As a truck driver I really shake my head when I see this. It is DRILLED into your head the proper procedures for crossing RR tracks when your studying for your CDL, and it's very specific on what you can and can not do when you cross the tracks. Low slung trailers like car haulers, moving vans and low boy trailers have to be very careful for just this reason. Also, your not supposed to shift gears as you cross, to avoid missing a gear and possibly stalling. This is TOTALLY preventable.
I couldn't agree with you more David. As I witnessed him coming up to the tracks, I was already thinking, "what is he doing? He's not going to try and go over those tracks with such a "low slung" trailer (as you put it) is he?? But he did. Once he was stuck, the outcome was inevitable. But, with more common sense, totally preventable.
@@ekonoman501 we're supposed to be trained to avoid such things so these incidents don't happen because there's so much at stake. People can get hurt or killed, property can be damaged, etc. Professional drivers are held to a higher standard.
That looked like an especially long, low-slung trailer. Either the driver or his employer should have checked the route ahead of time for problems like this.
Hi Bob, I witnessed this happen and took the video. I'm not sure if it seems like a long time or not on the video, but it happened too quickly for anyone to, "check the route". From the moment the driver got stuck, he stayed in the truck cab trying to move it off the tracks but it wouldn't budge. He wasted precious time doing that. I've seen comments that he should have been calling on the phone immediately. He never did. He stayed in the cab and only got out 1-2 minutes before impact.
And, I understand you meant check the truck route for any issues coming up. That is really more of a residential area. I was shocked to see a semi coming from that neighborhood. He shouldn't have been there in the first place
If you are stuck on tracks, IMMEDIATELY call the number on the crossing guard. It's better to call them again and say "alls clear I actually managed to get it unstuck" then to have... this.
Or at least get away from the vehicle - if possible along the tracks towards the train, to warn the engineer as early as possible. It's a 50:50 chance you choose the wrong direction, but even then that's better than nothing and even a slower impact is better than a collission at full speed. If the train tracks curve on one side, choose this direction (on a straight the engineer can see the obstacle anyways). Edit: since it seems to be ambiguous: of course you should first try to call the dispatcher. My comment was just an _addition_ to Cedar's original post to _further_ mitigate the situation. In any case, wasting minutes trying to get the truck going, and then only wave at the train driver is just completely pointless.
@@TheTiktok4321 yes, but much too late... he just got a few yards, which is kinda pointless. Running towards the train obviously only makes sense if you get far enough so that the train driver sees you before he can see the obstacle - e.g. if there is a curve or if visibility is bad (rain, snow, fog, ...). On a clear day on straight tracks the main priority is to get out of the killzone (the video shows how far debris can fly on impact).
@@stephanweinberger in florida fireworks are technically illegal except for doing something like this or for scaring crows, so i personally would say if this happens around 4th of july and you have some fireworks and a cig lighter, do not hesitate to light them off in the center of the tracks
@@TohaBgood2 Siemens adapted them to the US market. That's why the Amtrak ACS-64 for example is 7,7 tons heavier than its European cousin, the Vectron MS.
In Europe a crash like would never happen. This crossing would be gate protected and the train would run into a stop signal well ahead. Anyway: Why didnt you try to flag down the oncoming train?
Strong trains that can take a hit. I would feel safer riding on Brightline after seeing this. Just hope they can get these problems worked out for the long term.
Hello Mike. Ironically, I was on a Brightline train for the first time, only 4 days before I took this video. I went down to Miami to watch a Marlins baseball game with my kids. Brightline is a great train and we all enjoyed the trip very much. The fact that the Brightline train could take that massive hit, and I mean MASSIVE, and NOT derail was unbelievable and a testament to how well built they are. I would ride a Brightline train again without hesitation.
High speed japan "bullet train" = shinkansen trains are really light weight,.. less than 30 tonnes each and do not require protection as they will never hit a truck/cow/van/etc even birds are vortex away.. That is the decision point.. Deconflict.. Seperation is good cos each unit can focus on their issues..
Today’s locomotives have Crumple Zones to absorb impacts and Anti Climbers to lessen the chance of a derailment. Still, there is always the chance of a derailment depending on the type of vehicle (and its weight) that is struck and the track configuration near the impact point. This is why the only truly safe operation of high speed passenger trains is using a dedicated right-of-way with all crossings separated at grade.
I mean will the train can get damaged like the last time it hit a car on the front of the train and the nose of it was badly damaged and was on fire, and it depends on what vehicle the train hits to make it derailed off the tracks Like for an example a dump truck is actually much heavier that can derail a train just like what happened not to long ago with Amtrak.
I always see Brightline's bright green train whenever I railfan Brightline. So the fact that the train set hit this massive car hauler truck and didn't derail made me praise Siemens for making these trains worthy to manage crash worthy standards.
Anywhere else in the world these trains would not be facing this issue. Anywhere that has high speed rail it is elevated so there are no level crossings for vehicular traffic to interfere with operations.
@@davefroman4700 That simply isn’t correct. Brightline isn’t “high speed rail” by any definition; 79mph at present. In the UK we have crossings in urban areas on lines this speed, as well as some crossings even on 100mph+ lines. There’s plenty of grade separation, yes, but there are two factors at play in Florida. One, the complete inability of Florida drivers to adapt to elementary rules around using crossings (they can and will kill you!). Second, the poor design of the crossings, leading directly onto junctions, and with gradients. Nothing wrong with the principle of crossings, but plenty wrong with the specific crossings and the specific user base in Florida.
Of course the truck driver waving his arms for the train to stop makes perfect sense. When the lawsuit starts, the truck driver will state that he tried to stop the train and the engineer just ignored him. Thank you Darwin.
FloriDUH. This is NOT Brightline's fault. Other than the poor souls who have committed suicide, all the other crashes and deaths are attributed to the idiots who fail to heed the crossing gates. In this case it looks like the road grade is too high to accommodate the tractor trailer. The train engineers suffer by the way.
Youp 954... you are exactly right. Everything you said is completely accurate! Also, the truck did not stall. It got stuck for the reason you mentioned. It was totally the driver's error. He never should have been on that road. That's not a road for tractor trailers.
@@ekonoman501 That seems obviously true, but the time for a tractor trailer driver to have to decide not to take that road because of the humped crossing is back turning in to that road, & there should be signs along there for the hard of thinking.
@@ekonoman501 you seem to imply you have some sort of knowledge that the truck did not belong there. If so then clearly the train company should have known and taken steps to ensure trucks would not cross. Just imagine the mess a fully loaded bus would have made stalling there like the truck did. For the record, used as a verb, stall means to stop or to cause to stop from making progress. The truck was in fact stalled on the tracks. New England does not have such problems, we are smart enough to give the Accella a dedicated right of way that does not cross roads with out a bridge crossing. Floridians must be pretty stupid to think they can run trains at speed through congested areas with out catastrophic results. I really hope it doesn't take a bus load of children to prove my point...
I assume that the driver of the train has access to intercoms that are in the passenger cars. (If the driver does not, they should) In this instance, it would be very useful for the driver to be able to tell passengers that there is trouble and for them to brace themselves. A round of applause to the designers who did a good job with this train. The front end was barely damaged after hitting that truck and sending that car flying. It protected the driver and passengers very well.
There was over $100,000 damage to the locomotive. Plus it’s still out of service for repairs. Likely damages will exceed $250,000. That’s a $6 Million dollar locomotive.
@@floridamanrailfan listen, hitting an auto transporter with cars on it at the speed he was going, that locomotive did very well and suffered damage to the wind shield and nose cone only. I hit one of those while operating a freight train years back and it wasn't a pleasurable experience. Thanks to The FRA, locomotives in the US are built well. Still, as it happened in Missouri yesterday, the train can derail and have some really bad consequences. Glad that the crew is safe.
The railroad should go after the truck drivers insurance. Make sure he feels every bit of this accident. Dont let stupid people off the hook, hit them where it hurts. Their pockets!
it says a lot about the manufacture and design of the train for it to take a hit like that and still come out looking like it did. It also says a lot about the railroad and the upkeep of the rails that a train taking a hit like that and stayed on the rails.
This is very sad...what the hell is wrong with Florida residents with all of these Brightline crashes? Is everyone on drugs and not thinking with a clear mind? I have read numerous articles about stuff like this all too often!!! It makes me so mad because it's not Brightlines fault in any of these accidents!!!
being a florida resident myself i can tell you that 9 out of every 10 floridians has most likely done some form of drugs before getting in a car in case you dont believe me i have about 5-6 close calls on my 1 mile bike ride to-from work per trip
I used to go to school in Lantana Florida and I can tell you it’s a complete ghetto. When my brother was a Railfanning in Lantana some guy on drugs approached them so they went in their car and left
I don't understand why people do that! Brightline trains are fast as hell and they aren't gonna be able to apply brakes in that amount of time while barreling down the tracks at almost 80mph. This one was going a bit slower though, so they probably went into emergency early.
I'm a long time Heavy Haul guy, lots of lowboy trailers, you learn really early if you're pulling a lowboy, car hauler or any type of trailer with low ground clearance, NEVER attempt to cross a raised crown grade like this one. Check your routing, and if you come to one of them, find an alternate route. Totally preventable incident, and every time, the train wins.
Hello Thomas Kirk, I just wanted to say "thank you" for the excellent and intelligent comment! Right on point. Some of the comments are not very intelligent and that is unfortunate. I'd like to say, "read Thomas Kirk's comment. He knows first hand! Any more questions?" lol👍
@@ekonoman501 Thanks for that. It just kinda ticks me off a bit whenever I see something like this, or a guy hitting a clearly marked low bridge, all you really need to do is PAT ATTENTION, but the general theme today is that it's always someone else's fault. Sort of like the guys that flop a trailer on its side on an off ramp and say "the load shifted". Only 2 reasons a load shifted, both are preventable by the driver; poorly secured load or excessive speed on a curve, both preventable. Looking at the car carrier situation, that's a pretty serious crown in that crossing, if I'm coming up to that my 4 ways are going on and I'm turning around to find an alternate route, no way I'm trying that crossing with a low trailer. Doing Heavy Haul/Oversize you learn that stuff really quick, or you're not cut out for the best job in trucking.
Thanks again Thomas. Hopefully some less experienced truckers reading your comments will learn from this valuable information and never make the preventable and serious mistakes that trucker made. I appreciate your professional insight 👍
@@willie0704 Wrong. The tracks were there first. It is the roads that should make the grade changes. Unless you want to pay for the elevating of the tracks. Digging down in Florida results in flooded track.
I hope that truck driver is held accountable. Professional drivers need to know their vehicle and understand the clearance tolerances BEFORE approaching unlevel crossings
OK, do you know what happened? Hmmm, probably not. Could have been a combination of things. Unless the guy is a complete loser, I'm sure he did all the things that are needed for him to stay alive and keep his cargo protected.
its not like there's is measurements listed on a map or anywhere else for that matter. What is the guy supposed to do since you have all the solutions?
@@onetwothreeabc What you said sounds right to me. It would seem to me that a truck driver should be able to see a high-rise crossing like that and avoid it if there's any possibility that his truck will not clear it. . .
I'm pretty sure no one was hurt whatsoever You could see the truck driver running away in the video and the train horn stops a couple seconds before it actually hits most likely meaning the conductor ran back from the control console
@@CrazeTheZilla The conductor is in the passenger car area taking tickets and answering passenger question. He/she is not trained, qualified and licensed to operate the locomotives. The train is driven by a FRA licensed locomotive engineer.
Send this to the news if you haven’t already. I hope there were no serious injuries. Drivers need to respect the railroad crossings and each other when approaching crossings when traffic is heavy.
Looks like the truck got stuck on the tracks... that is why there is a phone number to call at every railroad crossing. He needed to call that number as soon as he knew he was stuck. The flying car was a nice touch... But his trailer is off the tracks now!
@@LoydChampion I always wondered what happened. I saw the train guy he was definitely shaking (this rail is very busy) I believe I heard a minute or 30 seconds he saw also same time auto brakes hit idk what that is but it only did so much haul surprisingly safe I was so shocked
Hello Dan. The bottom of the Semi was stuck on the tracks. He was on a back neighborhood road not meant for a tractor trailer. He never should have been on that road. When you drive over those tracks it's like driving over a little hump. So, when he got halfway over the tracks, the metal frame that holds the cars very low to the ground got caught in the middle and the back wheels lifted just enough so he couldn't get any traction on them to continue moving. He didn't stall. He was trying to move the truck forward or backward most of the 2 minutes before the train hit. He didn't jump right out of the truck when he got stuck. I think he thought he could move it in time. The Physics in that situation proved that that wasn't going to happen. I witnessed and took the video.
@@jerryabrams7660 Hello Jerry. If you watch the video again and listen, the whole time I'm talking and saying, "he's gonna hit it" etc. I'm on the phone with 911!! The second I saw it happen I was calling 911! So, it's nice that everyone is an expert and knows to call an emergency number by the railroad tracks (which should have been done by the truck driver btw, and fyi, he also stayed in his truck for at least 2 minutes trying to move the Semi instead of calling), but, sorry, no I wasn't going to try and run across a very busy and dangerous street during rush hour traffic while a train is barreling towards a giant Semi with 10 cars on it. Superman maybe. Ekonoman, not a chance...
@@ekonoman501 I'm with you. Your personal safety comes first. The truck driver should have called first, then tried to un stick himself. Or, not drive down roads not meant for trucks.
Anyone who has driven a truck for any length of time will tell you that you simply MUST know the clearances of your rig and what you pull! So many rail crossings along highways and roads, so many of the aprons drop right past the tracks to meet the grade of the road. Anyone with a trailer is going to get hung up on that. Short of hydraulic systems on trailers to elevate the frame to correct for this, I am surprised there are not more wrecks like this
Amazing footage almost to bad there aren't more angles. Also good job at the calmness, filming and general quality of reporting. Do you do this for a living or do you just happen to witness this and actually professionally cover it as it were happening?
There are NO "Low Ground Clearance" signs on this crossing but that looks like a residential area not suited for trucks and there is obviously a hump in the road. Driver still needed to be aware of his rig's abilities. When you are a trucker you need to be humble sometimes and ask for help before things get out of control. Police would probably come help him get out of there without crossing the track. Just a note that there is a slight curve in the tracks so the engineer would not be able to see that the trailer was fouling the rail until it was too late.
A new nose cone and windshield and that Brightline Train is ready for the next person to get in its way. I do hate how there are traffic signals so close to RR crossings though.
Damn, these semi trucks with lowboys and car haulers that sit 5" off the ground know not to go over humps like train tracks. I remember in the early 1980s a lowboy with a 100k lbs D10 cat dozer got stuck on the tracks and derailed a train. Heard it bk'ed the insurance company. Hope everyone is uninjured.
That’s because the U.S mostly is decades behind in train transportation compared with Europe and Asia. Also, I live in the Northeast U.S and we have an Acela train that goes much faster than this train does, and there is no incidents like this here. It is also not helpful when southern states don’t have the best education system and the some of the most outdated infrastructure in the country besides the midwest. Also, U.S federal government hasn’t funded the train transport system since the 1950s when airlines and cars were getting popular back then.
I think locomotives rated for 100+ basically do have that or something near to it. NE Regionals have survived idiots throwing stuff off an overpass before and those regularly travel at 125mph.
@@filanfyretracker Yeah, As someone living in the Northeast U.S Acela train goes much faster than this, and there is no accidents like this, not even in New Jersey and people love to sterotype that state as being high in crime but in actuality, New Jersey along with New England, has some of the lowest crime rates in the country even lower than neighboring Pennsylvania. Crime rates are significantly higher than New Jersey in the southern states like Florida, Texas, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, ffs. See a pattern here with these states having higher crime rates even higher than states like Illinois? It’s because these states are state governed by a political party that is against gun reform and they’re all about “my 2nd amendment”.
For the speed it hit that truck. I think it held up pretty well with minimal nose damage and it did not derailed. I expected to see the first car ofc the track at the very least.
Im impressed that the front powered unit didnt look too bad damage wise considering what the train hit. New glass and a coupler shroud unless there is more internal damage underneath the skin.
1:33 -- The truck's trailer was bottom-stuck on the 'hump' of the train tracks, or was the truck at a red-stop light, waiting for a green light at the cross-road to go?
The bottom of the Semi was stuck on the tracks. He was on a back road not meant for a tractor trailer. I was totally surprised to see him start driving over the tracks and I watched the truck get stuck. When you drive over those tracks it's like driving over a little hump as you mentioned. So, when he got halfway over the tracks, the metal frame that holds the cars very low to the ground got caught in the middle and the back wheels lifted up just enough so he couldn't get any traction on them to continue moving. He wasn't waiting for the light. He didn't make it that far.
@@ekonoman501 It seems like that driver had delivered a Vehicle in that area, and was on the go for the next delivery. When I got my newly purchased Car delivered, I had to go to a Shell-station to pick it up. A location that the driver were familiar with..
Hello TheOrion7. Yes! It WAS Epic! Not something I wanted to see. Very thankful no one was physically injured, but I would think it was pretty tough for the engineer and the passengers
i watch brightline frequently since i live by the tracks, and this is the first time ive seen one of the locos jump off the tracks from an impact, its slight but still noticeable at 1:04
As a car hauler myself, I’m fortunate to be on a dedicated run. Occasionally I’ll take a detour that runs over some tracks, but even then those are level crossings. With that being said, I feel like I cannot put too much blame on this driver. While the cars that have been getting hit by Brightline trains are objectively idiots, this driver could’ve had any number of things happen that got him stuck. A lot of people won’t tell you when you first start out, but it is perfectly normal for car haulers and lowboys to scrape. In fact one of the truck stops, AND one of our delivery spots (though I’m not dedicated to that one I’ve worked an extra day with another guy doing it) have spots where we will throw sparks. If you don’t time it right, or something forces you to stop, you’re stuck.
You and truckers like you are responsible for so many accidents. You always justify the trucker and blame the 4-wheelers for everything, even when the fault is clearly on the trucker. No, it is not inevitable for car haulers and lowboys to get stuck! Your job is to drive your truck without touching anything. Like you don’t go under low overpasses you might hit, you don’t go over humps where you might high-center. And finally, if the idiot here had simply called the phone number on the sign at the crossing in the several minutes he was stuck, the dispatcher would have stopped all trains and there would have been no crash.
Sounds like truck drivers need better route planning then, between trains and places like the 11 foot 8 bridge ( also on YT) it just goes to show that truckers/dispatch dont plan routes properly.
How was the locomotive engineer?? That would’ve been a horrendous impact & incident. Feeling for them. And the psychological impact of it all. Full on. Trucking Co. should have to pay their medical / therapy bills.
Living in a country where the average speed of commuter trains has been around100mph for decades and is now reaching 140mph and express maximums top 180mph and will climb higher in the next few years and drove these trains for years you realise that it is a matter of public mindset and legal and political will that keeps passengers safe. We still get the odd utter mindless cretin who arrogantly believes this somehow does not apply to them and accidents do happen occasionally but considering the heavy usage of trains in the UK these are few and far between. This situation however has been hard-won through time and comes down to education on all levels. particularly in the design of level crossings to the point where today the average timings for lights and gates to train arrival at whatever speed is just 30 seconds, not minutes and this cannot be achieved without the public being fully aware of how these things work and THEIR role in the operation of rail crossings. This has only come about through years of education and legal enforcement in terms of trespass laws and a multi-faceted approach to the operation of railways and roads and the interface between the two right down to mapping supplied to road users which today include width, height and special conditions applicable to rail crossings. Rail operators have done all they can to keep the public safe at these interfaces and whatever follows then places the onus squarely with road users to obey the regulations and laws applied to keep them safe at crossings. To mangle a well-known phrase. The needs of the many, in this case, rail users, far outweigh the needs of applicants for the Darwin award for arrogant stupidity and US road users are going to have to come to terms with this eventually that they are far lower down the transport food chain than they might currently believe. Those that persist in careless ignorance will be weeded out piecemeal over time and the death toll will rise to accommodate their arrogance but at some point, the penny will drop that everyone needs to change their mindset about the way they live their lives. If you want high-speed rail to entice people out of their cars and save the environment then there is a price to pay for that in the way railways are designed and the public perception of them overall.
Americans abandoned the primitive idea of rail travel almost a 100 years ago in favor of modern technology, automobiles and aircraft. The desire for passenger rails is tiny and pushed mainly by those who can greatly profit from it with minimal investment, like Brightline hopes to do. There are very few Americans who want high speed trains flying through densely populated areas where modern automobiles can take them from their door step to the front door of the place they want to go, whenever they wish to go. Americans who want to get from point a to point b at 180 mph are smart enough to book a flight on a technologically advanced aircraft with a proven safety record. Like highways, high speed rails need dedicated right of ways and it would be next to impossible to convince Americans to fund the quadrillions of dollars it would take to set up even a skeleton of the infrastructure the country would need for such an obsolete transportation system. Perhaps the people of the UK like using a limited transportation system designed for the 1890's, the vast majority of Americans do not.
@@AlliedBroom9081 But they can at least put quad gates or "impenetrable barriers". This is getting ridiculous. There's some major crash every other week. Clearly this isn't working out. You just can't run a train like that in Florida, with Florida drivers, and without protected grade crossings.
@@jameswebb254 The only segment under construction that will be grade crossing-separated, is the one between Cocoa and MCO. That segment is about 30 miles in length. Between West Palm Beach and Cocoa, a segment of roughly 140 miles, the existing FEC mainline and a newly-constructed second mainline will be used by Brightline trains. There are many, many grade crossings along that route.
@Not Bono Brightline says the West Palm Beach-Cocoa segment will have a speed limit of 110 MPH. Within that segment, there will be several locations where the maximum speed will 79 MPH or lower. The speed limit between Cocoa and MCO will be 125 MPH.
🧐This has been happening very often. I think airlines or car manufacturers are sabotaging bright line. 🤔I don’t want to think that people are dumb enough to just stop on a train track like that without ill intentions. Maybe brightline should consider building a bridge over those type of intersections to avoid traffic all together. Great footage btw!👏
Are you slow? its Florida, and its commuter rail. There is no sabotage. People are just stupid and ignorant and are mindless. Also it would be un ethical to build a bridge over those. please keep your dumb conspiracy theory to yourself as it makes zero sense.
You carry a truck of hundreds of tons full of cars that are worth a fortune, what do you do? I drive as dangerously as I can and play Russian roulette with passing trains.
Joseph Russo It takes a lot more structure than the coupler assembly to protect the cab the way this one was protected. For the front of this engine to not be crushed in takes a massive amount of engineered structure to survive the way this one did. The outside skin between the crew entry door and the front of the engine is not even buckled.
Maybe i didn’t explain it correctly. The coupler is attached the massive steel frame work of the train. A lightweight car hauler trailer is no match for the steel frame work of a train. How do I know this Im retired from the rail industry. Worked on many different types of trains. Sorry about that should have better explained.
Joseph Russo What type work did you do in the rail industry. I’m a retired road engineer off the UP. The auto that was thrown a few hundred feet hit the windshield area. The glass was still mostly intact, but shattered. The frame work did not move enough to buckle the outer side skin. If that had been a freight train that hit the car hauler at that speed the engine cab would have been crushed and probably caused at least serious injuries if not fatal for the head end crew.
The car lobbied media will blame Brightline as always. I mean how dare that train use rail tracks to hit that poor innocent truck driver. 🤦♂ They will be more concerned about the cars lost than the trauma that train driver will now be experiencing. I hope he slammed the brakes on and dived down below the control panel. But can we also just give it up for Siemens building very safe and strong trains and one that stopped almost within the length of the train?
Looks like the train was already on emergency brakes when it hit, but it's still amazing how quickly it stopped. Two Chargers and 4 coaches, that's close to 450 tons.
Did anyone see Brightline at fault in this accident ??? WHY was the semi truck stuck across the tracks ??? This has got to stop, its insane the way people ignore railroad crossings and this is the result. People in south Florida and elsewhere have to realize trains run on tracks and can't stop on a dime, so you must " STOP, LOOK & LISTEN " before crossing tracks and if you see crossing gates coming down or lights and bells sounding that means STOP !!! I hope that trucking company has good insurance as it will be lots of money to repair that Brightline engine which are brand new.
i mean unless its one of the brand new trainsets that thing has been in service since 2018, still expensive regardless but an excuse to refresh the loco in my opinion
@@tzarcoal1018 Locomotives are designed for a service life of 30 or 40 years. Also, these cost a few million dollars per locomotive. That locomotive is by far the most expensive part in that accident. For the repair cost, you might be able to buy a brand new 18-wheeler.
According to the video maker, this crossing is not designed for low-riding trucks to use it; the truck's trailer got stuck on the tracks. The truck driver should have known not to use this crossing.
@@ericemmons3040 thats why i said what i said in a previous reply i made where i mentioned how i can tell you from seeing it almost everyday that 9-10 floridians do some sort of drugs before driving
It happens everywhere, Florida is no exception! I live up in Georgia northeast of Atlanta and I've seen a couple of auto-carriers get hit because of sheer stupidity of the truck driver. In one case there were multiple signs warning the driver not to take that route and he did it anyway.
Yes, more people need to see it! Send to all your friends! It is an amazing, unbelievable video! Btw, that car landed 500 feet down the track. Completely demolished as you can see. Wow!
As a truck driver I really shake my head when I see this. It is DRILLED into your head the proper procedures for crossing RR tracks when your studying for your CDL, and it's very specific on what you can and can not do when you cross the tracks. Low slung trailers like car haulers, moving vans and low boy trailers have to be very careful for just this reason. Also, your not supposed to shift gears as you cross, to avoid missing a gear and possibly stalling. This is TOTALLY preventable.
I couldn't agree with you more David. As I witnessed him coming up to the tracks, I was already thinking, "what is he doing? He's not going to try and go over those tracks with such a "low slung" trailer (as you put it) is he?? But he did. Once he was stuck, the outcome was inevitable. But, with more common sense, totally preventable.
@@ekonoman501 we're supposed to be trained to avoid such things so these incidents don't happen because there's so much at stake. People can get hurt or killed, property can be damaged, etc. Professional drivers are held to a higher standard.
That looked like an especially long, low-slung trailer. Either the driver or his employer should have checked the route ahead of time for problems like this.
Hi Bob, I witnessed this happen and took the video. I'm not sure if it seems like a long time or not on the video, but it happened too quickly for anyone to, "check the route". From the moment the driver got stuck, he stayed in the truck cab trying to move it off the tracks but it wouldn't budge. He wasted precious time doing that. I've seen comments that he should have been calling on the phone immediately. He never did. He stayed in the cab and only got out 1-2 minutes before impact.
And, I understand you meant check the truck route for any issues coming up. That is really more of a residential area. I was shocked to see a semi coming from that neighborhood. He shouldn't have been there in the first place
I applaud Brightline for doing their best to get cars off the awful South Florida roads...even if it is by force!
I didnt come here to laugh!
@@Yvonne-Bella 😄
Ha ha I approve of this comment 👍
New Brightline ridership initiative: Punt SUV’s off the road
if a vehicle gets stuck CALL THE NUMBER ON THE CROSSING AND GIVE THEM THE CROSSING NUMBER sheesh
If you are stuck on tracks, IMMEDIATELY call the number on the crossing guard. It's better to call them again and say "alls clear I actually managed to get it unstuck" then to have... this.
Or at least get away from the vehicle - if possible along the tracks towards the train, to warn the engineer as early as possible. It's a 50:50 chance you choose the wrong direction, but even then that's better than nothing and even a slower impact is better than a collission at full speed. If the train tracks curve on one side, choose this direction (on a straight the engineer can see the obstacle anyways).
Edit: since it seems to be ambiguous: of course you should first try to call the dispatcher. My comment was just an _addition_ to Cedar's original post to _further_ mitigate the situation. In any case, wasting minutes trying to get the truck going, and then only wave at the train driver is just completely pointless.
@@stephanweinberger This driver did the latter. He was moving up the tracks waving his arms.
@@TheTiktok4321 yes, but much too late... he just got a few yards, which is kinda pointless.
Running towards the train obviously only makes sense if you get far enough so that the train driver sees you before he can see the obstacle - e.g. if there is a curve or if visibility is bad (rain, snow, fog, ...).
On a clear day on straight tracks the main priority is to get out of the killzone (the video shows how far debris can fly on impact).
@@stephanweinberger in florida fireworks are technically illegal except for doing something like this or for scaring crows, so i personally would say if this happens around 4th of july and you have some fireworks and a cig lighter, do not hesitate to light them off in the center of the tracks
@@stephanweinberger this shows why we should have a signal showing which direction the train comes from like in japan
Good on Siemens for designing one hell of a locomotive in the SC44. Really glad to see railroads across the country using them
and with the nosecone and additional areodynamic features on the b variant (the one brightline uses) its basically a snowplow but for use with cars
Those Chargers are a tough locomotive. A little surprising given its European roots 😁
@@TohaBgood2 Siemens adapted them to the US market. That's why the Amtrak ACS-64 for example is 7,7 tons heavier than its European cousin, the Vectron MS.
In Europe a crash like would never happen. This crossing would be gate protected and the train would run into a stop signal well ahead.
Anyway: Why didnt you try to flag down the oncoming train?
@@marco23p I thought that that was because the Vectron is electric, no? I have no idea. I never looked this up 😁
Strong trains that can take a hit. I would feel safer riding on Brightline after seeing this. Just hope they can get these problems worked out for the long term.
Hello Mike. Ironically, I was on a Brightline train for the first time, only 4 days before I took this video. I went down to Miami to watch a Marlins baseball game with my kids. Brightline is a great train and we all enjoyed the trip very much. The fact that the Brightline train could take that massive hit, and I mean MASSIVE, and NOT derail was unbelievable and a testament to how well built they are. I would ride a Brightline train again without hesitation.
@@ekonoman501 And the same Brightline Crash as this one ruclips.net/video/OtawR3hSI-4/видео.html
High speed japan "bullet train" = shinkansen trains are really light weight,.. less than 30 tonnes each and do not require protection as they will never hit a truck/cow/van/etc even birds are vortex away.. That is the decision point.. Deconflict.. Seperation is good cos each unit can focus on their issues..
Today’s locomotives have Crumple Zones to absorb impacts and Anti Climbers to lessen the chance of a derailment. Still, there is always the chance of a derailment depending on the type of vehicle (and its weight) that is struck and the track configuration near the impact point. This is why the only truly safe operation of high speed passenger trains is using a dedicated right-of-way with all crossings separated at grade.
I mean will the train can get damaged like the last time it hit a car on the front of the train and the nose of it was badly damaged and was on fire, and it depends on what vehicle the train hits to make it derailed off the tracks Like for an example a dump truck is actually much heavier that can derail a train just like what happened not to long ago with Amtrak.
I always see Brightline's bright green train whenever I railfan Brightline. So the fact that the train set hit this massive car hauler truck and didn't derail made me praise Siemens for making these trains worthy to manage crash worthy standards.
Anywhere else in the world these trains would not be facing this issue. Anywhere that has high speed rail it is elevated so there are no level crossings for vehicular traffic to interfere with operations.
@@davefroman4700 That simply isn’t correct. Brightline isn’t “high speed rail” by any definition; 79mph at present. In the UK we have crossings in urban areas on lines this speed, as well as some crossings even on 100mph+ lines. There’s plenty of grade separation, yes, but there are two factors at play in Florida. One, the complete inability of Florida drivers to adapt to elementary rules around using crossings (they can and will kill you!). Second, the poor design of the crossings, leading directly onto junctions, and with gradients. Nothing wrong with the principle of crossings, but plenty wrong with the specific crossings and the specific user base in Florida.
@@davefroman4700 brightline doesnt even own all of its track it shares it with FEC
@@Paul_Lucas Half barriers and not fencing off the rest of the railway/railroad too....
@@chris52209 I do think that Brightline and Florida EastCoast Railways are "Sister-companies"..
Are there ANY Brightline trains left that don't have some sort of front-end damage from hitting stupid people??
There are still a lot of Floridians left.
Of course the truck driver waving his arms for the train to stop makes perfect sense. When the lawsuit starts, the truck driver will state that he tried to stop the train and the engineer just ignored him. Thank you Darwin.
Hello Jim. Love that response! Classic...
he did try and the train ignored him and did not even try and avoid the crash
@@willie0704 lol yeah try stopping that train on a dim from even 50mph and is takes quarter mile. Real high-speed can take up to 2 miles to stop
@@damiendye6623 then they should be limited to 30MPH
@@willie0704 Why, it isn't the trains fault? It is idiot drivers who don't obey basic rules.
FloriDUH. This is NOT Brightline's fault. Other than the poor souls who have committed suicide, all the other crashes and deaths are attributed to the idiots who fail to heed the crossing gates. In this case it looks like the road grade is too high to accommodate the tractor trailer. The train engineers suffer by the way.
The tractor likely stalled.
Youp 954... you are exactly right. Everything you said is completely accurate! Also, the truck did not stall. It got stuck for the reason you mentioned. It was totally the driver's error. He never should have been on that road. That's not a road for tractor trailers.
@@ekonoman501 That seems obviously true, but the time for a tractor trailer driver to have to decide not to take that road because of the humped crossing is back turning in to that road, & there should be signs along there for the hard of thinking.
@@ES-hr6vg the original poster is correct. These car hauler trailers sit really close to the ground.
@@ekonoman501 you seem to imply you have some sort of knowledge that the truck did not belong there. If so then clearly the train company should have known and taken steps to ensure trucks would not cross. Just imagine the mess a fully loaded bus would have made stalling there like the truck did. For the record, used as a verb, stall means to stop or to cause to stop from making progress. The truck was in fact stalled on the tracks. New England does not have such problems, we are smart enough to give the Accella a dedicated right of way that does not cross roads with out a bridge crossing. Floridians must be pretty stupid to think they can run trains at speed through congested areas with out catastrophic results. I really hope it doesn't take a bus load of children to prove my point...
I assume that the driver of the train has access to intercoms that are in the passenger cars. (If the driver does not, they should) In this instance, it would be very useful for the driver to be able to tell passengers that there is trouble and for them to brace themselves.
A round of applause to the designers who did a good job with this train. The front end was barely damaged after hitting that truck and sending that car flying. It protected the driver and passengers very well.
That was barely a bump for that train. Brightline is so smooth
There was over $100,000 damage to the locomotive. Plus it’s still out of service for repairs. Likely damages will exceed $250,000. That’s a $6 Million dollar locomotive.
@@floridamanrailfan listen, hitting an auto transporter with cars on it at the speed he was going, that locomotive did very well and suffered damage to the wind shield and nose cone only. I hit one of those while operating a freight train years back and it wasn't a pleasurable experience. Thanks to The FRA, locomotives in the US are built well. Still, as it happened in Missouri yesterday, the train can derail and have some really bad consequences. Glad that the crew is safe.
@@markydee48 im supprised we havent had a derailment from a brightline train as a result of one of these crashes...yet
@@markydee48 A direct, head-on hit with no lateral forces kept the train from derailing.
Old rule of seamanship: Never argue the right away with someone who's weight's number in tons is larger than your weight in pounds!
this is so true
That is called the 'Law of Physics'
The railroad should go after the truck drivers insurance. Make sure he feels every bit of this accident. Dont let stupid people off the hook, hit them where it hurts. Their pockets!
Oh they definitely will and he better have plenty of it.
@@thud9797 and Insurance wont touch him ever again , if they do it will be too costly for the trucker to afford
it says a lot about the manufacture and design of the train for it to take a hit like that and still come out looking like it did. It also says a lot about the railroad and the upkeep of the rails that a train taking a hit like that and stayed on the rails.
This is very sad...what the hell is wrong with Florida residents with all of these Brightline crashes? Is everyone on drugs and not thinking with a clear mind? I have read numerous articles about stuff like this all too often!!! It makes me so mad because it's not Brightlines fault in any of these accidents!!!
being a florida resident myself i can tell you that 9 out of every 10 floridians has most likely done some form of drugs before getting in a car
in case you dont believe me i have about 5-6 close calls on my 1 mile bike ride to-from work per trip
I used to go to school in Lantana Florida and I can tell you it’s a complete ghetto.
When my brother was a Railfanning in Lantana some guy on drugs approached them so they went in their car and left
Geriatrics?
Ben brainard's Florida "What's a Train?"
Darwin Award finalists. Driver was probably high centered tho, it happens!
I love how the truck driver is over there yelling "stop! stop!" like the train is going to stop in time
I don't understand why people do that! Brightline trains are fast as hell and they aren't gonna be able to apply brakes in that amount of time while barreling down the tracks at almost 80mph. This one was going a bit slower though, so they probably went into emergency early.
Holy crap, that car was yeeted into oblivion!
I'm a long time Heavy Haul guy, lots of lowboy trailers, you learn really early if you're pulling a lowboy, car hauler or any type of trailer with low ground clearance, NEVER attempt to cross a raised crown grade like this one. Check your routing, and if you come to one of them, find an alternate route. Totally preventable incident, and every time, the train wins.
Hello Thomas Kirk,
I just wanted to say "thank you" for the excellent and intelligent comment! Right on point. Some of the comments are not very intelligent and that is unfortunate. I'd like to say, "read Thomas Kirk's comment. He knows first hand! Any more questions?" lol👍
@@ekonoman501 Thanks for that. It just kinda ticks me off a bit whenever I see something like this, or a guy hitting a clearly marked low bridge, all you really need to do is PAT ATTENTION, but the general theme today is that it's always someone else's fault. Sort of like the guys that flop a trailer on its side on an off ramp and say "the load shifted". Only 2 reasons a load shifted, both are preventable by the driver; poorly secured load or excessive speed on a curve, both preventable. Looking at the car carrier situation, that's a pretty serious crown in that crossing, if I'm coming up to that my 4 ways are going on and I'm turning around to find an alternate route, no way I'm trying that crossing with a low trailer. Doing Heavy Haul/Oversize you learn that stuff really quick, or you're not cut out for the best job in trucking.
Mistake, I meant PAY attention, not PAT. My bad!!
Thanks again Thomas. Hopefully some less experienced truckers reading your comments will learn from this valuable information and never make the preventable and serious mistakes that trucker made. I appreciate your professional insight 👍
Sad thing is that this happens quite often cause people block the RR tracks all the time.
its less common then you think, its just they only show crashes
@@AlliedBroom9081 lies
trains should have to go over or under roads
@@AlliedBroom9081 Brightline has a ridiculously high crash rate thanks to Florida's idiot drivers.
@@willie0704 Wrong. The tracks were there first. It is the roads that should make the grade changes. Unless you want to pay for the elevating of the tracks. Digging down in Florida results in flooded track.
I hope that truck driver is held accountable. Professional drivers need to know their vehicle and understand the clearance tolerances BEFORE approaching unlevel crossings
OK, do you know what happened? Hmmm, probably not. Could have been a combination of things. Unless the guy is a complete loser, I'm sure he did all the things that are needed for him to stay alive and keep his cargo protected.
@@hgr4255 How do you know "he did all the things that are needed for him to stay alive and keep his cargo protected"?
its not like there's is measurements listed on a map or anywhere else for that matter. What is the guy supposed to do since you have all the solutions?
@@jonnie2bad "What is the guy supposed to do": Don't drive a large truck across an elevated railway crossing?
@@onetwothreeabc What you said sounds right to me. It would seem to me that a truck driver should be able to see a high-rise crossing like that and avoid it if there's any possibility that his truck will not clear it. . .
The dealership receiving those cars is gonna be pissed I can only imagine the money that just got blown away 🤣
THe funny thing is, one of those cars i think it was a BMW suv, was a new york plate, sucks to be them rn, snowbirds.
The trucker's insurance is who's gonna be pissed!
It doesn't matter lt's all material and no one is going into bankruptcies because of a few cars,That is what insurance is for!
@@infinitythefloridian4517 gives them a reason to leave us alone for good lol
1:33 That SUV has a plate on the back so suspect Auto Transport.
The slow mo with Oooooo myyyyyy godddddd is perfect. Hope nobody was injured in this preventable mess.
Slo mo is cool for sure. No one was injured. Just the cars and the semi were destroyed
@@ekonoman501 truck lives matter.
I mean the cab of the truck is fine
Someone should have called the number at the crossing gates to notify Brightline of this blocking.
I hope the train driver was OK and nobody was injured.
I'm pretty sure no one was hurt whatsoever
You could see the truck driver running away in the video and the train horn stops a couple seconds before it actually hits most likely meaning the conductor ran back from the control console
@@CrazeTheZilla The conductor is in the passenger car area taking tickets and answering passenger question. He/she is not trained, qualified and licensed to operate the locomotives. The train is driven by a FRA licensed locomotive engineer.
Send this to the news if you haven’t already. I hope there were no serious injuries. Drivers need to respect the railroad crossings and each other when approaching crossings when traffic is heavy.
Why send it, wait for them to ask him to buy it!!
Looks like the truck got stuck on the tracks... that is why there is a phone number to call at every railroad crossing. He needed to call that number as soon as he knew he was stuck. The flying car was a nice touch... But his trailer is off the tracks now!
He did. It was so fast he immediately got out and called
@@oxBLUNTxo Good to hear. That will save his bacon on insurance claims.
@@LoydChampion I always wondered what happened. I saw the train guy he was definitely shaking (this rail is very busy) I believe I heard a minute or 30 seconds he saw also same time auto brakes hit idk what that is but it only did so much haul surprisingly safe I was so shocked
And crazy enough... that hump there catches all kinds of trucks and even after taking chunks out the ground it still gets trucks... it's wild.
The blue sign attached to every crossing signal has the phone number to the railroad dispatch office.
that train driver defently needs a new pair of pants and underwear. But glad to see no one got hurt. exept for the truckers wallet and pride
Vehicle and Public liability insurance
Stuck for 3-4 minutes and nobody called the number on the crossing signal? This could have been prevented, even after the truck stalled.
Hello Dan. The bottom of the Semi was stuck on the tracks. He was on a back neighborhood road not meant for a tractor trailer. He never should have been on that road. When you drive over those tracks it's like driving over a little hump. So, when he got halfway over the tracks, the metal frame that holds the cars very low to the ground got caught in the middle and the back wheels lifted just enough so he couldn't get any traction on them to continue moving. He didn't stall. He was trying to move the truck forward or backward most of the 2 minutes before the train hit. He didn't jump right out of the truck when he got stuck. I think he thought he could move it in time. The Physics in that situation proved that that wasn't going to happen. I witnessed and took the video.
Yeah, do they not have sensors or cameras monitoring the level crossing? That seems ridiculous considering it looks like a fairly populated area.
@@ekonoman501 Instead of taking the video, you should have first called the emergency number!!!!
@@jerryabrams7660 Hello Jerry. If you watch the video again and listen, the whole time I'm talking and saying, "he's gonna hit it" etc. I'm on the phone with 911!! The second I saw it happen I was calling 911! So, it's nice that everyone is an expert and knows to call an emergency number by the railroad tracks (which should have been done by the truck driver btw, and fyi, he also stayed in his truck for at least 2 minutes trying to move the Semi instead of calling), but, sorry, no I wasn't going to try and run across a very busy and dangerous street during rush hour traffic while a train is barreling towards a giant Semi with 10 cars on it. Superman maybe. Ekonoman, not a chance...
@@ekonoman501 I'm with you. Your personal safety comes first. The truck driver should have called first, then tried to un stick himself. Or, not drive down roads not meant for trucks.
Johnny on the spot! Lucky and quick reacting. Great job.
Thank you seven8n2!!
Anyone who has driven a truck for any length of time will tell you that you simply MUST know the clearances of your rig and what you pull! So many rail crossings along highways and roads, so many of the aprons drop right past the tracks to meet the grade of the road. Anyone with a trailer is going to get hung up on that. Short of hydraulic systems on trailers to elevate the frame to correct for this, I am surprised there are not more wrecks like this
Hello Matt Albrecht.
Excellent analysis my friend. One of the most intelligent comments I've read. I hope more people read it. Thank you!
Amazing footage almost to bad there aren't more angles. Also good job at the calmness, filming and general quality of reporting. Do you do this for a living or do you just happen to witness this and actually professionally cover it as it were happening?
Used car sale: Low millage, low hours of flight. Rides like its on rails....
😛😛😜
The car just flies down the distance!
The trailer getting demolished and the train wasn't even slowed down on impact, shows how strong trains are.
How massive, actually.
E= 1/2 MVsq.
There are NO "Low Ground Clearance" signs on this crossing but that looks like a residential area not suited for trucks and there is obviously a hump in the road. Driver still needed to be aware of his rig's abilities. When you are a trucker you need to be humble sometimes and ask for help before things get out of control. Police would probably come help him get out of there without crossing the track. Just a note that there is a slight curve in the tracks so the engineer would not be able to see that the trailer was fouling the rail until it was too late.
Nice response Al Whalen! Totally on point!👍
Just as a side note I am a locomotive engineer and hold a CDL Class A from my other job.
A new nose cone and windshield and that Brightline Train is ready for the next person to get in its way. I do hate how there are traffic signals so close to RR crossings though.
NO WAY!!! THATS INSANE!!!
Tough cab ends that was a serious impact 😱
Love how he waves the train down lol
Another day, another Darwin award. Good catch.
everyone be talking about the train, but nobody talking about the almost rear end collision from the cars stopping to rubberneck lol
Thank you, the stupid media to.
Florida drivers
I'm amazed at how often this happens in the US.
because of neglected security
Damn, these semi trucks with lowboys and car haulers that sit 5" off the ground know not to go over humps like train tracks. I remember in the early 1980s a lowboy with a 100k lbs D10 cat dozer got stuck on the tracks and derailed a train. Heard it bk'ed the insurance company. Hope everyone is uninjured.
That’s because the U.S mostly is decades behind in train transportation compared with Europe and Asia. Also, I live in the Northeast U.S and we have an Acela train that goes much faster than this train does, and there is no incidents like this here. It is also not helpful when southern states don’t have the best education system and the some of the most outdated infrastructure in the country besides the midwest. Also, U.S federal government hasn’t funded the train transport system since the 1950s when airlines and cars were getting popular back then.
Truck got hit by bright line keep up the good work
Very surprised on how the cab held up well built for safety!
Do these trains have a bulletproof windshield? Seems like a really very strong piece of glass.
I think locomotives rated for 100+ basically do have that or something near to it. NE Regionals have survived idiots throwing stuff off an overpass before and those regularly travel at 125mph.
@@filanfyretracker Yeah, As someone living in the Northeast U.S Acela train goes much faster than this, and there is no accidents like this, not even in New Jersey and people love to sterotype that state as being high in crime but in actuality, New Jersey along with New England, has some of the lowest crime rates in the country even lower than neighboring Pennsylvania. Crime rates are significantly higher than New Jersey in the southern states like Florida, Texas, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, ffs. See a pattern here with these states having higher crime rates even higher than states like Illinois? It’s because these states are state governed by a political party that is against gun reform and they’re all about “my 2nd amendment”.
This is the most high quality train wreck I have seen in a very long time.
It ripped a trailer in half and launched an Audi, which are extremely heavy, through the air and that's the only damage to the engine? Crazy stuff
When trains hit car carriers the cars go flying
My three former co-workers that now work for Brightline are still holding down the fort like they always have.
For the speed it hit that truck. I think it held up pretty well with minimal nose damage and it did not derailed. I expected to see the first car ofc the track at the very least.
Brightline WINS!!!!! Flawless victory!!!! FATALITY!!!!!! (The auto rack and the autos)
That impact sounded like thunder or good throwing a lightening bolt at somebody he's pissed with.
Great video catch
Thank you John! Just happened to there at that moment👍
Looks like a lawsuit... for the truck driver to pay out.
The truck driver should actually got to jail for reckless endangerment.
Very well made video!
Thank you Deanna!
Another bad truck driver!!!! Hope the engineer is OK!
The engineer was fine thank goodness. I saw him speaking with the police on the scene
Im impressed that the front powered unit didnt look too bad damage wise considering what the train hit. New glass and a coupler shroud unless there is more internal damage underneath the skin.
Im also impressed
Well the loco is made from steel and just one loco weighs like 150 tons by itself
But the nose on the front is fibreglass-not steel.
And they say we don't have flying cars yet.
😂😂😂
Motorbike rule 1....never argue with a vehicle bigger than you. Universal rule.
1:33 -- The truck's trailer was bottom-stuck on the 'hump' of the train tracks,
or was the truck at a red-stop light, waiting for a green light at the cross-road to go?
The bottom of the Semi was stuck on the tracks. He was on a back road not meant for a tractor trailer. I was totally surprised to see him start driving over the tracks and I watched the truck get stuck. When you drive over those tracks it's like driving over a little hump as you mentioned. So, when he got halfway over the tracks, the metal frame that holds the cars very low to the ground got caught in the middle and the back wheels lifted up just enough so he couldn't get any traction on them to continue moving. He wasn't waiting for the light. He didn't make it that far.
Probably the landing gear
@@ekonoman501 It seems like that driver had delivered a Vehicle in that area, and was on the go for the next delivery. When I got my newly purchased Car delivered, I had to go to a Shell-station to pick it up. A location that the driver were familiar with..
Probably following GPS and didn't engage his brain.
That was EPIC
Hello TheOrion7. Yes! It WAS Epic! Not something I wanted to see. Very thankful no one was physically injured, but I would think it was pretty tough for the engineer and the passengers
Hope the train driver was ok.
i watch brightline frequently since i live by the tracks, and this is the first time ive seen one of the locos jump off the tracks from an impact, its slight but still noticeable at 1:04
As a car hauler myself, I’m fortunate to be on a dedicated run. Occasionally I’ll take a detour that runs over some tracks, but even then those are level crossings. With that being said, I feel like I cannot put too much blame on this driver. While the cars that have been getting hit by Brightline trains are objectively idiots, this driver could’ve had any number of things happen that got him stuck. A lot of people won’t tell you when you first start out, but it is perfectly normal for car haulers and lowboys to scrape. In fact one of the truck stops, AND one of our delivery spots (though I’m not dedicated to that one I’ve worked an extra day with another guy doing it) have spots where we will throw sparks. If you don’t time it right, or something forces you to stop, you’re stuck.
That's asinine.
You and truckers like you are responsible for so many accidents. You always justify the trucker and blame the 4-wheelers for everything, even when the fault is clearly on the trucker. No, it is not inevitable for car haulers and lowboys to get stuck! Your job is to drive your truck without touching anything. Like you don’t go under low overpasses you might hit, you don’t go over humps where you might high-center. And finally, if the idiot here had simply called the phone number on the sign at the crossing in the several minutes he was stuck, the dispatcher would have stopped all trains and there would have been no crash.
Sounds like truck drivers need better route planning then, between trains and places like the 11 foot 8 bridge ( also on YT) it just goes to show that truckers/dispatch dont plan routes properly.
Here in the uk the signals on most coursing are put to red before a train can cross a level crossing, that’s why we have so few car train collisions
But how can a train stop for a red signal?
The UK is also way way smaller then the USA
How was the locomotive engineer?? That would’ve been a horrendous impact & incident. Feeling for them. And the psychological impact of it all. Full on. Trucking Co. should have to pay their medical / therapy bills.
Could have been worse it could have been proper high speed. This type of thing is rear hear as trains go way faster and result in much worse.
Great documentation. Thanks!
Thank you John! I called it like I saw it.
Anyone else starting to think this is a auto industry scheme (like the they did to trolleys)
Siemens making some quality locomotives
I hope they have enough spare trainsets to cover the ones in the shop getting fixed.
with the new ones they are getting in anticipation of the new orlando route they may just make an extra long one for the time being
What a spectacular WRECK!! You definitely can’t call this a “wreckless driver” 😁
😂
Living in a country where the average speed of commuter trains has been around100mph for decades and is now reaching 140mph and express maximums top 180mph and will climb higher in the next few years and drove these trains for years you realise that it is a matter of public mindset and legal and political will that keeps passengers safe. We still get the odd utter mindless cretin who arrogantly believes this somehow does not apply to them and accidents do happen occasionally but considering the heavy usage of trains in the UK these are few and far between. This situation however has been hard-won through time and comes down to education on all levels. particularly in the design of level crossings to the point where today the average timings for lights and gates to train arrival at whatever speed is just 30 seconds, not minutes and this cannot be achieved without the public being fully aware of how these things work and THEIR role in the operation of rail crossings. This has only come about through years of education and legal enforcement in terms of trespass laws and a multi-faceted approach to the operation of railways and roads and the interface between the two right down to mapping supplied to road users which today include width, height and special conditions applicable to rail crossings. Rail operators have done all they can to keep the public safe at these interfaces and whatever follows then places the onus squarely with road users to obey the regulations and laws applied to keep them safe at crossings. To mangle a well-known phrase. The needs of the many, in this case, rail users, far outweigh the needs of applicants for the Darwin award for arrogant stupidity and US road users are going to have to come to terms with this eventually that they are far lower down the transport food chain than they might currently believe. Those that persist in careless ignorance will be weeded out piecemeal over time and the death toll will rise to accommodate their arrogance but at some point, the penny will drop that everyone needs to change their mindset about the way they live their lives. If you want high-speed rail to entice people out of their cars and save the environment then there is a price to pay for that in the way railways are designed and the public perception of them overall.
Americans abandoned the primitive idea of rail travel almost a 100 years ago in favor of modern technology, automobiles and aircraft. The desire for passenger rails is tiny and pushed mainly by those who can greatly profit from it with minimal investment, like Brightline hopes to do. There are very few Americans who want high speed trains flying through densely populated areas where modern automobiles can take them from their door step to the front door of the place they want to go, whenever they wish to go. Americans who want to get from point a to point b at 180 mph are smart enough to book a flight on a technologically advanced aircraft with a proven safety record. Like highways, high speed rails need dedicated right of ways and it would be next to impossible to convince Americans to fund the quadrillions of dollars it would take to set up even a skeleton of the infrastructure the country would need for such an obsolete transportation system. Perhaps the people of the UK like using a limited transportation system designed for the 1890's, the vast majority of Americans do not.
@@PolionL LOL
@@PolionL this mind set is all wrong and why the US has the worst traffic of the world. Everything comes down to your poor education standards.
@@PolionL lmao based
@@PolionL Americans still belive that they are all members of a militia and need weapons inside and outside their cars.
that was impressive, nice video of it happening!
Thank you BBT609!!
That engine took the hit pretty good. Working on the railroad I see this way too often. That was a good video catch of that in motion. Nice work.
Hello engineerdash7.
Thank you. I just happened to be there. I never expected to see something like that... until I saw it!
They need to seriously consider some grade separations
they cant separate the grades, brightline has a lease with the freight railroad that owns the right of way
@@AlliedBroom9081 But they can at least put quad gates or "impenetrable barriers". This is getting ridiculous. There's some major crash every other week. Clearly this isn't working out. You just can't run a train like that in Florida, with Florida drivers, and without protected grade crossings.
@@TohaBgood2 You can thank the state government in FL and the southern states for their terrible policies for why this crap happens.
Ekonoman Keep uploading Videos
Just imagine next year when Brightline starts running from West Palm to Cocoa at speeds up to 110 MPH.
I believe that their new mainline has no grade crossings, and the one they use right now is owned by the south Florida railway
@@jameswebb254 The only segment under construction that will be grade crossing-separated, is the one between Cocoa and MCO. That segment is about 30 miles in length. Between West Palm Beach and Cocoa, a segment of roughly 140 miles, the existing FEC mainline and a newly-constructed second mainline will be used by Brightline trains. There are many, many grade crossings along that route.
@Not Bono Brightline says the West Palm Beach-Cocoa segment will have a speed limit of 110 MPH. Within that segment, there will be several locations where the maximum speed will 79 MPH or lower. The speed limit between Cocoa and MCO will be 125 MPH.
@Not Bono oh, thanks for clarifying, I thought that all of it was grade separated.
@@jameswebb254 Nope, so the carnage will continue and probably intensify. Good times.
That must have been a terrifying experience for that engineer. I still have PTSD from my log truck hit, i also dont drive trains anymore
hope the train driver is ok
Again, in Florida! Reminds me, 10-12yrs ago?, the RBBBX (Circus train) hit a stuck truck, and derailed the train.
Impound all cars! Thank you, Brightline!
I love how the train was going slower the 2nd and third time he hit the truck. He was trying to stop.
Lol
🧐This has been happening very often. I think airlines or car manufacturers are sabotaging bright line. 🤔I don’t want to think that people are dumb enough to just stop on a train track like that without ill intentions. Maybe brightline should consider building a bridge over those type of intersections to avoid traffic all together. Great footage btw!👏
Are you slow? its Florida, and its commuter rail. There is no sabotage. People are just stupid and ignorant and are mindless. Also it would be un ethical to build a bridge over those. please keep your dumb conspiracy theory to yourself as it makes zero sense.
Wow! And it didn’t derail! That is amazing!
Was a real slow speed impact. Train was already hard breaking and can't have been going fast to start with
This is why they are truck drivers and not rocket scientists.
So funny. Yes, he had no business trying to go over that RR crossing. Fyi, no one was injured, but the cars were destroyed
@@ekonoman501 Hi! My daughter was on that train! Would you mind if I posted this link on my Facebook page? Thank you!!
sheash, those Chargers can take a beating!
You carry a truck of hundreds of tons full of cars that are worth a fortune, what do you do? I drive as dangerously as I can and play Russian roulette with passing trains.
Sounds like a plan. . . not the best plan, but it IS a plan. . . 🙂
Great catch. Be safe
Thank you Thomas! You be safe too!
I’m very surprised the front of the engine did not suffer much more damage!!!
In the front of the train is a coupler assembly, which is very well secured, which would enable a much longer train if necessary.
Joseph Russo It takes a lot more structure than the coupler assembly to protect the cab the way this one was protected. For the front of this engine to not be crushed in takes a massive amount of engineered structure to survive the way this one did. The outside skin between the crew entry door and the front of the engine is not even buckled.
Maybe i didn’t explain it correctly. The coupler is attached the massive steel frame work of the train. A lightweight car hauler trailer is no match for the steel frame work of a train. How do I know this Im retired from the rail industry. Worked on many different types of trains. Sorry about that should have better explained.
Joseph Russo What type work did you do in the rail industry. I’m a retired road engineer off the UP. The auto that was thrown a few hundred feet hit the windshield area. The glass was still mostly intact, but shattered. The frame work did not move enough to buckle the outer side skin. If that had been a freight train that hit the car hauler at that speed the engine cab would have been crushed and probably caused at least serious injuries if not fatal for the head end crew.
Good morning to all from SE Louisiana 12 Jul 22.
Woah!!!!!!!
OH this is gonna be a good one
The car lobbied media will blame Brightline as always. I mean how dare that train use rail tracks to hit that poor innocent truck driver. 🤦♂
They will be more concerned about the cars lost than the trauma that train driver will now be experiencing. I hope he slammed the brakes on and dived down below the control panel.
But can we also just give it up for Siemens building very safe and strong trains and one that stopped almost within the length of the train?
Looks like the train was already on emergency brakes when it hit, but it's still amazing how quickly it stopped. Two Chargers and 4 coaches, that's close to 450 tons.
@@lampitl bet the brakes where smoking after that, last time they hit someone i was nearby and the brakeshoes on the rear loco where glowing white hot
Great comments 1chish! 👍
What state!
Did anyone see Brightline at fault in this accident ??? WHY was the semi truck stuck across the tracks ??? This has got to stop, its insane the way people ignore railroad crossings and this is the result. People in south Florida and elsewhere have to realize trains run on tracks and can't stop on a dime, so you must " STOP, LOOK & LISTEN " before crossing tracks and if you see crossing gates coming down or lights and bells sounding that means STOP !!! I hope that trucking company has good insurance as it will be lots of money to repair that Brightline engine which are brand new.
i mean unless its one of the brand new trainsets that thing has been in service since 2018, still expensive regardless but an excuse to refresh the loco in my opinion
@@AlliedBroom9081 2018 is still pretty new for a loco though.
@@tzarcoal1018 Locomotives are designed for a service life of 30 or 40 years. Also, these cost a few million dollars per locomotive. That locomotive is by far the most expensive part in that accident. For the repair cost, you might be able to buy a brand new 18-wheeler.
According to the video maker, this crossing is not designed for low-riding trucks to use it; the truck's trailer got stuck on the tracks. The truck driver should have known not to use this crossing.
@@ericemmons3040 thats why i said what i said in a previous reply i made where i mentioned how i can tell you from seeing it almost everyday that 9-10 floridians do some sort of drugs before driving
This is why i guard any railroad crossing I go railfanning at and make sure nothing like this happens
You'd think they'd ban trucks from driving on pretty steep railway crossings, but Florida finds a way
It happens everywhere, Florida is no exception! I live up in Georgia northeast of Atlanta and I've seen a couple of auto-carriers get hit because of sheer stupidity of the truck driver. In one case there were multiple signs warning the driver not to take that route and he did it anyway.
Florida should know better since it’s all flat
I hope Brightline sues the car carrier company and the driver personally for damage to their train, lost passenger revenue, etc.
omg 😱 !!! that car went flying. not enough people have seen this !
Yes, more people need to see it! Send to all your friends! It is an amazing, unbelievable video! Btw, that car landed 500 feet down the track. Completely demolished as you can see. Wow!
@@ekonoman501 nice 100k views 💪🏼
USA is the country of cars and trucks. I can't believe they can't make a crossing that doesn't jam the semi trucks.🤦🏻♂️
The truck carrying the cars IS AT FAULT!!! Not the train!
What clickbait, this aint a wreck, just a crossing accident