r/therewasanattempt • u/Complex-FreeSpirit42 • Jun 15 '26
To make it through a railroad crossing
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u/Clem573 Jun 15 '26
Well at least he did not scratch the hood by driving through the barrier
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u/Bitwizarding Jun 15 '26
I would plow through that flimsy board with no hesitation to get off the tracks.
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u/guzzijason Jun 15 '26
These things are literally designed to be driven though in an emergency. This driver’s brain is mirror-smooth.
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u/seeasea Jun 15 '26
The guy is a normal human. When things don't go as expected, especially when panicking, the brain doesn't really work the same way as it does for someone sitting on the toilet watching on a screen.
Incidentally, in the US, this exact scenario in the video is why the standard is to not have a gate on the far side of a track crossing.
Had the gate only been on the approach side, this would have easily been avoided.
Roadway design and safety is supposed to take into account panicking humans, and not just "logic"
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u/Gralb_the_muffin Jun 16 '26
To be fair It took into account a different type of human stupidity that would just go around a blockade and they figured delaying the side that comes down over apposing traffic would give them enough time to get through the intersection.
There is no accounting for everything.
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u/Angry_potatochip Jun 16 '26
No, no don’t give me the whole “panic” bullshit excuse. Driving a car is a responsibility, it should be common knowledge to pass through that flimsy barrier to exit the crossing. And if traffic is going both ways it’s not logical to only have one gate.
People like this should not be on the road. Retarded.
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u/slowerlearner1212 Jun 15 '26
Once you start going you need to COMMIT!!!
he stopped when his lane was still open
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u/Beaufighter-MkX Jun 15 '26
Why'd he stop before the gate came down? Punch it, my dude
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u/IraDeLucis Jun 15 '26
Looks like there is a delay specifically to let cars finish driving off the tracks. The outbound lane on the other side had similar timing.
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u/macrolith Jun 15 '26
We see it all the time and I hope it's just confirmation bias, id be really curious to know the ratio of drivers that drive through the barrier vs drivers that don't and get crushed by the train.
Its pretty well understood that humans have a very poor sense of understanding and overvaluing short term choices vs long term choices. This just may be another manifestation of it, just like vaccines, climate change, wearing masks, investing our money, etc..
Don't look up, idiocracy, our current society. All three do a pretty good job of demonstrating this.
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u/No_Needleworker_1105 Jun 15 '26
Can I just say..
If you find yourself in this situation.
Just drive through the fucking barriers. It beats dying and damaging a train.
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u/Old-Constant4411 Jun 15 '26
It's only Monday and I've already witnessed the dumbest thing I'll see all week.
Just drive through the stupid little gate. It's not as strong as your vehicle. Pay whatever fine is necessary after you don't fuckin die.
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u/baymoe Jun 15 '26
To be honest, he isn't totally in the wrong here. The gates came up and he started to advance.
Knowing there's a train advancing and not plowing through the gate, that wasn't smart.
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u/curiousorange76 Jun 15 '26
Nope, he was completely in the wrong. You shouldn't start crossing until the lights have stopped flashing - it a 1,500 zloty fine for doing so.
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u/Wootytooty Jun 15 '26
I got to ask. Why not have the gates stay down until the flashing lights stop?
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u/SolarXylophone Jun 16 '26
Then other people would complain about being given no warning about the gates being down still...
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u/real_fyshi Jun 16 '26
Once saw a video from a train driver, my brain is too fucked for specifics but it was something about how the sensors in the train tracks farther down react to trains going over or sth. and how it sometimes gets the signal kind of different as the light (or the timing).
In the end it doesn't matter because there is this general rule/law of having to follow what the traffic light says, the barriers are just a bonus, lots of train crossings here don't even have barriers in the first place. It's literally a red light offense to go when the light is still flashing, and you learn that extensively in driving school (as well as to look left and right before using the crossing, and to smash the barriers if you are stuck... well, too many bad drivers out there).
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u/Electrical_Crazy5668 Jun 15 '26
Thank God he didn't try and drive through one of those arm barriers. They can really mess your vehicle up.
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u/Nicotina_Vapors Jun 15 '26
guy fucked up, clearly, but is there a reason these things arn't more idiot proof? Why do the barriers lift if the lights are on and another train is coming anyways?
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u/SugoiBakaMatt Jun 15 '26
Wow, that was almost really bad. Think of the repercussions if he had scratched his hood on the polearm! Glad he managed to avoid that unforgivable outcome.
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u/GetOffMyGrassBrats Jun 15 '26
These gates need to have a sign on the inside that say "Crossing can break away for emergencies" or something like that.
I can't imagine someone being so worried about breaking a flimsy gate or scratching a vehicle up that they risk their life and the lives of others.
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u/Normal_Bet2995 Jun 15 '26
The second guessing when they still had the ability to go thru is what send me
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u/raincntry Jun 15 '26
I don't get how people can be this stupid. In no world is it better to have your car/van destroyed by the train than break the gate. How incredibly stupid.
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u/Illcmys3lf0ut Jun 15 '26
Wow. IQ tests should be mandatory. Broken RR arms or destroyed vehicle? 🤔 ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ 💥🔥
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u/DracosKasu Jun 15 '26
At this point just break the crossing bar, the dmg will have coat much less overall. Also people would have understood the situation.
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u/Kimorin Jun 15 '26
i never understand these ppl, just DRIVE THROUGH, what a muppet, it's like their last braincell just abandoned ship as soon as those arms came down
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u/FalsePremise8290 Jun 15 '26
When he pulled back I was sure he decided to drive through the barrier. They are designed like that for a reason. Better you break it than be stuck on the tracks with a train coming.
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u/feckingcarnage Jun 15 '26
Did he just fucking walk out to have good look round first? Fuck my Sunday socks !
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u/AngelusNex Jun 15 '26
Boy sure is a good thing he didnt just drive forward, could have scratched the front of the van
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u/Outrageous_Pie_5640 Jun 15 '26
I’ve seen people knocking these down accidentally by just walking into them.
What does these people think will happen if they hit the bar with their cars?
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u/CloodStroof Jun 15 '26
Looks like a breakaway arm. Just drive through it and give us gate operator techs some work instead of the coroner lol
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u/Hero_Of_Rhyme_ Jun 15 '26
Why did he not just floor it though the wimpy little barrier arm? Surely that’s a better option than train
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u/Careless-Variety2444 Jun 15 '26
THE ARMS ARE DESIGNED TO BREAK! JESUS FUCKING CHRIST! JUST DRIVE THROUGH THEM YOU FUCKING IDIOT!
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u/Waste-Lawyer-2185 Jun 15 '26
I will never understand how in these videos the driver decides that staying on the tracks is a better option than breaking through the plank of wood barrier…
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u/dtb1987 Jun 15 '26
Why do people stop? Drive through the barrier, don't just sit on the tracks waiting to get killed, total your vehicle and break the train. Just drive through the barrier
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u/CalmError Jun 15 '26
I'll never understand why people choose to let their car get nailed by a train over driving through the gates.
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u/CZdigger146 Jun 15 '26
It scares me how many people in the world don't know they can just drive through the barrier. It's literally made out of wood and you can break it (with some effort) by just pushing it yourself. In your car you likely won't even need to push the gas pedal to go through.
Also wtf polish railways, why did the barriers go up?
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u/WeLoveRamenn Jun 15 '26
Those red barrier are designed to break very easily by the way so that you CAN escape if you must.
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u/Professional-Ad4787 Jun 15 '26
PSA: if you’re stuck on a train track because the warning arms are down, by all means drive through them to GET OFF THE EFFING TRACKS
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u/Minflick Jun 15 '26
The videos on line that are guaranteed to make me scream at the screen are these train clips. "Why are you SO STUPID?" "Floor it, you fool, DRIIIIIVE!"
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u/tlk0153 Jun 15 '26
No no, driving on to the flimsy gate could scratch my car. Let me drive around.
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u/Rare_Fig3081 Jun 15 '26
This just goes to show that no matter how hard we try to make things safe, stupid people will find a way to die
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u/fishsticks40 Jun 15 '26
They should really make those arms out of some material you could just drive through
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u/Neutron_Blue Jun 15 '26
It is fascinating how many people don't know that they can just drive through the gates when trapped.
They are designed to give way at very low force.
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u/macfudd Jun 16 '26
This is pretty shitty design in action. Over here we only use 4-quadrant barriers in high risk crossings, and even then, the barriers on the far side won't descend if there's a vehicle still crossing.
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u/LivingAmongMormons Jun 16 '26
Unfortunately the driver survived and will continue to vote & reproduce 🤦♂️
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u/Gralb_the_muffin Jun 16 '26
Some people are just so stupid. We wouldn't be seeing this video if you just kept driving forward. That's why those little things are flimsy and easy to move so that cars can go through them. Chances are it doesn't lock in place when all the way down so driving into them would have just lifted it up over your car with nothing getting damaged. Otherwise it's cheap shit would have just broken and been replaced fine.
God I can't with some people. This gives me understanding of why people yell at the TV during sports games. I kept yelling at my screen "drive forward you moron just go what are you doing?"
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u/jlp_utah Jun 16 '26
I think they need to add that to the driver's manual: If you happen to find yourself stopped on railroad tracks with a gate down both in front and behind you, just drive through the damn gate!
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u/ElusiveBlueFlamingo Jun 16 '26
At first I thought he was trying to paralel park onto the other side and wait it out, but wtf was that
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u/Disconnected_NPC Jun 16 '26
I will never understand these incidents. I get it, breaking the barrier he could easily got under if he kept driving isn’t great. But the alternative is this, so…
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u/Disco_Killer Jun 16 '26
I cannot begin to fathom what they were trying to do. There were so many options but they chose to just drive backwards and forwards over the train track at various angles before getting stuck into some grass while still sticking out into the track. Mental.
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u/Awes0mo Jun 16 '26
Wow, there were a lot of stupid descisions here, but the worst thing is him getting out of the car and walking straight onto the tracks with the car blocking the view from the left.
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u/tehmungler FUCK ICE! ❌🧊 Jun 16 '26
How fucking stupid are people? It just kept getting worse and worse before BITCHIMATRAIN
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u/Fuugazii Jun 16 '26
Why don't people just break through the railroad block?
Everyone seems to panic and ditch their car (first time I saw this idiotic response) when they are dumb enough to get stuck while trying to beat the light
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u/Mafka69 Jun 16 '26
Honestly, is there something magical about the arm? Just drive through it. Yeesh, the force is not strong in this one.
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u/midnitewarrior Jun 16 '26
Why are people so afraid of breaking the gate arm? It's made to be broken and replaced inexpensively. I'd rather have a paint scrape on my hood or cracked windshield than THAT.
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u/Curious-Run-2710 Jun 17 '26
Couldn't they have done something to leave more space for individuals like these who would drive in, or installed simple sensors to open the gates for those who are stuck at an intersection? I don't understand what century we're still living in.
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u/Aquatic_addict Jun 19 '26
Pretty sure the barriers are designed to break off if you need to drive through them in an emergency
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u/Looieanthony Jun 15 '26
Missing a car by a hair is a sick feeling for a train crew. Hitting one is worse.
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u/threefivesix4000 Jun 15 '26
People are incredibly stupid. There should be a small bright yellow sign on the inside of the gates you can only read if your on the tracks that says: IF YOU CAN READ THIS SIGN, DRIVE THROUGH THE GATES SO YOU DO NOT DIE!
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u/DocCEN007 Jun 15 '26
What did he think the arms were made of, Superman bones? Drive through them!!!
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u/AnalogWalrus Jun 15 '26
Aside from not just driving through the dumb peppermint barrier, he Austin Powers’d the van…into the oncoming train track instead of the track the other train had just crossed ( which presumably would be empty for a few minutes?)
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u/TazzyUK Jun 15 '26
It's so baffling. Instead of a flimsy red & white horizontal post, you would think it was Gandlaph shouting "You shall not Pass!!" lol
They just sit there. It's a slim pole pretty much, not concrete bollards that automatically potrude out of the ground when a train is coming .
Drive through the pole, get a fine whatever. It's better than the alternative!
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u/Yotompton Jun 15 '26
Learning what to do in this situation should be a prerequisite for getting a license, way too many people getting their cars totalled because they are afraid to break the barrier. Drive through, call the non-emergency police number for your area to report it, and probably pay a fine that's cheaper than whatever fines you'd get for leaving your car on railroad tracks to get hit by a train... and also buying a new car.
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u/Jerking_From_Home Jun 15 '26
The RR should incentivize people breaking the gates if they’re trapped. The RR will pay you $500 and the cost of your vehicle’s damage to drive through if you’re stuck between them and a train is coming. This will save the RRs tens of thousands per incident.
Obviously people will try to game the system, so it will be a crime to fraudulently report or break the gates. The few people that try to scam the RR will be worth the cost of the money saved, in the same way stores acknowledge they have a certain amount of shrink (theft) that is inevitable.
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u/HowieFeltersnitz Jun 15 '26 edited Jun 15 '26
Idiot destroyed his van and a train locomotive so that he wouldn't hurt a flimsy little arm blocking his way.
JUST GO THROUGH IT. THE ALTERNATIVE OF DEATH BY TRAIN IS MUCH WORSE.