An almost-Darwin candidate

[ToyotaNSaturn]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7048882.stm

Ms Devall was talking on her mobile phone when Sgt O'Shields spotted her car on the Norfolk Southern tracks along Highway 80 just after midnight on Tuesday (0400 GMT Wednesday).

She told the local WYFF News 4 channel she was lost, and was phoning a friend to get directions. She said she had not realised she had stopped on the train tracks.



No doubt she's lucky to be alive.


Interesting to note that the BBC reporters in the video used the measurement of yards to describe how far the car went flying, yet the text of the linked article describes the distance in meters. I guess Europe hasn't fully gone metric yet!

 

[CBDFrontier06]

She has more problems than just being lost. It has to be something along the lines of dementia or Alzheimer’s to cause her to stop on the tracks and stay there with a train coming and not realize any of it.

 

[Gary Allan]

Dementia or not ..just what are the odds of having some random spike of notion that managed to get her to stop moving at precisely the right span of random roadway to have that occur?? I mean ..15-20 feet on either side of it was as good as a mile.

 

[benjamming]

And what are the odds of someone (in this case a LEO) close enough, aware, and willing to help unafraid of a lawsuit that may occur from possible injury due to extracting the person from the car in an attempt to save them?

 

[wantin150]

Here's a link to photos.

http://www.wyff4.com/news/14353866/detail.html

 

[CBDFrontier06]

Ouch..train owns Altima

 

[FowVay]

Why wasn't the vehicle simply driven from the scene before the train arrived? Was it wedged on the tracks and unable to be moved a few feet away?

The elapsed time for this entire incident was more than enough to save life and property.

 

[drm7]

It would have been nice to move the car. Even though she was spared the two guys in the train were at risk if a derailment occurred. Did she have the engine off?

 

[Al]

Far too many of these folks escape Darwin. And unfortunately she is in breeding age.

 

[moribundman]

Quote:

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Interesting to note that the BBC reporters in the video used the measurement of yards to describe how far the car went flying, yet the text of the linked article describes the distance in meters. I guess Europe hasn't fully gone metric yet!

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Your guess would be wrong. News services offer local news on a worldwide market and those reports may be picked up by any newspaper or news provider.

You can bet that the original news report, originating in the US, contained a feet measurement. When the report from the news service (Reuters, AP, etc) was tuned into an article for local readers, the measurement was converted into the official measurement and the original data was tacked on in paranthesis). You can see the same thing happen on news like CNN. Often the data is converted incorrectly and that's why it is good to supply the originally provided figure and unit. That's all.

The folks in England who resist metric measurements are mostly trade folks like tailors, butchers and bakers. "Three stones of pork butt, please!" Old habits die hard!

 

[oilyriser]

The woman would probably have stood there on the tracks, talking on the phone, if someone had pulled her out and gone back to save the car.

 

[Gary Allan]

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Far too many of these folks escape Darwin. And unfortunately she is in breeding age.

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Many of our natural filters have been neutralized. Well ..I guess it's all up to something with a very broad stroke to its culling method to solve our dilemma. After the dust settles, so to speak, we may, once again, let natural selection take hold.

Perhaps a sensible problem solving test would be warranted to enable breeding. This is the true test of intelligence. It could be a permit program. You could naturally propagate like rabbits if you so desired ..but with no benefits of any kind ..while those passing the test would get full benefits for the offspring. This should satisfy the "rewards for favorable behaviors" crowd ..for a gentler, but more authoritarian, future.

Would that work? ..or would we have some muddled debate on what constitutes acceptable problem solving abilities

 

[moribundman]

Only good looking people should be allowed to breed.

 

[oilyriser]

Only people who forget to use condoms, or forget to take their pills, are allowed to breed.

 

[Camu Mahubah]

Maybe they need a sign at crossings...one that says something like this...A big giant picture billboard....

 

[rpn453]

It's completely understandable; trains are small and quiet, and they don't put out much light at night.

 

[BradC]

For the life of me I can't understand how someone could be on a roadway with clearly visible crossing lights and barriers and turn onto the railroad tracks and not know it.

It's not like those railroad ties give a smooth ride to a wheeled vehicle.

 

[Bob Woods]

Her friend told her to turn right at the stop sign and she did. Not very bright!!!

 

[tom slick]

Just to add to her strange behavior is the fact that the car is off to the side of the crossing, like she pulled off to the side of the road onto the tracks.

 

[Gary Allan]

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Only good looking people should be allowed to breed.

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Well, in a Dr. Strangelove kinda way......