I am writing this following the tragic accident that left the parents of a 16 year old boy grieving for the loss of their son, and his friends traumatized.
Just before Salt River on Friday, the train the boys were travelling on stopped and stood between stations for a while. The boys in their infinite wisdom decided to jump off the train.
As a general rule of thumb, the answer to do I jump off a train that is stationary, is always NO! Unless clearly told to be the crew of the train while they may be delayed, they may stand, you may be late for work or school, be assured that the train will move again.
If the train is stationary and you feel the need to jump off, please please please think twice, and a third time before doing so. There are multiple dangers of jumping from a stationary train.
Firstly, the train may start moving at any time, especially as generally trains stand for operational reasons not mechanical fault.
Secondly, you need to make triple sure about what is or isn't where you are going to be jumping. Firstly check the area that you are going to be jumping onto. How far is it? What is the surface you are jumping onto? But most importantly, check what is happening up and down the line. If there is a train in sight rather wait. Remember that trains even traveling at low speed take a distance to stop.
In the incident on Friday, the young man apparently jumped off the train with his friends, unfortunately his timing wasn't so good and he jumped into the path of a train. This follows a similar incident a few weeks ago with a 10 year old boy out Brackenfell way.
Please, please, please parents if you children travel by train remind them, enforce in them, that they need to treat the metal bullet that they ride on with a vast amount of respect.
As a side note to that crossing of tracks is another issue that causes many problems. I joke that unless you have metal wheels really you shouldn't be on the track. While that would be an ideal world, the reality is that people do often needs to cross tracks.
If you are going to cross the tracks then you need to treat it the way you would a road. You cannot just walk out without checking what is happening. Please stop safely before the tracks, look both ways (even more so if it is a single line stretch of track), listen to hear the train, and then actually repeat the above before crossing the track if it is safe to do so. Crossing as quickly as possible to ensure your safety. If you see a train coming towards you, then please use some common sense and wait for it to pass before crossing the tracks.
Remember that if something where to happen to you, not only your family and friends, but also the driver and guard and all those involved in your rescue would be traumatized for life. PLEASE THINK AND BE SAFE!
Just before Salt River on Friday, the train the boys were travelling on stopped and stood between stations for a while. The boys in their infinite wisdom decided to jump off the train.
As a general rule of thumb, the answer to do I jump off a train that is stationary, is always NO! Unless clearly told to be the crew of the train while they may be delayed, they may stand, you may be late for work or school, be assured that the train will move again.
If the train is stationary and you feel the need to jump off, please please please think twice, and a third time before doing so. There are multiple dangers of jumping from a stationary train.
Firstly, the train may start moving at any time, especially as generally trains stand for operational reasons not mechanical fault.
Secondly, you need to make triple sure about what is or isn't where you are going to be jumping. Firstly check the area that you are going to be jumping onto. How far is it? What is the surface you are jumping onto? But most importantly, check what is happening up and down the line. If there is a train in sight rather wait. Remember that trains even traveling at low speed take a distance to stop.
In the incident on Friday, the young man apparently jumped off the train with his friends, unfortunately his timing wasn't so good and he jumped into the path of a train. This follows a similar incident a few weeks ago with a 10 year old boy out Brackenfell way.
Please, please, please parents if you children travel by train remind them, enforce in them, that they need to treat the metal bullet that they ride on with a vast amount of respect.
As a side note to that crossing of tracks is another issue that causes many problems. I joke that unless you have metal wheels really you shouldn't be on the track. While that would be an ideal world, the reality is that people do often needs to cross tracks.
If you are going to cross the tracks then you need to treat it the way you would a road. You cannot just walk out without checking what is happening. Please stop safely before the tracks, look both ways (even more so if it is a single line stretch of track), listen to hear the train, and then actually repeat the above before crossing the track if it is safe to do so. Crossing as quickly as possible to ensure your safety. If you see a train coming towards you, then please use some common sense and wait for it to pass before crossing the tracks.
Remember that if something where to happen to you, not only your family and friends, but also the driver and guard and all those involved in your rescue would be traumatized for life. PLEASE THINK AND BE SAFE!
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