# Train full of Republicans hits truck **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 31, 2018, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-full-of-republicans-hits-truck/807892 "2018-01-31T16:58:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-full-of-republicans-hits-truck/807892/1 "2018-01-31T16:58:39Z")
[Breaking right now.](http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/31/politics/congress-train-accident/index.html) Memberrs of Congress on the train to go to a conference in Greenbrier. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-full-of-republicans-hits-truck/807892/2 "2018-01-31T17:12:09Z")
I hope whoever was in the truck is okay; it sounds like everyone on the train is. From that picture, tho, it doesn’t look good. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-full-of-republicans-hits-truck/807892/3 "2018-01-31T17:19:16Z")
One dead, two injured in the truck per CNN, quoting Senator Flake ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-full-of-republicans-hits-truck/807892/4 "2018-01-31T18:10:14Z")
[Train full of Republicans hits a truck](http://abcnews.go.com/US/train-carrying-members-congress-involved-accident/story?id=52741522). Truck driver killed, Republicans survive. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-full-of-republicans-hits-truck/807892/5 "2018-01-31T18:13:02Z")
I blame Amtrak. Cancel it! ---
**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:** [January 31, 2018, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-full-of-republicans-hits-truck/807892/6 "2018-01-31T18:53:29Z")
Fox news called it a dump truck, CNN, a trash truck. Which one is fake? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-full-of-republicans-hits-truck/807892/7 "2018-01-31T19:01:18Z")
The pics I saw looked like a trash truck, which, to me, looks nothing like a dump truck. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-full-of-republicans-hits-truck/807892/8 "2018-01-31T19:04:01Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Fox news called it a dump truck, CNN, a trash truck. > > Which one is fake? From [this article](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/train-carrying-gop-lawmakers-retreat-hits-trash-truck-n843311) it looks like a truck carrying some sort of trash container. So not exactly a dump truck, but not a conventional city trash truck. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-full-of-republicans-hits-truck/807892/9 "2018-01-31T19:04:13Z")
Republican train wreck? ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-full-of-republicans-hits-truck/807892/10 "2018-01-31T19:11:50Z")
Merged post #4 and #5 from Elections into MPSIMS thread. [/moderating] ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-full-of-republicans-hits-truck/807892/11 "2018-01-31T19:18:15Z")
I wonder why it’s always “the train hit the truck (or car, etc.)”, when the truck or car isn’t supposed to be _on_ the tracks. It’s the waste removal company’s own damn responsibility to maintain their vehicles so they won’t stall at the railroad crossing. It’s the driver’s responsibility to be sure the tracks are clear before crossing them. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-full-of-republicans-hits-truck/807892/12 "2018-01-31T19:47:48Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > I wonder why it’s always “the train hit the truck (or car, etc.)”, when the truck or car isn’t supposed to be _on_ the tracks. It’s the waste removal company’s own damn responsibility to maintain their vehicles so they won’t stall at the railroad crossing. It’s the driver’s responsibility to be sure the tracks are clear before crossing them. You’re reading responsibility into a simple logistical description. T-bone collisions happen between two cars on a regular basis; to say that car #1 hit car #2 is to say the front of car #1 made contact with the side of car #2, but it does not describe which party bears responsibility for the collision, as that’s a matter of timing. Generally the second party to arrive at the collision point is the one who is said to hit the other, regardless of who may have had right of way. If the train were already crossing the road and the truck ran into the side of the train, then it would be fair to say the truck hit the train. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-full-of-republicans-hits-truck/807892/13 "2018-01-31T20:05:13Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > I wonder why it’s always “the train hit the truck (or car, etc.)”, when the truck or car isn’t supposed to be _on_ the tracks. (post shortened) Because the train actually did hit the truck. Or car, or pedestrian, or moose. Trains are notoriously difficult to stop. A fact that seems incomprehensible to those people who remain in their stalled vehicles when a train is bearing down on them. My Dad was a RR engineer. Cars and trucks do drive into moving, and stopped, trains? Why? Lots of reasons, but all of them are stupid. I liked the, “I didn’t see the train” excuse best. How do you not see a boxcar when it’s as big as a house? The best was someone (who was at least sober), watched 50 boxcars pass in front of him, and then decided to drive into the side of a string of flatcars because he thought the train had passed. _But officer, it looked clear to me._ The crossing had no arms, but the flashing lights and dinging bell should have been a clue? ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-full-of-republicans-hits-truck/807892/14 "2018-01-31T20:42:31Z")
Alex Jones thinks it was an intentional attack on Republicans and Jerome Corsi thinks it was done by the Deep State to keep the Nunes memo from being released. > **[Alex Jones: Train Crash Was 'Kamikaze' Attack On Republicans](https://crooksandliars.com/2018/01/alex-jones-train-crash-was-kamikaze-attack)** > > And he's not alone! ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-full-of-republicans-hits-truck/807892/15 "2018-01-31T20:50:04Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Fox news called it a dump truck, CNN, a trash truck. > > Which one is fake? > [@ZipperJJ](#): > > The pics I saw looked like a trash truck, which, to me, looks nothing like a dump truck. > [@control-z](#): > > From [this article](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/train-carrying-gop-lawmakers-retreat-hits-trash-truck-n843311) it looks like a truck carrying some sort of trash container. So not exactly a dump truck, but not a conventional city trash truck. [What is the deal with all of you guys calling it a “trash truck”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=842040)? In my area we call them “garbage trucks”. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-full-of-republicans-hits-truck/807892/16 "2018-01-31T20:51:05Z")
Actually the thread title is a little misleading. The warning arms were down and the truck crossed them, basically driving right in front of the train. Since trains can’t exactly turn or stop that quickly, blammo. Entirely the fault of the truck driver, who paid with his life for that mistake. \*“We jumped off the train and went to work,” he said. “Every member of the ‘Doc Caucus’ got out of the train and helped the guys who’d been injured,” he said, referring to the self-titled group of doctors who are now working in Congress. Dunn said the doors were locked but another congressman who was an Army Ranger "knew how to unlock the door and he got us out.”\* Good for them. I appreciate their efforts. ---
**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:** [January 31, 2018, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-full-of-republicans-hits-truck/807892/17 "2018-01-31T20:54:08Z")
Flake and Wenstrup carried an injured person to an ambulance, apparently much as they did after the Hodgkinson shootings at the GOP softball practice. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-full-of-republicans-hits-truck/807892/18 "2018-01-31T21:29:03Z")
Were the Republicans riding in the clown car? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-full-of-republicans-hits-truck/807892/19 "2018-01-31T23:02:18Z")
So a train full of trash hit a truck full of trash? What are the odds? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-full-of-republicans-hits-truck/807892/20 "2018-01-31T23:06:21Z")
Someone asked on another thread what things shouldn’t be joked about. I believe this qualifies. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-full-of-republicans-hits-truck/807892.md?page=2)