - just to say I did 🙂 > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bjohn13 \* > What gets me are the loads of people who want to own an SUV simply because they are cool. Me, too - and they don’t know how to safely drive a heavier vehicle with a higher center of gravity. AND they don’t know how to park it. And I get freaked out by folks who park on train tracks at red lights and such. Idiots. Haven’t seen one hit (yet) but I see 'em sitting over the tracks and start to hear that horn in the distance and start squirming. I do _not_ like to see accidents. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-play-chicken-with-trains/162250/25 "2003-03-19T12:25:42Z")
This is what I heard twenty years ago, but I guess it’s still more or less current: the average train driver on the Sydney suburban network can expect six suicides over his or her career. They get six weeks off after each one. It messes them right up. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-play-chicken-with-trains/162250/26 "2003-03-19T12:53:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rick \* > \*\*As my father used to say, the train has the right of weight. \*\* We refer to this as the “Law of Gross Weight Tonnage” for determining right of way. Similar deal to walking in a crosswalk - you may well have the right of way and the lights on your side, but if a driver ignores the lights or signs, you lose, right of way or not. These examples have me struggling to keep from screaming: “What were they thinking?!?” ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-play-chicken-with-trains/162250/27 "2003-03-19T12:56:37Z")
A friend of mine’s dad had the unenviable job of managing the clean-up crews for a large section of southern England’s busiest rail lines. He had a bizarre sense of humour; apparently he had developed it over time as his way of coping. People’s stupidity when it comes to trains never fails to amaze me. At my local tube station a man was killed recently. He had been waving his friends off, and was playing around holding onto a handrail alongside one of the doors as the train pulled away. Somehow he got caught and couldn’t extricate himself before the train entered the tunnel, and was killed instantly by the impact against the wall (the tube trains in London fit snugly in the tunnels with only a few inches’ clearance). ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-play-chicken-with-trains/162250/28 "2003-03-19T14:12:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dragonblink \* > \*\*Trains may be durable things but in my area there’s apparently regs to follow – they had to stop the train and inspect the undercarriage of all seven cars. Turned out the cart busted an airhose, which the conductor had to repair. Poor guy got train sludge all over his nice white shirt, and then had to do the pry-the-turbolift-doors-open routine when we got to Union Station. \*\* Don’t know which line you ride but I’ve been on trains that have hit many a things from deer to carts. We never stop unless they know something has gone wrong like the lights have gone out. I do ride the Brunswick line so we have a lot of freight trains and they may not want to screw up their time tables. ---
**Author:** ![Janie\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/13edae/32.png) [@Janie\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Janie_Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-play-chicken-with-trains/162250/29 "2003-03-19T14:28:20Z")
People are stupid. Having said that, it’s still relevant to point out that the visual cues of an approaching train are very hard to decipher by the human eye and brain. That is to say, it’s hard to judge the speed and distance of a large object as it’s bearing down on you. There are very few _perspective_ clues to help you. This applies, of course, only if you’re in the path of a train or very nearly so. Someone waiting close to the train tracks in a vehicle at an unguarded crossing is very nearly in the path of the train, so it’s possible that a driver would attempt to cross the tracks believing the oncoming train to be farther away and moving more slowly than it really is. In most cases, however, we never find out exactly _what_ the driver was thinking. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-play-chicken-with-trains/162250/30 "2003-03-19T14:31:59Z")
> [@](#): > > Somehow he got caught and couldn’t extricate himself before the train entered the tunnel, and was killed instantly by the impact against the wall (the tube trains in London fit snugly in the tunnels with only a few inches’ clearance). Ewwww. ---
**Author:** ![Janie\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/13edae/32.png) [@Janie\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Janie_Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-play-chicken-with-trains/162250/31 "2003-03-19T14:33:28Z")
P.S. And of course, my explanation/analysis does nothing to explain why people run or drive (for quite a distance) perpindicular to the tracks at a crossing – and still cross in front of trains. These people **do** have good visual clues as to how far away the train is and how fast it is moving. Yet, they seem to be clueless in all other areas … ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-play-chicken-with-trains/162250/32 "2003-03-19T14:40:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bernse \* > \*\*Ewwww. \*\* If that bothers you, I suggest you avoid any searches on the name **Katarzyna Woja** in any UK newspapers. A tragically similar event. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-play-chicken-with-trains/162250/33 "2003-03-19T14:42:15Z")
…what the hell was I thinking? Apologies for posting that, it was completely irrelevant to the thread and not at all informative. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-play-chicken-with-trains/162250/34 "2003-03-19T15:31:28Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by TVeblen \*\*\* > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Rick_ > Are you talking aobut the Caddy spot where the two freight trains are stopped just short of a grade crossing and the engineers watch the new Caddy go by? Then after the shinny new Caddy goes by they hit the throttles and pass each other.\*Could be. As I said, it’s been a while. My memory of it didn’t have them stopped, though, at least judging by the speed the trains went past each other after the car cleared. IME, most trains hitting the throttle from a dead stop rush forward about like cold tar. > > You might be right, though. Didn’t mean to misrepresent.\*\* IIRC, that commercial was a Far Side sort of thing. The lights & gates were for the train tracks instead of the road. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-play-chicken-with-trains/162250.md?page=1)