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Something that I realized is overlooked in this thread is the other-other victim: the Caltrain engineer. Railroad crews that hit people and/or vehicles can get

by kposehn 13y ago

Something that I realized is overlooked in this thread is the other-other victim: the Caltrain engineer. Railroad crews that hit people and/or vehicles can get extremely bad PTSD and it can have a massive impact on them. My best wishes go to the crewmember who is likely dealing with a very trying time.

Crito 13y ago
I read somewhere once that the suggested procedure for train engineers who are about to hit somebody is to sound the horn and activate the brakes, then cover their ears, close their eyes, and scream so that they do not hear the noise. I'm not sure if that is true, but it really ingrained in me a sense of how horrible it must be to be so powerless in that sort of situation.
- shangxiao 13y ago
  Even if it isn't the procedure, it sounds like great advice
venus 13y ago
An ex of mine's uncle worked for 40 years as a track engineer for a railway company in Tokyo. There, the trains cannot be stopped for any longer than absolutely necessary, and the engineers were/are frequently called out to inspect and help clean up the track, with a claw-type pick-up tool and a bucket. Hit at 100kph and go under the wheels - it can be very messy. And I'm not talking once or twice here, it happened several times a year. It's possibly even worse being the driver, but it always struck me what an utterly horrific job that must be and wondering what stress-related illnesses it would produce in the affected employees. edit: I should clarify that any large body parts are collected by the police or medical personnel. The engineer's job is to certify the integrity of the track and clear it of foreign matter, washing it down too if necessary.
- sspiff 13y ago
  The uncle of my girlfriend is a train driver (not in Japan, but in Belgium), and he's had several of these incidents happen during his career. Here, walking under a train is one of the more popular methods of committing suicide. It's a very tough situation, because trains don't stop on demand. Last week, a friend-of-a-friend killed himself by walking into a slow-driving train. Imagine being the driver of a train with a 20-year-old kid walking towards your cabin and being unable to stop the train in time.
Theodores 13y ago
Also overlooked is the guy we assume to have been trying to commit suicide. He is still a fellow human being, but what possible words do we have for him? Seemingly none on this thread. Things might be bad for the Caltrain engineer, but he still has his job. However, for Mr Failed Suicide, he has the following to look forward to: the problems that existed before the attempt, those will not have gone away. The physical agony of injury due to being hit by a train. A hospital bill. The fact that he is not going to be Mr Popular for indirectly causing someone else to die. Hence, with hindsight, his original depression will look like happy times. In London (and probably every major city) commuters are regularly affected by those trying to commit suicide by being hit by a train. Recently we had one woman on the tracks first thing in the morning. She did get hit, but not fatally. This required a suspension of service. Eventually the authorities caught her and, after being admitted to 'A+E' (Accident and Emergency), they took her to the mental health ward. After lunch she was able to discharge herself and make it down to the train station where she was able to do the deed just in time for rush hour. Because the trains ended up out of sequence due to her morning capers and because the tracks had to be handed over to the police for them to do their work for afternoon/evening, it meant that she had managed to effectively close the track for the entire day. You can imagine how best pleased the tens of thousands of commuters on that line were. I would not be the least bit surprised if the guy that tried to suicide himself in this story tries to kill himself as soon as he is able to, as per aforementioned London lady. There is a big difference between 'cry for help' suicide attempts and being on the tracks. There is also a difference between someone standing on a tall building preparing to jump and someone on the tracks. Effectively, with that train coming along it is equivalent to the jumper being in freefall, the point of no return has been passed. I don't think that our hero in this story had time to realise that.
easy_rider 13y ago
Even after his death, awesome marketeer.

by kposehn 13y ago

Crito 13y ago

I read somewhere once that the suggested procedure for train engineers who are about to hit somebody is to sound the horn and activate the brakes, then cover their ears, close their eyes, and scream so that they do not hear the noise. I'm not sure if that is true, but it really ingrained in me a sense of how horrible it must be to be so powerless in that sort of situation.

shangxiao 13y ago
Even if it isn't the procedure, it sounds like great advice

venus 13y ago

An ex of mine's uncle worked for 40 years as a track engineer for a railway company in Tokyo. There, the trains cannot be stopped for any longer than absolutely necessary, and the engineers were/are frequently called out to inspect and help clean up the track, with a claw-type pick-up tool and a bucket. Hit at 100kph and go under the wheels - it can be very messy. And I'm not talking once or twice here, it happened several times a year. It's possibly even worse being the driver, but it always struck me what an utterly horrific job that must be and wondering what stress-related illnesses it would produce in the affected employees. edit: I should clarify that any large body parts are collected by the police or medical personnel. The engineer's job is to certify the integrity of the track and clear it of foreign matter, washing it down too if necessary.

sspiff 13y ago
The uncle of my girlfriend is a train driver (not in Japan, but in Belgium), and he's had several of these incidents happen during his career. Here, walking under a train is one of the more popular methods of committing suicide. It's a very tough situation, because trains don't stop on demand. Last week, a friend-of-a-friend killed himself by walking into a slow-driving train. Imagine being the driver of a train with a 20-year-old kid walking towards your cabin and being unable to stop the train in time.

Theodores 13y ago

Also overlooked is the guy we assume to have been trying to commit suicide. He is still a fellow human being, but what possible words do we have for him? Seemingly none on this thread. Things might be bad for the Caltrain engineer, but he still has his job. However, for Mr Failed Suicide, he has the following to look forward to: the problems that existed before the attempt, those will not have gone away. The physical agony of injury due to being hit by a train. A hospital bill. The fact that he is not going to be Mr Popular for indirectly causing someone else to die. Hence, with hindsight, his original depression will look like happy times. In London (and probably every major city) commuters are regularly affected by those trying to commit suicide by being hit by a train. Recently we had one woman on the tracks first thing in the morning. She did get hit, but not fatally. This required a suspension of service. Eventually the authorities caught her and, after being admitted to 'A+E' (Accident and Emergency), they took her to the mental health ward. After lunch she was able to discharge herself and make it down to the train station where she was able to do the deed just in time for rush hour. Because the trains ended up out of sequence due to her morning capers and because the tracks had to be handed over to the police for them to do their work for afternoon/evening, it meant that she had managed to effectively close the track for the entire day. You can imagine how best pleased the tens of thousands of commuters on that line were. I would not be the least bit surprised if the guy that tried to suicide himself in this story tries to kill himself as soon as he is able to, as per aforementioned London lady. There is a big difference between 'cry for help' suicide attempts and being on the tracks. There is also a difference between someone standing on a tall building preparing to jump and someone on the tracks. Effectively, with that train coming along it is equivalent to the jumper being in freefall, the point of no return has been passed. I don't think that our hero in this story had time to realise that.

easy_rider 13y ago

Even after his death, awesome marketeer.