# Mother and 4 year-old walk off subway platform-why? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 23, 2012, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mother-and-4-year-old-walk-off-subway-platform-why/632409 "2012-08-23T19:56:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ecoaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/85e7bf/32.png) [@ecoaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ecoaster)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mother-and-4-year-old-walk-off-subway-platform-why/632409/1 "2012-08-23T19:56:17Z")
What is the most plausible reason this woman fell into the subway tracks with her 4 year-old? Scroll to :36 for the fall. Obviously she could be drugged /drunk but is it possible she was hyper-focused and didn’t even realize the tracks are below the platform? Could she have visually been tricked in some way? Very bizarre that she walked straight off, good thing she and the kid are ok. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mother-and-4-year-old-walk-off-subway-platform-why/632409/2 "2012-08-23T20:00:45Z")
Link didn’t work for me, but I’ll just go with “Too busy yapping on her cell phone”. Nine times out of ten that works. ---
**Author:** ![ecoaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/85e7bf/32.png) [@ecoaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ecoaster)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mother-and-4-year-old-walk-off-subway-platform-why/632409/3 "2012-08-23T20:01:01Z")
[Sorry bad link try this…](http://www.boston.com/metrodesk/2012/08/23/mother-son-fall-onto-tracks-red-line-station-kendall-mit/UVPJWKvW1ibp5s0575131H/story.html) ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mother-and-4-year-old-walk-off-subway-platform-why/632409/4 "2012-08-23T20:03:22Z")
Doesn’t look like she was on her phone. And I can’t see the child. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mother-and-4-year-old-walk-off-subway-platform-why/632409/5 "2012-08-23T20:06:44Z")
Can’t see the link, but it says she was carrying her son, saw a train pull up, (it was on the other side) and thought she could board it. Most likely her child’s body was blocking the area right in front of her and she couldn’t judge the distance to the train or see that the platform ended. If you’re not familiar with subway stations, it can be very disorienting trying to figure out which platform goes with which line/train. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mother-and-4-year-old-walk-off-subway-platform-why/632409/6 "2012-08-23T20:06:48Z")
This from the story: > [@](#): > > The woman told an MBTA Red Line inspector that she saw a train berthed on the northbound platform and believed she could board it from the southbound side, Pesaturo said in an email. Sometimes when I’m carrying one of my kids, I can’t see the ground immediately below and in front of me. I have to look around them to see what lies ahead. My guess is she saw a train in the distance, and her child blocked the view of what was (or wasn’t) in front of her. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mother-and-4-year-old-walk-off-subway-platform-why/632409/7 "2012-08-23T20:08:38Z")
I actually think the explanation she gave is rather plausible ("she saw a train berthed on the northbound platform and believed she could board "); I have very poor depth perception and have done similar, though not such extreme things. Like walk directly into trees, not because I was distracted, but because I misjudged how far away from me they were. Basically, she’s in a rush, her eye focuses on the train in the northound track, brain misjudges which track the train is actually on, she strides purposefully towards it and off the platform. ETA: and good point **Happy L** , she probably couldn’t see the track edge, giving no visual clue of her misunderestimation. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mother-and-4-year-old-walk-off-subway-platform-why/632409/8 "2012-08-23T20:53:30Z")
Yes, I have poor depth perception, and more than once in the bleary-eyed morning commute I’ve rushed to catch the train, only to realize I’m seeing the train across the tracks headed the other way. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mother-and-4-year-old-walk-off-subway-platform-why/632409/9 "2012-08-23T20:58:20Z")
I may jus’ be a country gal, but those subway platforms mildly terrify me. Open pits where trains zoom in at 4,000 miles an hour _inches_ from your face. :eek: \ ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mother-and-4-year-old-walk-off-subway-platform-why/632409/10 "2012-08-23T21:07:43Z")
To tell you the truth, what scares me about those subway platforms as much as the idea of being struck by a train (should I fall off) is the thought of how filthy it is at track level. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mother-and-4-year-old-walk-off-subway-platform-why/632409/11 "2012-08-23T21:10:41Z")
See quote in **Happy Lendervedder** ’s post. It helps if you read the article. ---
**Author:** ![ecoaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/85e7bf/32.png) [@ecoaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ecoaster)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mother-and-4-year-old-walk-off-subway-platform-why/632409/12 "2012-08-23T21:15:35Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > See quote in **Happy Lendervedder** ’s post. It helps if you read the article. I did read the article, thank you. Plenty of folks explain why things happen in shock or due to embarrassment and I was mostly just curious how she could be so unaware of her surroundings. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mother-and-4-year-old-walk-off-subway-platform-why/632409/13 "2012-08-23T23:31:07Z")
Kendall is an exceptionally shallow platform. I can understand if she’s more familiar with other platforms her not immediately grokking that the train she sees is on the opposite track. ---
**Author:** ![GovernmentMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9c0ed/32.png) [@GovernmentMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GovernmentMan)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mother-and-4-year-old-walk-off-subway-platform-why/632409/14 "2012-08-23T23:57:18Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Doesn’t look like she was on her phone. And I can’t see the child. Are you perhaps blind? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mother-and-4-year-old-walk-off-subway-platform-why/632409/15 "2012-08-24T00:13:24Z")
> [@GovernmentMan](#): > > Are you perhaps blind? No, but he’s talking on his cell phone… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mother-and-4-year-old-walk-off-subway-platform-why/632409/16 "2012-08-24T00:20:39Z")
Yeah, that’s a very purposeful stride she has- not the look of someone drunk/drugged, but rather like a hyperfocused commuter. I can actually totally buy her story, especially coupled with the ‘might not see the ground due to holding her child’ reasoning. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mother-and-4-year-old-walk-off-subway-platform-why/632409/17 "2012-08-24T01:48:33Z")
> [@bobkitty](#): > > I can actually totally buy her story, especially coupled with the ‘might not see the ground due to holding her child’ reasoning. Assuming her story is true, why would she think the train door was directly in front of her and open? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mother-and-4-year-old-walk-off-subway-platform-why/632409/18 "2012-08-24T01:56:27Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > Assuming her story is true, why would she think the train door was directly in front of her and open? She didn’t, she was just heading to the train she could see, but misjudged the depth of the platform. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mother-and-4-year-old-walk-off-subway-platform-why/632409/19 "2012-08-24T02:05:35Z")
When you have hundreds of thousands of commuters (millions?) using mass transit everyday, it is not surprising that something like this would happen. We know about it because the transit authority’s cameras caught the incident and the ubiquitous natures of the Internet and ‘news’ drive our attentions collectively to notice it. I am pleased to know that the woman and her child were not injured. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mother-and-4-year-old-walk-off-subway-platform-why/632409/20 "2012-08-24T02:11:06Z")
OK, I’ll call out the elephant in the room; maybe she’s a dumbass? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mother-and-4-year-old-walk-off-subway-platform-why/632409.md?page=2)