System for deflecting suicides?

Would there be a practical "airbag" system to deflect people from the tracks in front of a locomotive instead of killing them? I don't ask out of sympathy for trespassers, but rather out of sympathy for engineers (who have to watch the suicides) and delayed passengers and customers. And frankly, if there was even a 30% chance it could work, it might be enough to make suicides shop elsewhere for the means of their death--that deterrent effect, even more than actually working--could be particularly valuable.

I'm inspired to ask based on recent story where a man committed suicide by stepping in front of a VRE (Commuter) train and turning his back. The only tool the engineer had was blowing his horn and throwing the train into emergency. Really? That's the best we can do? How about letting the engineer arm an oversized airbag behind a Fiberglas fascia--that could only be armed for 30 seconds at a time by the engineer and only in life-or-death situations (so, no going off for deer strikes, for example). The explosion would be designed to throw a single person (not a car) clear of the tracks

People (Americans) laughed at Hobart's Funnies, right up until they saved the lives on hundreds of British soldiers on D-Day (while the Americans were simply drowned or mowed down or blown up (mines) or hung up on the barricades). Same could hold true here. If you want to imagine a giant spring behind an oversized catcher's mitt, go right ahead--Hobart's funnies weren't much more elaborate than that.

even if you save a suicide. the chanceis about 90% that he/she will try it again in next few days.

DutchRailnut wrote:even if you save a suicide. the chanceis about 90% that he/she will try it again in next few days.

I'll stipulate to that. The goal here is that they stop trying on the *railroad* and try another *method*.

Its a mode-choice thing, not a decision-to-go thing. The goal (unusual here) is to make going by rail the less-attractive choice.

Sounds like an interesting and viable idea.

Your only problem is this: Money. Most corporations aren't going to pay the extra money for something like that unless forced to do so by government regulation. I live in WV and it seems like every year there is some type of company that pops up with some type of mine safety device (rescue chambers, etc.) in response to the Sago and Upper Big Branch mine disasters. They're all great and would work well, but the companies simply won't spend the money on them. There is also the issue of a "false alarm" scenario. I know some coal operators that were worried miners would run to the rescue chambers when it wasn't necessary (FYI: they are sealed and if opened it is costly and lengthy process to reseal them) so I'm sure the railroads would also take into consideration the cost, and time that would be spent if one of the devices you propose was set off unnecessarily.

Also the cost of litigation when the person attempting suicide brings legal action for any injuries
sustained while being saved.

RSD15 wrote:Also the cost of litigation when the person attempting suicide brings legal action for any injuries
sustained while being saved.

Isn't the law already pretty close to trespassers are always wrong? I'm thinking federal law would (or could) pre-empt such legal action.

RSD15 wrote:Also the cost of litigation when the person attempting suicide brings legal action for any injuries
sustained while being saved.

That was what *I* was thinking. If you threw him clear, and then he got hurt, then a few million sure would ease a lot of "depression"!!!!!

GF

Gadfly wrote:

RSD15 wrote:Also the cost of litigation when the person attempting suicide brings legal action for any injuries
sustained while being saved.

That was what *I* was thinking. If you threw him clear, and then he got hurt, then a few million sure would ease a lot of "depression"!!!!!
GF

Are airbag makers usually sued for people who are trying to kill themselves by crashing their own car (happens more often than people like to admit)? Or sued by "air-bag-saved-me, but-I'd-rather-be-dead" types? I don't think it is the norm.

trolly cars usd to have fenders to ctch people maybe these woiuld work. i saw them in google.

No way would this work. One of two things would happen, the air bag would send them flying into whatever is in the surrounding area causing severe injuries, or possibly just killing them. Or it would knock them straight down and they would get torn up under the train.

There is already a similar device on all of today's locomotives...

It's called a snowplow.

Though, I think it falls a little short with the whole saving thing...

An airbag moving at 50 mph might do the trick, but don't forget that the airbag has thousands of tons of awesome behind it. Not to mention all of the lovely items strewn about the right of way that would make the landing less than survivable.

~Shire

F=MA.

50mph is 73 feet 4 inches per second.

If you weigh 200 pounds, and you instantly go from 0 to 73 feet per second, you experience around 14,600 foot pounds of force. The air bag isn't going to stop that.

Moderator's Note:

I'm going to talk to Jeff, but I think we're going to call this one a day. Thank you for your participation.

John_Perkowski wrote: 50mph is 73 feet 4 inches per second.
If you weigh 200 pounds, and you instantly go from 0 to 73 feet per second, you experience around 14,600 foot pounds of force. The air bag isn't going to stop that.

I'm with you (including seeing a .1 sec collision) right up to the last sentence: Isn't dealing with 14,600 lb-ft of force exactly what airbags do every day?

Cars go 50mph. People in cars weigh 200 pounds. When a car is stopped but a passenger is not, the interior collision generates 14,600 lb-ft of force in .1 seconds. Airbags have existed for 30 years that can reliably "stop" that, and proximity sensors exist today to detect that the front of a 50mph train is .2 secs from collision with a 200 lb person, such that an airbag could be in the process of detonating as the train meets the trespasser.

From a dispassionate point of view this is an interesting argument. I wonder what people did 200 years ago to commit suicide, before the dawn of the steam engine, the skyscraper, the suspension bridge.....

In any case, I don't think it's solvable without impenetrable barriers and platform gates.

While this is more a theoretical topic than an actual incident, my general policy, and the policy of my predecessors, has been to report the incident and lock. As the Colonel (RET) says, thanks for the participation.