The introduction of the iron horse caused a lot of commotion in these days. Locomotion to be precise. Cows stopped producing milk and glazed at the huffing and puffing lump of steel that passed their view. The gaze of men wandered from the charming ladies of that time to the ugly machine that screeched past. Things have changed considerably since the early days of rail transport. But, have they really? Like in the days of the 'wild west', rail transport still relies on the presence of two lengths of steel at a precise distance from one another. And where other modes of transportation
have moved on to wheels that are wound with rubber or even hover over a magnetic field, trains still stumble forward on steel discs. Not that wide either. But surely something must have changed for the better in all these years. What about the safety of rail transport? I got a bit puzzled here.
Coming from the Netherlands where trains run more more than less on time and can do so because disruption by cars passing the tracks is largely impossible, I would have expected to encounter the same situation in Canada. Wrong. Yes, there are barriers put in place to prevent motorist from straying on the tracks in front of passing trains in most places. But what a shoddy job that has been. Often only half the road is blocked. Not much of a problem when the road is level. However, stopping on a grade just after the railroad crossing is a different story as ones car can slowly roll back onto the track.
Not at all imaginary considering that most motorist focus on an array of other things but driving their car. It would have gone unnoticed I fear. And Canadian trains have a problem stopping in a hurry because they consist of a lot of wagons and and are very heavy. On top of that, not all roads have barriers.
Rest assured though because train-drivers in Canada have found a solution for the missing barriers. Hooting, using the train's air horn. I have heard them passing by doing so and it sounds pretty impressive. Loud enough to blow you out of your shoes should you be wearing those, and potentially costly at that. And although I can hear the trains hoot their way through Sullivan Heights till late in the evening, I for one do not have a problem with the Canadian train-drivers being 'hooters' as it solves a serious problem. Sadly though even this solution sometimes falls on deaf ears, as I found out the other day when browsing the Vancouver Sun's news-page:
have moved on to wheels that are wound with rubber or even hover over a magnetic field, trains still stumble forward on steel discs. Not that wide either. But surely something must have changed for the better in all these years. What about the safety of rail transport? I got a bit puzzled here. Coming from the Netherlands where trains run more more than less on time and can do so because disruption by cars passing the tracks is largely impossible, I would have expected to encounter the same situation in Canada. Wrong. Yes, there are barriers put in place to prevent motorist from straying on the tracks in front of passing trains in most places. But what a shoddy job that has been. Often only half the road is blocked. Not much of a problem when the road is level. However, stopping on a grade just after the railroad crossing is a different story as ones car can slowly roll back onto the track. Not at all imaginary considering that most motorist focus on an array of other things but driving their car. It would have gone unnoticed I fear. And Canadian trains have a problem stopping in a hurry because they consist of a lot of wagons and and are very heavy. On top of that, not all roads have barriers.
'Teen girl fatally struck by train was listening to music and texting'
Hence a word of advice. Hooting train-drivers do not make up for the use of common sense. Use yours and stay off the tracks and out of the train's way, if you want to see the end of it... 
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