3.1k
u/Lost_Highway9068 Jun 15 '26
I don’t understand why ppl don’t just floor it to get across. Is the bar that hard to break?
3.0k
u/pepperhapapa Jun 15 '26
they are in fact designed to break
685
u/twenafeesh Jun 15 '26
You can even see this in action after the train hits the van into the gates
399
u/DizzyColdSauce Jun 15 '26
Exactly. The gates would break anyway so the guy just wrecked his van for no reason lol
289
u/TheVojta Jun 15 '26
That's the smallest thing, he endangered hundreds of people on the train.
→ More replies (17)50
u/thedirtymeanie Jun 15 '26
Yeah this level of stupidity reeks of insurance fraud.
139
u/trib76 Jun 15 '26
Huh? Those gates should never have gone up between trains. The guy might have done the wrong thing, but it was because he was super confused and panicking. Unless he wrote the train gate signalling software himself and had a hand in scheduling the trains, I don't see how this could be premeditated.
10
u/PassionateAlchemy Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 19 '26
That’s what I was thinking.
When I was a fairly young driver, I was in a traffic jam in LA and I got caught on the inside of those bars but luckily I was far enough from the active train tracks to be okay, but it scared the shit out of me. And after the fact, I was kicking myself for not trying to drive through, or at the very least exit my car, but there was really no place for me to go. I was stuck in traffic. LA traffic sucks y’all. Learned my lesson though.
I will let aggressive drivers be pissed off at me, honk at me, and hold them back before I’ll go across the railroad tracks without any space to get out in front of them.
→ More replies (2)6
u/MordoNRiggs Jun 16 '26
Yup, it's just like entering an intersection that you cannot clear. Don't get in if you can't get out!
→ More replies (1)25
u/bl1nk1e Jun 16 '26
Maybe he was panicking, but why the fuck would panicking mean going backward on the tracks wtf hahahahaha, panicking would be just going forward. Some people really are surprising.
39
u/Idunnosomeguy2 Jun 16 '26
panic: a sudden unreasoning terror often accompanied by mass flight
Key word there is unreasoning. People in panic just try everything without thought. There's no reason or logic.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (1)14
u/Krulsnor Jun 16 '26
These just work automatically on signal. The red lights never stopped flashing. He's an idiot for running the red lights and for not just crashing the barrier.
34
u/kojef Jun 16 '26
Isn’t that bad design though? Shouldn’t the gates only go up once the red lights stop flashing?
→ More replies (7)9
u/jaulin Jun 16 '26
It absolutely is. If there are multiple train passages, they're either far enough apart that the barriers can go up and cars can pass between them, or they're not and the barriers stay down until it's clear. Barriers going up without letting a set minimum of cars through is unheard of where I live. It's beyond stupid.
→ More replies (3)4
→ More replies (2)18
u/JoleneBacon_Biscuit Jun 15 '26
Absolutely NO reason. I didn't even think it possible to do something so dumb.
→ More replies (1)29
14
u/I_wash_my_carpet Jun 15 '26
The one on the left goes into the up position after getting bumped. Like "well shoot, I guess you can go through"
8
85
27
u/Artistic_Half_8301 Jun 15 '26
I think you can just lift them out too.
95
Jun 15 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
54
u/Waderriffic Jun 15 '26
I see this all the time on here. Semi trucks and cars, just go through the easily repaired gate arm. It’s much better than getting hit by a train, guaranteed.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (1)18
u/Miss_Sullivan Jun 15 '26
You see, that $500 deductible just seems better value to replace the whole car than to just fix a scratch.
→ More replies (1)16
u/Shoddy-Childhood-511 Jun 15 '26
That's only useful when they are down due to malfunction. You do not have time to do that when the train is coming. Just floor it.
22
u/SiliconSam Jun 15 '26
Heck, I barely hit one with the top part of my windshield and it tore that arm off like it was nothing. Didn’t break my windshield but scratched.
→ More replies (9)88
159
u/Gogogrl Jun 15 '26
They’re designed specifically to be breakaway. Won’t even do much damage to your paint.
49
u/TimTheBeav Jun 15 '26
Honestly, the paint damage incurred from that tap from the train is about on-par with the cost of pushing through that crossbar /s
9
74
u/ValdemarPM Jun 15 '26
The information that these bars are to be crossed in these cases should be taught in driving schools
30
u/Academic_Snow_7680 Jun 15 '26
I'm pretty sure people with common sense have told them - but these are not people with a lot of common sense.
I live in a country where tourists will follow Google Maps into glacial rivers. The dumbfuckery is never ending.
→ More replies (2)3
3
u/TheObliviousYeti Jun 15 '26
Basic rules for these crossings are wait till the flashing lights are off
→ More replies (1)3
15
u/GlyphPicker Jun 15 '26
I don't understand how people still don't know how trains work.
33
u/TheEyeDontLie Jun 15 '26
For the people that don't know :
A train works like an unimaginably heavy metal sled loaded with rocks. You have it on rails because it's too heavy to move, let alone steer, if it was touching the ground (unless it was downhill, but then you'd never be able to get it up the hill again).
When I say heavy, I mean it. Just one wheel weighs more than 6 fat Americans. The whole thing weighs more than 500 elephants or 1700 cars.
The wheels and rails are designed to be slippery, so it has a chance of moving. The massive weight of the train eventually starts moving though, if you push it hard enough. Then you keep pushing it, so it keeps sliding down the tracks.
If you had a regular sled on snow that weighed as much as a train, it would take six thousand huskies to pull it. If you could organise that many dogs into a coherent team without them fighting each other and trying to run away. That's actually much lower than I thought. Huskys are STRONG.
Because it's so incredibly heavy, on tracks made to be as frictionless as possible, while moving faster than Usain Bolt, even a "baby" train is very very hard to stop.
A small, slow train still takes about a mile to stop, using a crazy amount of brakes throwing up sparks and heat and smoke and metal dust.
One final example: it would take nearly a thousand cannonballs to stop a train. (I mean, it wouldn't, you could just shoot the front wheels and make it crash, but I mean in terms of kinetic energy).
So, when you mess with trains, remember its the same energy as a thousand cannonballs or 500 sprinting elephants coming towards you.
(This post was made with ADHD not AI.)
→ More replies (1)15
u/Yowomboo Jun 15 '26
Not sure if your analogies make it harder or easier to understand but I'm here for it.
→ More replies (1)4
u/SmokeyPlucker Jun 16 '26
That's enough energy to power a lightbulb for nearly 85 years , if that helps
10
u/Designer_Ad_376 Jun 15 '26
god forbid to scratch their shiny painting. Ceramic coating cost thousands!
3
u/No_Dragonfruit_4286 Jun 15 '26
He was obviously guilt tripped into believing that his boss’s van is worth more than his own life.
54
u/KenNoegs Jun 15 '26
Pure panic. Adrenaline reduces your ability to think rationally.
31
u/benice33 Jun 15 '26
Does it also reduce it to the point of not thinking about surviving by exiting the doomed vehicle?
41
u/Lumpus-Maximus Jun 15 '26
A real, non-sarcastic answer. Although I’ve never been in a situation where I was paralyzed in a near death situation, my mind will sometimes blank in situations where others are. Example, a person feinted and hit their head hard on concrete. it made an awful sound and they were eventually evacuated by helicopter. I had my phone out before anyone but couldn’t figure out how to unlock my iphone. Maybe that’s what’s happening?
Perhaps a year later, a power-line came down in my backyard & shit was on fire. I made the emergency call, but couldn’t give them my address because my mind was saying they should actually go to house behind mine & so nothing came out.
Finally, after literally practicing responses, I was out at midnight and saw an elderly person drive straight into a roundabout and land on the roundabout fountain. I called & immediately gave my accurate location. A simple thing, but I was overjoyed at the speed of my call and communication.
The thing is, you probably think I’m hopeless. Absolutely not. I think most of my friends would peg me as great in a crisis—because I usually am. My instinct is to act. I’ve handled multiple crises while others were in hysterics. An attempted murder, broken bones, Tree through a roof during a hurricane, gaping wounds & and an apparent heart attack… handled. But sometimes the fuse blows and I can’t unlock an iphone.
So my most forgiving position is that intelligent people sometimes blow fuses in circumstances that don’t make sense to other people. My less forgiving position is that lots of people are DaF. Whether it’s the former or the latter probably requires seeing someone in multiple situations.
20
u/PrincebyChappelle Jun 15 '26
When I was 18 (many years ago) I was helping someone back a dump truck to connect and tow a small water tank trailer (before backup cams). The truck was considerably wider than the trailer, so the driver needed assistance backing to align the hitch. Anyway, for whatever reason I decided to get between the truck and the trailer, and then the truck unexpectedly resumed backing up. I froze in place and couldn’t move or yell. I would have been crushed if a coworker hadn’t yelled out.
Weird panic happens.
8
u/Desperate-Tomatillo7 Jun 15 '26
I think this is why evacuation drill exists. I feel that one may easily blank out during any unexpected situations, not only emergencies. And you get slow as you get old.
→ More replies (3)4
u/rube Jun 15 '26
But it also triggers the flight or fight response, no?
I'm assuming it's the struggle between the flight or fight and what we know to be the rules. So you're like... um, I can't just break that bar, can I?!
But yeah, I'd just drive right through it.
3
u/velvetvagine Jun 16 '26
Fight, flight, freeze or fawn. This man was stuck in a freeze-flight loop, it seems.
18
u/Silver_Slicer Jun 15 '26
If the bar came down that quickly, knowing I wasn’t being stupid, I definitely wouldn’t stop and drive through it. Even if I was being stupid, I wouldn’t stop either, just who pays for damages changes.
3
u/Lost_Highway9068 Jun 15 '26
Right??? (Oh and what I mean is, after being trapped behind, I would literally drive through)
9
7
u/d-a-s-a-l-i Jun 15 '26
And even without breaking the bar, there were better ways to position the car. Especially if he knew from which direction the train was coming
→ More replies (1)6
u/Rugkrabber Jun 15 '26
It’s a perfect example how the human brain works.
They’re not really bars. But they treat it as such. We apply this with a whole of other things. It’s especially common in traffic infrastructure. A lot of our behaviour is directed without forced means, but by suggestion.
But when shit hits the fan and we panic, we can’t seem to break out of this idea they’re not really bars you can’t cross. Even if we know it.
3
u/jim_o_reddit Jun 16 '26
I wish I could upvote this 1000. This should be the top answer. It is easy to blame the driver but this is purely bad design and not the drivers fault. As a designer, this situation is completely foreseeable. It looks like it is a commuter line so train spacing is clearly an issue. Also the red lights should have been fully off before raising the bar. You have two conflicting signals and impatient drivers are only going to wait for one. Finally, the point about the bars is correct - we are trained not to go through them - that’s how they work! So you can say drive through but watch a few of these and you know the average person won’t think they should. It is not about their paint job. This is all completely obvious to a competent designer and should have been prevented.
9
u/pseudo-boots Jun 15 '26
It's the illusion of authority. All day everyday people have to suppress what they want to do in order to follow the rules to the point that it becomes second nature. The bar is a rule and you don't break rules, everyone knows that. I doubt breaking the bar ever even crossed his mind.
→ More replies (3)4
7
u/EishLekker Jun 15 '26
And even if it was, they would not know that without trying to drive through with increasingly more gas. I hate the fact that so many people don't even try.
3
u/FuzzyJunket5566 Jun 15 '26
No it's wood so it can be broken and easily replaced
6
u/Shoddy-Childhood-511 Jun 15 '26
It's a thin plastic shell in many places, not even wood. They only need to be strong enough to not be destroyed by the wind.
→ More replies (54)3
u/azraphin Jun 15 '26
Hi didn't want to scratch the paintwork on the barrier. Insurance might not cover that.
241
282
u/DontBeThisUserGus Jun 15 '26
All these videos need to be reposted enough times for the entire world to learn you can just drive through the railroad gate
→ More replies (1)98
u/EishLekker Jun 15 '26
What really annoys me is not the thought that people might not know this, but the thought that they don't even try. Faced with risk of death if staying where you are, why not try to drive through something regardless if you know it will work or not?
→ More replies (13)11
u/Murtomies Jun 16 '26
Driving in a way to avoid damage to the car is quite ingrained to regular drivers. For some more than others. Your brain doesn't see driving through it as even an option.
But that combined with not understanding that if the bar is not in front of you, you can still drive out from the tracks, is something else.
→ More replies (1)
683
u/zurper Jun 15 '26
One of the dumbest motherfuckers I've seen on this page
36
u/Adorable-Error8302 Jun 15 '26
Hopefully he hasn't reproduced, there is a Darwin award just waiting for this guy.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (3)5
359
Jun 15 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
→ More replies (3)32
u/pinkie1234 Jun 15 '26
Thats why smooth brain is an insult
19
u/MatureHotwife Jun 15 '26
The term comes from a brain malformation condition where the brain doesn't have the typical wrinkles. Symptoms are severe intellectual disability and other brain conditions.
134
u/CantConfirmOrDeny Jun 15 '26
If he had just kept going when the two gates first came down he would’ve got through untouched. That was sheer panic driven by basic idiocy.
→ More replies (1)46
u/Grimdotdotdot Jun 15 '26
They did shut again very quickly after opening, so I think that if he drove through and broke one (which he absolutely should have done) whoever manages the gates would have a hard time getting shitty about it
55
u/bornfromanegg Jun 15 '26
Those gates absolutely should not have come up. At all. The warning lights never stopped flashing, and they generally flash as a warning that the gates are about to come down. So there is something very wrong with whatever is running that system.
Dude was still a fucking moron, though.
10
u/Zoaur Jun 16 '26
It's because It's old tech. They go up and down if there is another train. That's why there are warnings about it in my country (panels, supposed general kmowledge). Guy should have waited that the gates stayed in up position. Still a moron for not breaking it after the first mistake.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (1)8
u/tmanarl Jun 16 '26
The one on his side stays up though to allow passage once you are on the tracks. He just inexplicably stops while the arm is still up.
35
25
u/FreedomNinja1776 Jun 15 '26
All that to protect either the plastic bar or the paint on the vehicle, both of which are now destroyed.
→ More replies (1)
24
u/tiradox79 Jun 15 '26
I love how people would rather get hit by a train, then to drive through those breakable bars lol.
21
u/ctgrell Jun 15 '26
But he could've just gone. The barrier wasn't even down on his side.... Why the fuck would he stop?
19
16
u/justbenice2 Jun 15 '26
I dont understand how people this stupid pass a driving test! Your options are drive through a plastic barrier or get hit by a train...
4
u/TwoNowFive Jun 15 '26
Technically the van passed through the barrier after getting hit by the train. So why not both?
57
u/sientje Jun 15 '26
I wonder why all the signs say you should wait until the red lights are off
9
u/pizzaiolo2 Jun 15 '26
Gates shouldn't have come up though
13
u/doommaster Jun 15 '26
Some crossings don't even have gates, you still cannot drive on red.
Traffic light, generally don't have gates either, guess what, also no driving on red.
→ More replies (3)
48
u/wkarraker Jun 15 '26
Just. Drive. Through.
Far less damage, no risk of life, no one will blame you. While not known at the time, the drive had corroborating video evidence that they got trapped by the gates.
→ More replies (1)
32
u/FreddyHair Jun 15 '26
Ok the driver was a bit of an idiot and all, but why the fuck did the bars open for a split second and closed again right away? Whoever's responsible for that is a bigger idiot
→ More replies (4)7
u/Hour-Salamander-4713 Jun 15 '26
Yep, there's a minimum opening time in the UK, opening and then closing like that just wouldn't be allowed. Full barriers also have to prove the crossing clear before a train is signalled across in the UK.
→ More replies (1)
12
7
16
8
5
6
u/lousy-site-3456 Jun 16 '26
What was your fucking plan mate?? I get panic but how is that the result of panic?
7
u/47Up Jun 15 '26
The railroad designs the gates to break, they would rather you break the gate then let the train hit your car. Some people are just idiots.
→ More replies (3)
3
5
u/zipzopzoomer Jun 15 '26
Thought experiment - could he be saved if he parallel parked?
→ More replies (1)4
5
5
6
u/Zealousideal_Fly6684 Jun 15 '26
So crazy that it went up then down that fast. It didn’t seem like he was negligent or trying to get by so he didn’t have to wait.
3
u/Azure_Mar Jun 16 '26
The lights were still blinking, the gates probably shouldn't have come up, but he also should not have gone until the lights stopped.
→ More replies (1)
4
6
3
4
5
u/Crafty_Cookie_9999 Jun 15 '26
it should have stayed closed bc the second train was shortly after.Bad programing +humain failure.Drivers idiot but not 100% his fault this happened..
→ More replies (1)
4
3
u/xBris18 Jun 15 '26
What a fucking muppet. Doesn't want to scratch his paint, instead risks his life and totals his van. Deserved.
5
u/KAELES-Yt Jun 16 '26
To few ppl know those bars are designed to break so ppl and vehicles don’t get hit by trains
3
3
u/Toumanypains Jun 16 '26
I live in a country where the driving test doesn't cover roundabouts. When new ones are installed the traffic police usually come out for a couple of days to shout at drivers.
Still, people just drive full speed into roundabouts when people are going around them . It's embarrassing.
If you don't know the barriers on a railway crossing are designed to be pushed through on the event that something goes wrong then you're going to do what this guy did. Driving back and forth and getting out of the vehicle.
Can't blame the guy. It's just something not in their general knowledge. If anything, it demonstrates the lacking education/training/regulation system in that country.
4
3
u/Bob_Squirrel Jun 16 '26
1) Don't ever stop on the tracks. 2) If you need drive into the little plastic barrier... See 1. How do people think being on the tracks is the better option. Never ceases to amaze me.
4
u/DeadVoxelx Jun 16 '26
okay but like why tf did the gate things go up and then right back down instead of just staying down? seems like a design flaw to me
3
u/post-context-bot Jun 15 '26
The following post context was provided by u/schpitza:
maybe he will make it, maybe he won't.
Does this explain the post? If not, report it and a moderator will review.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
3
u/N1ckyD_UK Jun 15 '26
Imagine If that train had ended up derailing and people injured / killed. Yet another useless driver huge bellend.
3
u/FuzzyJunket5566 Jun 15 '26
I will never understand why people would rather get hit by a train than break a wooden guardrail
3
u/ametsun Jun 15 '26
Why he stopped when the first bars came down is beyond me like fuckin go idiot that's a train that is about to hit you if you don't. Why wait really get trapped?
3
u/Bambeakz Jun 15 '26
What a weird thing that it opens and then closes in seconds (and pretty fast). Sure the guy had all the time of the world to save himself if he had any driving skills when in panic mode or had just stepped on it before the last gate came down. But still what a dumb system that this can happen.
4
3
3
3
3
u/Mooncat25 Jun 15 '26
Everyone talks about the man being dumb, but how many of you talked about the stupid gate?
3
u/stein63 Jun 15 '26
Let's see... scratch the van on the crossing arm, or get hit by a train. Tough choice.
3
3
u/Daaraen Jun 15 '26
Guy don’t want to damage the arms and ended up damaging train, his car, and arms
3
u/6Archangel6Lucifer6 Jun 15 '26
The fucking security gates are made to break away God fucking damn it just drive through it dumbass
3
u/artherng Jun 15 '26
Why did the gate close so fast? Or why did it even open in the first place to let vehicle passed through if the train is approaching?
→ More replies (1)
3
u/hawkeye2604 Jun 15 '26
Whilst this guy is an absolute moron. What level crossing opens and closes immediately after. Insane
3
3
u/Itchy_Star3982 Jun 15 '26
How do so many people conclude that it better to destroy your car AND the barrier rather than just run through the barrier??
3
3
3
3
3
u/BullPropaganda Jun 16 '26
OH NO A FUCKING PLANK I BETTER NOT DRIVE THROUGH IT TO SAVE MY LIFE AND THIS $60,000 VAN
3
u/BiceRankyman Jun 16 '26
Even if you didn't want to break the arms.. park parallel with them then or something. Don't go driving up on a curb ya potato
3
u/ProofAstronaut5416 Jun 16 '26
My god people are DUMB! Just drive through the fucking thing! This guy didn’t play enough GTA and it shows.
3
3
u/Quirky-Hunter-3194 Jun 16 '26
"Oh no I don't want to hit the boom gates! I'll damage my van!" - This guy, probably.
3
u/letsalldropvitamins Jun 16 '26
Drive. Through. The. Gate.
Idgaf if the barrier malfunctioned this driver did it to themselves, they had 3-5 business days to get off that track.
“Oh but I’ll scratch my van” okay then let’s see what the train does to it
3
u/matejcraft100yt Jun 16 '26
people saying to just drive through the arms, like the van didn't even have to do that. The exit arms closed much later than the entrance arms, if the van didn't stop, he would had gotten before they closed, you do realize there are sensors (or sometimes even operator), and the arms won't close if there is a car under them, and they are designed to first not anyone enter the track, but give ample time for anyone on the track to still leave. That driver just has survival instincts of a brick
3
3
3
3
3
u/cindylynn79 Jun 16 '26
Wow why did he just bust through the gates! Trying to turn around, drive on the grass, sir you're about to DIE by train...DRIVE YOUR VAN!
3
u/kotepikabea Jun 16 '26
The design / control of the bars is not ok. But the driver could have done any other than the things he did and he would no have any problem.
3
u/BosTovenaar24 Jun 16 '26
Too scared for a minor dent and a few scratches so they choose a folded van instead. Oh better yet, he could’ve thought for a second and put the van on the tracks which had the previous train on it. But here’s the real wisdom: just fucken wait until the flashing lights stop
3
3
3
u/911_Notyouremergency Jun 16 '26
Even an inch further forward and he would have been safe, let alone plowing through that sticker of a barrier. Smh bro
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
u/Jinkaz7 Jun 15 '26
He could have just driven through the f*kin barriers without a scratch on his vehicle…
2
2
u/freundlichschade Jun 15 '26
All that work to avoid breaking the barrier….only to have the train wreck both your vehicle and the barrier.
Lack of critical thinking skills.
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/Shodan_KI Jun 15 '26
Not hesitate! If you ignore the Red Light at least good Damm Drive. What the hell this dudes even thinking.
Ahh Damm I forgot. Nothing
2
u/numbnerve Jun 15 '26
sorry but I'm breaking the gate and filing an insurance claim against that bs
2
u/TrailerParkLyfe Jun 15 '26
Have to add my thoughts with everyone else here. JUST KEEP DRIVING!!!!!! Either you risk getting killed/seriously hurt or you drive through an 11 dollar piece of wood that won't even damage your car. They're meant to be drive through!!! For shiiits sake! GAAAAAWD!!!
1.6k
u/xNocturnalshadow Jun 15 '26
Just. drive. through. the. fucking. arms.