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Someone in New York is pulling emergency brakes, destroying subway commute
- subweigh 7y agofor a stint i lived on the nyc subway system one night i woke up flying across a subway car before slamming into one of the vertical hand poles i was sitting, sleeping, facing the direction of travel and someone had pulled the emergency stop it was 3am so the only people on the train where fellow transients this fact must have been prominent in the mind of the person conducting the train because immediately they got on the comm and yelled, 'WHO THE FUCK PULLED THE EMERGENCY STOP?!' the absurdity of it all helped me ignore the pain in my shoulder i always slept with my back to my momentum after that night
- theNJR 7y agoHow many others were sleeping on the train? If lots, how was that allowed to happen? If few, why not more?
- jazzyjackson 7y agoWhat do you mean allowed to happen? You pay the fare, no one is checking on you. Of course, some people go overboard and set up camp (blankets, shopping cart, etc), but even taking up space and carrying bulky items isn't prohibited AFAIK, I've put my feet up and carried luggage with me. Just aren't a lot of rules down there. As far as why not more, it's not a great place to sleep...
- Symbiote 7y ago> You pay the fare, no one is checking on you. In London, you'd get woken up at the end of the line, and a valid ticket for unlimited travel back-and-forth is fairly expensive — around £13 ($16). Or maybe there's some other reason, but I hardly ever see homeless people sleeping on metro trains.
- zdragnar 7y agoI don't know about the NYC subways, but a number of jurisdictions in the US see metro councils / transportation authorities deciding to not check tickets at all, because of "disproportionate impacts" for certain racial groups. It seems absurd to me to advocate petty lawlessness, but the public transportation systems are all so far underwater that checking ride tickets isn't going to practically move the needle anyway.
- barbecue_sauce 7y agoThat's a ridiculous assertion. In most major cities, you don't buy "tickets" for public transportation (except maybe light rail). Everything is fare based (used to be token based, but have mainly switched to cards). You pay the fare, you ride the subway or the trolley or the bus until you get off. The fare is the same no matter how far you are going. Most of these things travel in loops. You get to the end of the line, it either turns around, or just goes in the opposite direction.
- thaumasiotes 7y agoIn Shanghai, it's fare based, but the fare is definitely not the same no matter how far you're going. The fare is determined as a function of where you enter the system and where you leave, with longer trips being more expensive. There's no time limit; one entry will let you stay in the subway system all day. But you can't just live on the trains, because they shut down at night. Somehow I suspect that if Shanghai can shut down the subway overnight, New York, with half the ridership, could handle doing so too, so the question "why is this allowed to happen" seems valid.
- 9nGQluzmnq3M 7y agoNot sure about Shanghai, but in most countries there are (generous) time limits associated with fares, measured from first entry. Obviously this isn't enforced "in flight", but the gate will not let you out when you try to leave and you'll need to explain to staff why you've just spent 4 hours traveling one stop -- since odds are you actually went somewhere else and jumped the turnstile both ways.
- subweigh 7y agotrain? unsure, the car i was in... maybe 2 other transients? more nyc subway information than you'll ever need: - nyc has a globally rare subway in that it is 24hrs - you need to be sitting up to sleep on the train, if you lie down you can be removed (was so told by a cop when i was first arrested for sleeping on the train that this is 'the law') - subways run the full length of a track, then back, then swap drivers - when a driver swaps they have to remove everyone from the train so all transients get up and go across the track to the next train that is waiting to drive off - the two longest trains: ORANGE(D,1h-1h15m before driver swap), RED(2,1h30m-2h before driver swap) - meaning you could get about ~1h30m of uninterrupted sleep - that was until i discovered the L train is driven by software and the conductor is there as a failsafe - as such there is a different driver procedure and you can run the train back and forth all day all week without being removed, thats eventually how id get 8h+ nights someone down thread said 480$/mo for tickets, but id rarely pay > why not more? i wondered the same thing, its warm, even in winter, and heavily populated, protecting you from assaults im unsure what percentage of people without places to sleep choose the subway, but there are some options there are shelters, but after my experiences there: caging you in or out after curfew, once shut a lawlessness among the people, being placed in rooms with territorial long termers, structurally and hygienically questionable building; i decided id rather risk the street but it was a winter with a foot of snow on the ground so i tried to sleep in a decommissioned subway stop where there were others sleeping but was woken up by the blunt end of a cop's foot when i explained i thought it was okay to sleep here because i saw others doing the same the cop responded, 'that guys been there 7 years, get the fuck out of here kid' hostels at the time cost about 30$/nt for a bunk in a room with 40 people, in brooklyn, so out of my price range but once i got a job i would stay in one once a week to take a shower > how was that allowed to happen? compassion, human decency, empathy i jape, though thats why, im guessing, most riders accept it as a reality but its probably more to do with poorly handling government resources to address the issue that some people need to sleep sitting up on a subway to have a warm place to rest
- shaklee3 7y agoVery interesting facts. Hope you're doing better.
- 7y ago
- unixhero 7y agoI hope you're doing alright, frankly better, now!
- layoutIfNeeded 7y agoThis is the why I always choose the reverse seats if possible. Of course if someone is sitting opposite to you then they’ll slam into you in case of an accident, but I still think the chances of survival are better when facing rearwards.
- nexuist 7y agoYou're correct, on any vehicle involved in an accident you're more likely to survive with your back facing momentum. This was scientifically proven through the work done by John Stapp[1], who attached himself to a rocket sled facing both directions and at one point became "the fastest man on earth" by breaking the land speed record at 632 mph and sustaining 46.2 g's. His research is the reason why most military transport planes have seats facing backwards or sideways. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stapp https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stapp
- mcv 7y agoIt's also how the cabin crew sits in a plane during take-off and landing. Passengers sit facing forward, but the crew sits facing backwards.
- dsfyu404ed 7y agoIIRC it was more like 120g's (which caused temporary blindness) http://www.ejectionsite.com/stapp.htm http://www.ejectionsite.com/stapp.htm The takeaway should be "make sure you can't hit anything". Sitting with your back to the stop often helps you not go flying and hit anything when no proper tie downs are available but it's just a rule of thumb. If you have even just a lap belt your going to be better off facing forward in the event of a crash because of how the human neck works.
- ShorsHammer 7y agoFind it strange that planes don't use them more often. I ended up flying BA business once and half their seats are backwards. It was quite novel, takeoff felt a bit weird but besides that no difference. Went researching it after the flight and apparently reverse seats are far safer for injuries, especially neck and torso related.
- codedokode 7y agoHow is it possible to do such things and not to be caught? Don't they have cameras in the stations?
- ng12 7y agoIncompetence and poor maintenance is the MTA standard.
- xfitm3 7y agoCameras are dense in stations, not dense in tunnels. Keep in mind that some of the facts are likely withheld to protect the investigation.
- astura 7y agoThe suspect appears to use the tunnels to escape, not the stations >Then, he disappears, most likely through the subway tunnels and out an emergency exit.
- codedokode 7y agoBut they have to get into the tunnel first, probably from the station. If anyone is able to enter the tunnel from outside, then it is dangerous, because they can put a bomb or a crowbar on the rails.
- moltar 7y agoWell then why aren’t there cameras in the tunnels?
- greenyoda 7y agoThe cameras are probably deployed to prevent crime, and there's very little crime in the tunnels because very few people are stupid enough to risk their lives by entering them. Besides, the tunnels are dimly lit.
- smogcutter 7y ago
- cerealbad 7y agois it the mayor?
- NikkiA 7y agoOne cctv camera in each cab would solve the problem.
- AnimalMuppet 7y agoSo would locking the cab that is not in use.
- greenyoda 7y agoAren't the emergency brake cords on the outside of the engineers' cabs, where anyone can get at them?
- AnimalMuppet 7y agoIt would keep the culprit from making his escape through the unused cab, though.
- caf 7y agoPresumably it's left accessible because it's an emergency exit?
- Justsignedup 7y ago- Locking a cab down = in an actual emergency you can't escape the damn train. - All conductor cabins are locked when in or not in use. - The emergency break is a big red thing on a string that you can pull that is right next to either cab exit that is on the 2 ends of a cab.
- AnimalMuppet 7y agoOh. D'oh.
- Justsignedup 7y agoI don't understand. What possible reason is there for an emergency break... - If the subway needs to stop via an external decision, there are triggers all over the rails to trigger an emergency break. - If you are sick, emergency break is actually worse than waiting to get to the next station. - If anything is happening. Emergency break is wrong. - If something is in view of the conductor, the conductor will do the correct action. - If the train is going too fast, there is already a timer and an automated emergency break triggered on the rails. I cannot think of a single good reason for this. It's like saying there's a "turn engines off" lever on an airplane next to the bathroom.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- ken 7y ago> If something is in view of the conductor, the conductor will do the correct action. This is the conductor’s control they’re using.
- Justsignedup 7y agoNo. This is not. They are using the emergency break lever in every car by either door that is on both ends of the car. It is unlocked and available to all. I once almost pulled it accidentally because the train braked hard and it was so crowded i was holding on to the ceiling.
- jwcacces 7y agoYou need to read the article again then. Although the break pulls you describe are present in every car, the article clearly states that the one being activated is in the unused control cab in the back of the train (the cab used by the conductor when the train travels in the other direction)
- kevin_thibedeau 7y agoThe operator cab. The conductors are stationed towards the middle.
- forkandwait 7y agoI know I would hate him and his shtick if I were a commuter, but I am kind of rooting for his brand of chaos.
- starpilot 7y agoSome men just want to watch the world burn.
- luckylion 7y agoKeeping Moloch at bay by throwing sand into the machine. I've often wondered if the people responsible for planning guideposts in large train stations are doing the same.
- closeparen 7y agoI'm pretty sure making commutes worse and longer feeds Moloch.
- luckylion 7y agoDepends on how you look at it, I suppose. It slows him down, a very efficient metropolis would be able to cause much more harm at much greater speed. Strategic sabotage can hinder the war efforts, and it doesn't have to be one large bomb, a thousand needle pricks might have an effect, too, and they are much easier to disguise as incompetence. "Sorry, we didn't mean to put an ad in front of this important information, we just hadn't considered that people coming up the stairs wouldn't be able to read it."
- closeparen 7y agoCommute hassle does not come out of productivity. Workers are simply forced to leave their homes earlier and return later, spending less time outside Moloch’s grasp.
- panarky 7y agoNot a new thing 2017 derailment https://imgur.com/a/7Bn0bqC https://imgur.com/a/7Bn0bqC 2013 ignornace and fuckery https://imgur.com/a/lPrB0Gx https://imgur.com/a/lPrB0Gx
- mcv 7y agoMakes you wonder why trains even have an emergency brake. A button to alert people to an emergency, sure, but when does stopping a moving train in a tunnel or the middle of nowhere fix a problem with passengers?
- dajohnson89 7y agothink autopilot override.
- c0vfefe 7y agoWhen there's a dangerous obstacle ahead? If I designed a massive, fast-moving, unmaneuverable tube holding dozens of human lives, I think affording it a relatively safe way to arrest that momentum would be essential.
- mcv 7y agoIf the dangerous obstacle is ahead, the driver is much more likely to see it than the passengers.
- Wowfunhappy 7y agoThis guy appears to be using the break in the driver cabs (the unused one meant for when the train is moving in the opposite direction), so unless we got rid of those too it wouldn't matter.
- kyleblarson 7y agoI'd call the person more of an asshole than a supervillain.
- caf 7y agoI was thinking microvillain might be more apropos.
- spookybones 7y agoThey give the clothes description, general age, and sex of the culprit, but not the ethnicity ... and I can’t decide if that’s smart or stupid.
- tastygreenapple 7y agoIf they omit the ethnicity, it's a sign that it's one of the ethnicities whose crimes you're not supposed to notice.
- bilbo0s 7y agoJust the opposite. NYC is not some small town somewhere. It can be a little difficult to get ethnicity correct. For instance, is that robbery suspect white with a tan? Latino? Or just a mixed black guy maybe? Oh wow! Turns out he was Armenian and the other was Arab. Who knew? That sort of nuance may not be important in a place like small town, Flyover Country, but it's critical in a place like NYC. That's why places like NYC are so big on police artist sketches. They are more helpful in that context than, "White looking guy, medium height, medium build." People think it's racism that police tended to state the race when the suspect was black. The reality is that blacks were one of the only race groups that would not be easily confused by laymen. (Asians as well.) But we even messed that up because of unreliable witnesses, etc. Now a days with cameras everywhere we can just blast the suspect's face over the local news and we don't have to worry about figuring out if the suspect is white, or arab, or latino or what have you. With video evidence, you don't run that same risk of people in, say, the Bronx being less vigilant because, "They're looking for a white guy."
- Justsignedup 7y agoEvery bus in NYC has internal cameras. Every bus. Even cameras in front to take photos of people who use bus lanes. Why can't we put a camera by the emergency breaks? Furthermore... Why do we have emergency breaks (see my top-level post)
- 7y ago
- notacoward 7y agoSince a lot of people seem to be having trouble with this: The word is "brake" not "break".
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- HeWhoLurksLate 7y agoAlso, "fare", not "fare"
- Stratoscope 7y ago> Also, "fare", not "fare" I got a chuckle out of that, so I hope you will understand that I mean this only in good humor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muphry%27s_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muphry%27s_law
- Stratoscope 7y agoEnglish spelling can be so delightfully confusing. Fare/fair also came up in this thread. For anyone who mixed them up, no harm, no foul! (And certainly no fowl play.) Of course everyone knows what you meant, and that's what really counts. If you do want to remember the "correct" spelling, I wonder if this will help? "It's only fair to pay your fare. And please don't pull the emergency brake, so your fellow passengers' bones don't break."
- Redoubts 7y agoI take it you already know Of tough and bough and cough and dough? Others may stumble, but not you, On hiccough, thorough, lough and through? Well done! And now you wish, perhaps, To learn of less familiar traps? Beware of heard, a dreadful word That looks like beard and sounds like bird, And dead: it's said like bed, not bead - For goodness sake don't call it deed! Watch out for meat and great and threat (They rhyme with suite and straight and debt). A moth is not a moth in mother, Nor both in bother, broth in brother, And here is not a match for there Nor dear and fear for bear and pear, And then there's dose and rose and lose - Just look them up - and goose and choose, And cork and work and card and ward, And font and front and word and sword, And do and go and thwart and cart - Come, come, I've hardly made a start! A dreadful language? Man alive! I'd mastered it when I was five!
- tasty-anus 7y agoWhy do you fucking suck so much? How come you can't spell "brake" even though it's right there in the title. But most of all, you are so indignant and uptight that it's sad and pathetic to see you flail wildly with outrage at something that has zero impact on your life. You have no skin in the game. Stop caring.
- cozzyd 7y agoTravis?
- ramraj07 7y agoGotta say, for anyone worried about the surveillance state and stuff, NYC is the perfect city. Through a unique combination of a dense, diverse, super populated metropolis and pure incompetence, you really can disappear in the crowds.
- YayamiOmate 7y agoShould it happen, it will be funny, when NYC will want to buy Chinese Public surveillance system in the name of improving security. I can imagine at least some testing if relations improve and stabilise a bit.
- Simple_Guy 7y ago>when NYC will want to buy Chinese Public surveillance system Which was probably made in NY
- newsbinator 7y ago> you really can disappear in the crowds ... we assume
- maxaf 7y agoThat’s simply not true anymore. Our NYPD operates the so-called “Domain Awareness System”, which is a combination of good old database connected to terminals in patrol cars and precincts, as well as metadata-rich security cameras. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_Awareness_System https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_Awareness_System The system doesn’t get talked about very much, but even regular patrolmen are trained to use it effectively. It’s built to accommodate a variety of use cases ranging from tactical support (“suspect headed north on Amsterdam Ave, but then we lost him - where did he go?”) to general investigative duties (“who usually comes by this store on Mondays at 9am?”) and, based on what I’ve heard from cops, works really well.
- bo1024 7y agoAnd what about Stingrays tracking cell phones?
- rebuilder 7y agoI've been wondering - how much would it cost to hire people to subtly sabotage a large city in order to cause financial losses. Say you're a nation state and want to mess with your rivals. There's some optimum for how much you can spend to cause your rival to lose a dollar and still come out on top. That will depend in who you are and who your rival is. It seems like it should be fairly good bang for buck, in this sense, to just hire people to drive around kind of slowly and badly. Nothing overtly aggressive, but a few dozen people driving slowly around a few select traffic circles around rush hour should really gum things up. Even better if you can cajole some people into, say, pulling emergency stops on subways. Note I don't think that's what's happening in NYC, but this case does seem to show that a few people could cause outsized disturbances just by being assholes.
- odiroot 7y agoIt has already been happening for decades. First Soviet Union then Russia paying various anarchist or extremist groups in the West to cause trouble.
- viraptor 7y agoIf you want financial losses, you're thinking too small. There's a ridiculous amount of infrastructure one can break. Mostly telco / power / water / ... It's a great testament to how people are mainly not dicks, given how everything keeps working. Either they're the utilities are exposed https://www.businessinsider.com.au/ships-anchor-cuts-internet-cables-to-jersey-jt-2016-11 https://www.businessinsider.com.au/ships-anchor-cuts-interne... or the overreaction is very expensive https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/17/portland-flush-38m-gallons-water-man-urinates-reservoir https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/17/portland-flush...
- quickthrower2 7y agoThe fact that it is criminal, possibly terrorism - prison or worse... might put people off too.
- viraptor 7y ago
- KaiserPro 7y agoThis is interesting I would be very surprised if this could happen in central london. 1) the tubes are packed and the cabs locked. 2) they would have be murdered by the other commuters. 3) you can't get in or out of the station without being seen on CCTV 4) each train has CCTV coverage. 5) its almost impossible to get out of the tube via the tunnels, without being electrocuted or run over (All but the cut and cover tunnels are <1' bigger than the trains) For point 2, even in legitimate cases where someone has keeled over, you get death stares. The only time its seen as acceptable is when someone falls inbetween the gap between the train and the platform edge.
- krisoft 7y ago> For point 2, even in legitimate cases where someone has keeled over, you get death stares. And with good reason, because that is not a legitimate case. It is displayed on signs on many routes that the emergency services can best help/reach you on the platforms. Pulling the emergency brakes in the tunnel is actually counter productive if someone keels over.
- dx034 7y agoI wrote it in the other comments, but emergency brakes on London tubes are not brakes, they just alert the driver. It therefore is a legitimate way to inform the driver of any unusual activity that warrants a longer stop at the next station.
- dx034 7y agoRegarding 5, emergency brakes in London won't stop the train in the tunnel. They just send a signal to the driver to wait at the next station and inform staff at that station and/or emergency services. Pulling the emergency brake therefore isn't necessarily a bad idea. If someone has fallen ill on the train (esp. common in summer), it's the best way to ensure that help will be available as soon as possible. As you said, evacuating trains in the tunnel is dangerous so it's only done if trains physically can't move to the station (e.g. another train blocks the tracks). And even then, evacuation is only done after electricity has been switched off via the end of the train.
- Tepix 7y agoThis points to a possible weakness with Robotaxis: They can be messed with.
- jfoster 7y agoDon't you think it's a bit less of a problem when it's isolated to a single vehicle intended for private travel? By this logic, it applies to every single road vehicle. What does it matter about whether it has a human or machine brain inside?
- dsfyu404ed 7y agoGet root on the right parts of OnStar's network and it'll affect a heck of a lot more than one vehicle.
- bubblewrap 7y agoRobotaxis could also lock the doors and drive straight to the police station.
- rb666 7y agoCalling him a super-villain is certainly going to make him stop!
- Animats 7y agoThis guy will be caught soon, with several million angry commuters aware of the problem.
- Amboto2205 7y agoIf you’re commuting on a New York subway, sorry, but your commute was already destroyed.
- nippler 7y agoThe absolute madman lmao
- jamisteven 7y agoSeems more likely that something is triggering the emergency braking system than some rogue, random dude risking his or her life to pull this stunt that often, AND go undetected.
- notacoward 7y agoDid you even read the article? People have seen the dude getting on and off trains. There's physical evidence in the form of unlocked safety chains. How does reality "seem unlikely" to you?
- elliottlan 7y agoI heard that people live in the tunnels in New York - is that actually a thing? If yes, could this be people brazenly deciding they need to get from A to B, climbing aboard at A and stopping the train wherever B is?
- g_sch 7y agoA few people used to live in the Amtrak tunnels on the Hudson River side of Manhattan. There was a documentary made about them [0]. They were evicted, and the tunnels fenced off, in the late 1990s. I would be quite surprised if anyone was living in the subway tunnels. Compared to the Amtrak tunnels, they are much narrower. Additionally, people were living in the Amtrak tunnels during a time when the tunnels were unused or seldom used by train traffic. In contrast, subway tunnels see lots of traffic 24 hours a day. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Days_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Days_(film)
- Darkclouds_1921 7y agoAs a south indian who has travelled pretty much all over the world, I cant even describe how I feel reading this article. Because you see, in India, the trains don't even have doors. It is the travellers responsibility to not fall out :D. And then there is such an Emergency pulley in each car with the handle painted red. But since no one has ever used it or changed in multiple decades, it is completely rusted and sealed with dirt. So it is near impossible for any individual to completely pull that lever down. The levers are also directly connected to the trains brake system, meaning you are actually directly applying the brake. I have seen 4 people pulling and hanging on to that lever handle to actually stop the train. Sigh!
- Darkclouds_1921 7y agoThere you go.. https://www.aanavandi.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/IMG_0021.jpg https://www.aanavandi.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/IM...
- inapis 7y agoOkay. This is a bit of an exaggeration. The poster above is talking about long distance trains while the article is about subway trains. 1. Most trains in India do have doors. 2. Almost all modern subway in Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai etc do have doors. The trains won’t move till the doors are completely shut. 3. Mumbai is one of the few cities which has an ancient train system which overlaps with the national long distance trains and is separate from the subways but still carries the bulk of the people. Trains/EMUs on this do have doors but people generally don’t close these in rush hours. 4. These days even long distance trains in India have their doors closed shut and you do get reprimanded for trying to keep the doors open (happened to me multiple times) 5. The part about chains being rusted and difficult to pull is probably true. 6. Delhi metro (and I suspect others too) don’t have chains. You have a button and speaker near every other door to talk to the driver in case of emergency. 7. Trains have doors. People just don’t close them.
- Darkclouds_1921 7y agoDidn't mean to exaggerate and it is true that the metros build in the last few years are great. But this is the image of today's suburban train in Chennai. May be I should have clearly mentioned that this is the status in south india rather than india as a whole. http://images.newindianexpress.com/uploads/user/imagelibrary/2017/11/4/w600X300/Suburban.jpg http://images.newindianexpress.com/uploads/user/imagelibrary...
- jamilbk 7y agoThe article assumes a “He”. Has it been confirmed to be a male or is it assumed anyone wishing to troll the NYC subway lines is male?
- Quanttek 7y agoNot to be snarky, but before writing such a comment you should probably read the article: > Every New York City Transit employee gave the same description of the “surfer” they saw riding the back of the train or darting across the tracks: young, male, wearing black clothing and white sneakers.
- magwa101 7y agoCameras, everywhere, surveillance state is the future.
- millzlane 7y agoCould be pen testing. I wonder the motivations behind the individual(s) doing it.
- Someone 7y agohttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_Subway_rolling_stock https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_Subway_rolling... says they have about 6,500 cars. The number of cabs is more difficult to find. Given the common rule for newer ones “Cars ending in 1, 5, 6 and 0 have single full-width cabs and are known as "A" cars. Cars ending in all other digits have no cabs and are known as "B" cars” , I guess it is about 40% of that, or 2,600. So, about 2,600 cameras (motion detectors might already be enough, if the culprit spends sufficient time in the cabin) in the cabs likely would solve the “what do they look like?) problem. Because of the differences in car widths, you even likely need fewer to cover the lines where this occurs a lot.
- Tsubasachan 7y agoI don't advocate violence so don't beat the person who is doing this up but... well maybe just a little bit.