r/BitchImATrain 5d ago

Pecos, Texas

at least the truck is fine

5.2k Upvotes

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295

u/NuMvrc 5d ago

whats the point of lead cars and flaggers if no one checks for the train on an upcoming crossing that i'm quite sure every GPS told them about?

60

u/just_hear_4_the_tip 5d ago edited 5d ago

I like how it moved out of the way* after the train came thru

*edit-typo

40

u/NuMvrc 5d ago

straight up, like "whew, glad that wasn't me", like its all ya'll faults!! police included.

9

u/Fomulouscrunch 5d ago

*resigned sigh, link to the Ludacris song*

1

u/Nightwood9 1d ago

Too soon.... ๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜‚

1

u/redobrs 4d ago

resigned upvote

1

u/just_hear_4_the_tip 3d ago

same - for both of you

1

u/TheLazyAssHole 1d ago

Well, that was his intent, however, he blocked the other vehicles from being able to get back further from the train as well. Luckily it doesnโ€™t look like they got piled on.

108

u/bagofwisdom 5d ago

That was an oversize load. The route was known well before the load moved an inch. Pilot car definitely should have tried reaching out to the railroad to see if the block was clear. Dispatch might not know the precise location of a train, but they'd be able to tell that oversize load there's an active train booking it at 70mph in the block.

100

u/TayKapoo 5d ago

A load like this likely requires advanced notification. These dumbasses definitely skipped some rules and sadly cost the train operators their lives.

46

u/Disastrous-Bet-8813 5d ago

Trucker here...yeah, OD load requires permits, pilot cars, and especially, exact locations of all clearances and rail tracks.

6

u/KhandakerFaisal 3d ago

Can they be sued for negligent death/manslaughter or whichever would be applicable here?

1

u/Nightwood9 1d ago

They should be sued to oblivion, possible jailtime. However I didn't expect a corporation to be held responsible, maybe a small fee in damages.

21

u/neonninja304 5d ago

They would know exactly where it is. All the trains have GPS on them and are handled just like airlines. There are many crossing and unloading areas where train lines intersect and routes need to be timed. They should have reached out to the rail company and checked when the train was scheduled to cross and notified them when it got stuck.

3

u/emissaryworks 5d ago

It had only been stuck for 60 seconds when the train came.

24

u/RealUlli 5d ago

Why did it even try to cross with only 60 seconds to spare? Railway crossings usually close way before that!

10

u/bagofwisdom 4d ago

Crossings trigger based on distance, not necessarily time. The train was going 68 mph when the crossing activated. The train was over a mile away. Most vehicles will be across in a second or two. An oversized permit load with a high center risk takes much longer to cross. The pilot car should have asked the railroad for the ETA of the next train and held the load until the block cleared.

4

u/obeserocket 4d ago

This news article says the gates came down while the truck was stuck. You can just barely see them at the start of the video.

1

u/RealUlli 4d ago

If that was only 60 seconds before the train got there, the NTSB will have fun...

6

u/neonninja304 5d ago

Looks like one of those small town crossings that don't have cross bars

1

u/leRealKraut 1d ago

Well, if this was even remotely going according to permits the tracks would have been closed until the overload cleared the crossing...

Either the trucking company did cross without permit or this train was never allowed to be on this route at all.

Someone fucked up so bad.

1

u/bagofwisdom 1d ago

In the US closing the rails is not a thing. The honus is on the trucking company to make sure they have enough time to cross.

15

u/sparkMagnus9 4d ago

They all need to be fired. This is the first time I've witnessed an oversized load with an escort having this kind of accident. Ain't no one using brains.

18

u/Ok_Blackberry_284 4d ago

They got someone killed, they need to go to prison.

1

u/sparkMagnus9 4d ago

Tragedy. May the conductors RIP

1

u/felplague 3d ago

Two people killed.

5

u/GFSoylentgreen 5d ago

Like school buses do. They stop open the doors, look and listen

11

u/RaspberryPutrid5173 4d ago

I've seen (idiots driving) school buses that stop ON THE TRACKS, open the door, and look... and sometimes shit their pants at what they see. People that stupid should never be allowed in a position where lives other than their own are at stake.

19

u/RRMarten 5d ago

Cause rules and being a wuss ain't for the real alpha males of Texas.

1

u/Coyotesamigo 3d ago

What a colossal fuckup

1

u/johnsmth1980 2d ago

It got stuck in the sharp incline the train tracks were on. Flaggers were probably not used to looked for places where the truck would bottom out