My minivan gets stuck on a railroad crossing, daughter saves the day

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Some people will remember Beta-chan, and now she’s 15 years old and my son is 13. Time flies. We are back in Japan and live in Hokkaido.

Last night, we had close to three feet of snow, so of course we headed off to the ski resort in our minivan, a Toyota Estima (Previa).

Great skiing, lots of powder, and a good day overall, although my back was bothering me from all the shoveling in the morning.

On the way home, we were crossing the train tracks when we got stuck. There was was a big ice built up on the road but the trains kept the ice off the tracks so there was a huge bump which the minivan didn’t like. We got stuck on the track, and couldn’t move forward or backwards.

I wasn’t thinking clearly, and completely blanked on turning 4WD on, something which would have prevented all the following drama.

I had just had the kids get out to push when the signals for an oncoming train began flashing and the gates come down, blocking any possible exit, even if we were to get unstuck.

“Now what?” I was wondering. Staying in the van wasn’t a good option, waiting for the train to total the vehicle didn’t seem attractive, either. My kids were screaming at me to just get out of there RIGHT NOW.

I was trying to think what next when Beta-chan jumped into action. Remembering a safety lecture from elementary school, she went and pushed the emergency train stop button located at each crossing.

The emergency lights started flashing, and I saw the train come to a smooth stop several hundred meters away.

Several railway workers quickly came from the local station and helped us push the van back off the tracks, lifting the gates so we could get out.

There is another crossing nearby and it didn’t have the same problem with ice so we got through there.

We were safe and the car wasn’t totaled. A couple of hundred people were inconvenienced for 10 minutes instead of several hours, or possibly worse if the train derailed. Several hours later and my heart rate came back down to normal. It was then that I went and checked the 4WD switch and of course, in the panic I hadn’t set it.

Hopefully, this is an once-in-a-lifetime event and we won’t have that happen again.

And no, filming this for TikTok for my 15 minutes of fame never crossed my mind.

2

That sounds terribly frightening. I’m glad you guys are safe and your van wasn’t smashed.

3

Wow, your daughter is amazing. What an experience.

4

WHOOOOOOOAAAAAA, Beta-chan!! Girl power!!

Let her know that we are in awe! :heart: :100:

5

WOW. This is how people die, when they get stuck at a crossing and only have seconds to get out when the signals start clanging and they freeze or don’t act FAST.

I live near the tracks that are mostly used for a commuter train that runs between San Francisco and San Jose and Gilroy (the Caltrain, for those familiar), and every once in a while it happens. Once the signals start clanging there’s only about 10-15 seconds before the train comes. Not much time.

Your daughter done great!!

6

Do we even have those emergency buttons in the States? The street level crossings around me are fairly west of me.

7

I was just thinking the same thing. If they do, they need to make them more well known. It would probably stop a lot of these types of accidents from happening. Of course, then you’d have to worry about people pushing it for fun.

Anyways, just a few, a few uncomprehensive seconds of searching online, didn’t even reveal any buttons with English signs, so I’m guessing if they’re in the states, they’re rare.

8

Yup.

I wasn’t clear, but I was already out of my car and away from the tracks. The gates coming down helped because my mind was still wanting to try to get the car unstuck, and the gates made me abandon that stupidity quickly.

The workers were nice, they came right away, and helped me get unstuck. I hope they will remove the ice so it doesn’t happen to anyone else.

Thanks. Me, too.

She is!

Message relayed.

Yes!

@Joey_P Yes, that’s the button. The gate is the black and yellow pole to the immediate left.

The sign says (with a rough translation):

“Keep pushing hard until the button doesn’t come back.”
“Pushing the button when it’s not an emergency will be punished.”

9

I think I’ve seen crossings without even gates, just the lights and bells.

10

Hooray for a save!

One of my rules of thumb when I lived in snow country was you use 2WD to drive. You use 4WD/AWD to get out of the places where 2WD got you stuck. If you drive around in 4WD/AWD all the time, you don’t have any extra super-power in reserve to resolve a stuck situation. As soon as you’re stuck, you’re stuck for good until you get a tow.

None of which would have helped if the van got high-centered on an ice dam. But might be useful background info.

11

Yeah, I know that, but this was the first time to get stuck and I spaced using it. Rookie mistake after not living in snow country for 34 years.

12

I’ve lived away from snow for a decade now. I’d do the same thing. Old habits are great; once they’ve been dusted off. Until then they’re unreliable partners.

Congrats again on having a happy outcome. And for living in a country civilized enough to have such features.

13

Damn, so impressive. Also making me tear up for some reason.

14

The way I’ve heard it is “4WD just lets you get stuck in deeper snow.”

15

Way to go Beta-chan! As for the emergency stop button at every at-grade crossing, Outside of the BART (supposedly) and Japan rail system, I can’t think of any place that has that safety feature.

16

I’ve never seen one, and I strongly suspect that we don’t. “Sensible and extremely helpful” sounds Japanese, not American. LOL

17

I’m damn sure that I won’t forget next time.

And thanks! Being alive tonight is a nice feeling, but I’m still not calmed down enough to sleep.

She said she just acted instinctively. I told my wife we need to contact her elementary school to thank them.

I’m tearing up as well. Must be the dust.

18

Also train in the US tend to be freight–you’re not bringing a 3/4 mile long train to a stop in a quarter mile!

19

The scuttlebutt or stereotype is that in Japan they are supposed to care about ergonomics, so this is a confirming example.

20

When we went on our road trip last year, we encountered heavy snow and icy roads on the way back. We were driving the wife’s Toyota RAV4. It’s 4WD, but I didn’t like it. There’s just a button on the dash, and apparently it reverts to 2WD over 25 mph. I was never sure if it was on or off. I much prefer the Jeep Cherokee’s system. To engage 4WD you pull up on a lever… and it stays there until you move the lever to disengage. It also has High and Low ranges for 4WD so you have some extra ‘oomph’ if you need it. (I almost never use 4WD-Low, but it’s been helpful a few times.)