Train Accidents or Traps

There’s been a lot of talk of accidents/traps (traps are the internal term used by Metrorail for an accident involving a pedestrian) of late and while everyone seems to sympathise with the victim and their family, I’d just like to take a moment and put the side of the drivers and guards and the other staff that are involved across. While I am neither a driver or guard nor work in any way for PRASA/Metrorail I have spoken to a few staff members and this is a collective of their experiences.

We start with the most obvious, which is the recurrent flashbacks, often at the most inappropriate time. It starts simply enough with not being able to sleep. The moment you close your eyes and your brain starts to relax and unwind, the images pop unexpectedly and uninvited into your mind and you are right back in that moment. This has the most obvious downside of you will do anything to either stay awake, or alternatively fall into a dreamless, often medicated, sleep. With this comes the next obvious step, of being constantly tired and having the constant need/desire to take short naps during the day. There is something about night-time that makes these flashbacks worse.

Another downside of these flashbacks is the very real desire to hide away from the world. Simple things like going to the shop become traumatising. The very real possibility of meeting someone you know who wants to talk to you, or even just asks that common question “How are you?” can send you right back to the scene of the accident. Even family and friends are unsure how to approach you, and either want to discuss all the details, or act as if nothing happened.

While some of the accidents/traps are an unfortunate result of the wanton overcrowding brought about by the lack of trains and the poor service delivery, or even just being in the wrong place at the wrong time, there are still those that for whatever reason decide there is no hope in their lives and feel that a train is the quickest and easiest way out.

There are the people who fall out of overcrowded train carriages, either from within the actual carriage or from between the carriages. Then there are the people who, and while I understand that you need to get to work or home again, travel on the tops of the trains. For many reasons this is one of the most dangerous places to travel, especially if you are not paying attention to where you are sitting. The pantograph, which connects the train to the very high voltage current running through the overhead cables, can and does lower. If you are not aware then you face the very real risk of being electrocuted.

It is the ones that feel the need to commit suicide that are by far the worst kinds of accident/trap that a driver or guard will face. One of the big things that remains, in all the cases, is the smell of burning or charred flesh. This is something that is very hard to get over as unlike the images which can be talked through, and while not forgotten totally are able to be processed, our sense of smell is known to trigger the most visceral and basic of responses, both good and bad. As such, this is by far the hardest part of an accident/trap to get over.

Another driver suffered from trauma brought about by someone attempting to commit suicide and despite an ambulance having been called, fled the scene of the accident. The most traumatising part of the experience was not knowing what had happened to him once he had fled the scene.

Often when someone chooses to commit suicide, the family are unaware and may well take to social media to try and locate their family member.

One driver recounted how one man had been missing a week before he jumped in front of their train. It then took the family another two weeks before they found him at the Salt River Mortuary.  They then went to social media for any information about what had happened to him and if anyone was able to assist them. While the driver was aware of the pleas for help in finding their missing loved one, at a loss or words and still in shock from what had happened, they were unable to respond to these pleas as they would not have had the answers the family would be looking for.

Eventually with counselling and time these issues do start to improve and the reliance on substances to assist you to get through the day reduces and what is now the “new” you starts to emerge, the one able to function and continue as if nothing has changed, despite everything having been permanently changed.

However, in our modern day and age the recurrence of the trauma is always just lurking around the corner. The incessant need to repost and share the graphic photos and videos of accidents is all that is necessary sometimes to take them right back to the scene of their accident. While I understand, although I don’t agree with it, that we are at an instant gratification stage of life where answers etc are always just a moment away the gratuitous need to share gruesome photos and videos whether off accidents or bullying is a trend I hope we can soon sway the other way.

As an aside to the need to share the photos and videos, a moment to consider that the victim still needs to be identified and their family informed. I know of at least once instance where the family found out a loved one had died through video shared on a WhatsApp group.

Mention also needs to be made of some of the procedure that needs to be followed by a driver or guard following an accident/trap. First and foremost, irrespective of the type of incident it needs to be reported to CMOCC, and the necessary services need to be mobilised, be it police, ambulance, fire or all of them. The driver is not allowed to move the train from the scene until cleared to do so by the investigating parties. A relief driver also needs to be contacted to come and continue driving the train as the driver involved needs to attend for medical clearance before continuing to drive the train. If as a commuter your train is ever involved in an accident/trap demanding that the driver continues the journey adds further insult and unnecessary trauma. While every step will be taken to try and speed the process along there is still a process that needs to be followed.

So yes, my sympathies are often more with the driver and the guard than the victim but remember what for you is just a means to get from A to B to the driver and guard involved in an accident/trap this is their workplace and they are required at some point to return to work in the very place where it all happened.