People are stupid
I've decided that the average person is dumber than a brick (not that I want to insult bricks in any way). Sure, there are plenty of little examples that prove this, like the morons who stand right in the middle of the doorway on the train every morning waiting to get on while I have to shove my way by them. Or the ones who usually while holding their cell phone glued to their heads.
However, I've been reading some of the fallout from the latest round of Caltrain (N. Cal. commuter rail) accidents. You see, people have been getting hit by trains. A lot -- 7 so far this year. Sure four of them were suicides and there's not much you can do about those. It's the reactions to the other ones that have me wanting to go join a different race.
In general folks are blaming the train and saying they have to do more to make it safer. Let me see if I have this straight -- a big long collection of metal and plastic moving at 79 mph. is supposed to react to someone on the tracks? It takes 1/2 a mile to stop the bloody thing! Not to mention that the tracks have been there since the civil war (really, they were built in the mid-1860s). And it's Caltrain's fault that people are crossing/walking on/playing on these tracks and getting hit. All because they can't be bothered to walk to the next crosswalk or under/overpass. People are demanding that Caltrain fence the tracks, ignoring that almost every fence that is currently up has been either cut or jumped frequently.
Some are complaining that they couldn't see the train coming becuase there's a curve in the track. Ok, so what were you doing on the tracks (which is tresspassing btw) if you couldn't see whether or not a train was coming? Would you cross the street if you couldn't see around the corner? (sure, in this case they probably would). If you did would you blame the driver?
My favorite is one from last year. A pickup truck went around a crossing gate, was hit by a train and nearly cut in half. The driver was killed, his girlfriend has been in the hospital recovering ever since. So what does the mother of the girlfriend say in a recent interview? "I want Caltrain to take some of the responsibility for this".
What ever happened to personal responsibility? Are the days gone where doing something stupid is your own stupid fault? If I climb a tree and break my arm is it my fault or should I sue the person who planted the tree?
However, I've been reading some of the fallout from the latest round of Caltrain (N. Cal. commuter rail) accidents. You see, people have been getting hit by trains. A lot -- 7 so far this year. Sure four of them were suicides and there's not much you can do about those. It's the reactions to the other ones that have me wanting to go join a different race.
In general folks are blaming the train and saying they have to do more to make it safer. Let me see if I have this straight -- a big long collection of metal and plastic moving at 79 mph. is supposed to react to someone on the tracks? It takes 1/2 a mile to stop the bloody thing! Not to mention that the tracks have been there since the civil war (really, they were built in the mid-1860s). And it's Caltrain's fault that people are crossing/walking on/playing on these tracks and getting hit. All because they can't be bothered to walk to the next crosswalk or under/overpass. People are demanding that Caltrain fence the tracks, ignoring that almost every fence that is currently up has been either cut or jumped frequently.
Some are complaining that they couldn't see the train coming becuase there's a curve in the track. Ok, so what were you doing on the tracks (which is tresspassing btw) if you couldn't see whether or not a train was coming? Would you cross the street if you couldn't see around the corner? (sure, in this case they probably would). If you did would you blame the driver?
My favorite is one from last year. A pickup truck went around a crossing gate, was hit by a train and nearly cut in half. The driver was killed, his girlfriend has been in the hospital recovering ever since. So what does the mother of the girlfriend say in a recent interview? "I want Caltrain to take some of the responsibility for this".
What ever happened to personal responsibility? Are the days gone where doing something stupid is your own stupid fault? If I climb a tree and break my arm is it my fault or should I sue the person who planted the tree?