Japan Railroad Crossing
A railroad crossing is called "Fumikiri" [踏切] and can be seen across Japan in many places.
One of my first memories of Japan is the fumikiri - used to just stand there are watch them. Would hear the clanging (is that a word?) of the sirens even after going back to London.
This photo was taken at Shimo Kitazawa yesterday night on the Lumix LX3.
Example of a fumikiri in action below.
Over 70% of railroad crossing accidents are from folks ignoring the sirens like the chap below.
A naughty person below drives through the lowering beams.
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Student
woah the guy got seriously owned!
Part-Time Blogger of Moderately Useless Jibberish
http://www.k-jessop.co.uk
Definately
Dirty Gentleman
http://cantstanzya.wordpress.com/
Failed to reach 88 MPH.
university film student | ecchikid | the Archivist
http://www.vimeo.com/longhim
*pppfffttttt* XD
Yeah, I couldn't but laugh either. It looks like a bad slapstick comedy movie from early film, especially with the low video quality.
NEET
http://austrianotaku.com/
Rofl, yah exactly. The only thingh missing is the text between the scenes^^
Comic Shop Owner
and apparently was unable to harness 1.21 gigawatts of electricity either!
Troubleshooter, Universal Exports
http://funkyblueame.tumblr.com/
If he had been smart, he would have gone to the year 2015 and had a hover conversion.
http://twitter.com/PammyCastro
a laughed so hard. I know I shouldn't have, but I just couldn't hold it. Who told him to go when the thing was going down. He could have died. :S
Student artist
http://www.requestview.wordpress.com
good stuff
JR. College Student
http://npc.talkingincircles.net/
I laughed too... would have been funnier if there was no train afterward either.
Ninja / Engineer / Sensei / 魔法少女 (What!?! I can't be, I'm a guy...)
I was thinking the same thing..^^;
Mad scientist
False activation is quite rare except in the US where the crossings are custom designed to handle this. I have actually only seen it once. A crossing failed to detect a train so it stopped and manually activated the crossing (and got delayed). It moved past the road and deactivated the crossing. Afterwards it went away and once it hit the point of activation for trains going the other way it triggered the crossing again. Needless to say this crossing was reported as malfunctioning.
Failure to deactivate happens once in a while though and that's no fun. There is nothing to do except to wait for the timeout, which is at least 8 minutes. I don't think all countries use a timeout system. It would really mess up a crossing if a long (100+ cars) US freight train pass at 5 MPH since it would timeout while it's passing.
Young Grasshopper
http://miragestrike.blogspot.com
I disagree. He did break the beams after all. I'd say it's a tie.
Mad scientist
That just makes it worse for him. The railroad will send the repair bill :P
I don't know how much that is in Japan but I do know that one guy got caught here for passing lowering beams and he hit one, which didn't break, but was still damaged. He was charged around $7000 (or ¥670.000) and as a bonus the police added points to his driver's license, in fact he went 33% towards losing it in just one go. On top of that he dented his car and it needed a paintjob and he will have to pay for that himself.
Don't race across lowered/lowering beams. Even on a tie you lose :P
Multimedia Technology Student
http://thehappyninjadrawn.wordpress.com
ouch thats definately going to leave a mark
studying comp studies, dreamer but not really diligent ('~`)
http://bruneian-otaku.blogspot.com
Ouch that's gonna hurt for the man on the bike..
~Undine~
http://bluebluewave.wordpress.com
There's been much ado about such unguarded crossings here that only have lane width beams and siren/lights after a few accidents with fatalities occurred.
Many people rose up in outrage and protest at how unsafe half lane beams are, but all those accidents involved people (often teens) who blatantly ignored the howling sirens and lowered beams and crossed over nonetheless by ducking under the beam or swerving around it.
While safety should be paramount, do feel that if we have to keep people safe from acting against all common sense and basic rules, then it's a sad day to begin with.
Gamer, the hardcore kind
http://even248.wordpress.com
Agreed. That's what we call protecting people from themselves, isn't it?
Mad scientist
Here blocking the whole road is considered unsafe because it can box in cars. They actually remove the beams (which I until now have called barriers) from the left side because of this. Still I have only seen boxed in cars where they are boxed in by other cars, not barriers.
university film student | ecchikid | the Archivist
http://www.vimeo.com/longhim
That's the way the work here as well - the left sides are removed, so that the barriers only block incoming cars. But to be honest, a barrier's not going to stop a car that wants to get through if it has enough momentum.
Sentai Ranger
http://morganlamia.blogspot.com/
I've always loved the sound they make for some reason. I've never really known why...
Also, this should totally be what all railroad crossings should be like. That'll stop the impatient people XD http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARUlviW9z3Q
former Emperor of Britannia
http://reflectiarx.wordpress.com/
WUUUHUUUU~!!!! That was some awesome clothesline from hell~!
hahahaha!
hey Lelouch, how often do you hear about people getting run over by a train in our lovely Clovisland? it happens too often that they don't mention it on the news anymore.
then again our country is the only one I know that lets people build shanties right beside the tracks.
Overman
http://myplasticmoustache.blogspot.com/
Didn't they find one this morning somewhere in Makati?
Family IT guy ...yes, NEET.
I love the sounds they make. It reminds me of anime like 5cm/second, and Girl Who Leapt Through Time.
Otaku Student
http://www.kuji-an.com/
exactly! that's the first that rushed through my head. "the girl who leapt through time"
I just LOVE the sound they make, it's so much softer then that loud ringing you hear out here T_T
Gamer, the hardcore kind
http://even248.wordpress.com
Always remember to check your bike's brakes before leaving home.
三年せいとオタク
Yea that's the first thing that pops into my head when I see those.
Website Developer - Aspiring Manga Artist.
http://winter-street.com
I lived by one as a kid. The sounds used to scare me, lol.....I still don't like them.
Idiot sitting next to a radiator
http://www.sekaikun.wordpress.com
man i feel sorry for the guy but i cant help but laugh.. it was quite EPIC
High School Student
http://scorchnroses.wordpress.com
He hath been pwned by the lowering beam...
Anyway, that's so gonna hurt like hell, banging into metal head on!
ダメ人間, ひきこもり
in indonesia those things are made of wood. metal only for the mechanical joint. I dunno about japan though. cars may run through wooden beams but cycler will definitely do some flipping actions like in the video xD
Mad scientist
Japan makes them out of painted bamboo. The reason is that they are hard enough to work yet soft enough to break if a car gets boxed in.
The biker didn't hit the beam, but some wire holding the beam. I suspect such a wire to be made out of metal. That got to hurt really bad.
Poet (not)
I guess to some people, a few extra minutes saved is worth risking their lives for.
I think for sirens it's 'wailing'...
Blue Suit Sapien with White Helmet
http://conrad501.wordpress.com/
Lesson 101: Human head against metal pole and gravity
Result= human with concussion and Metal pole wins battle with gravity...
Lesson learned.....:P
still trying to figure it out...
http://pipopaz.wordpress.com/
the sound reminds me of how i got into Japanese culture, the fascination with how anime was based on Japan ^^. Ouch for the guy in the bike, i guess that happens when you ignore it.
Student, Performer
http://kesenaitsumi89.wordpress.com/
Wow..that look pain....
mechanical engineer
You know, those gates are there for a reason and not paying attention to them can get you killed. For some reason a lot of people ignore them. I stopped at a grade crossing when I was visiting in Savanah GA and I was passed by four cars coming up behind me and through the gate. Fortunately the train was just a short local freight. But that gate also protects the North-south CSX main with trains going by at 50 mph plus. 5000 ton trains with two or three 4400 hp diesel electrics (GE -9 typically) Here's an ad from the LIRR:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZaEpDtG9Dw
And an example somebody being very stupid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZaEpDtG9Dw
An ad from Poland?
Same story:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUCClEXCZCo&feature=related
mechanical engineer
Another one, this is a classic:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUNZO1Xti1E&NR=1&feature=fvwp
never park your car where that lady did.
Mad scientist
I have seen a car parked on the tracks. I noticed it because the train used the horn right next to me. The train was going like 3 mph (just started) but it wanted to send a message to the driver. Looks like it worked because the driver was able to run really fast in order to get to the car before the train.
The last video reminded me of this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GovV4iZN0vQ
Don't try that at home.
Laptop Tech
I'd like to call it applied Darwinism. Really, If you ignore warnings, then you can expect to get punted from the gene pool.
Mad scientist
and if you already produced offspring then the solution is to bring your kids >:)
I have seen people with kids crossing the tracks. I heard about an incident where a daycare centre were on a walk with all the kids and decided that since cars stops for them when they are that many then the train would do the same. However this wasn't physically possible when it came around the curve and saw the crossing. Nobody was hit but it could have gone really wrong.
I've missed those since I came back. I always had the bad luck that trains would come only when I got to the tracks, and not before. I've seen a lot of people run under the bar to get through when I was staying in Sangubashi.
3D artist
http://andyh.cgsociety.org
Im impressed with the quality of that camera. Ive looked it up and it looks pretty decent. Is the low light performance good? I like the fact that it has a lower megapixels, so that the sensor can handle low-light better. My current recently brought camera (powershot SX200) is pretty dissapointing in low light in auto mode.
Might look into getting this one...
Experiment volunteer for social dysfunctionality
http://coffeebugg.blogspot.com/
We've got similar crossings here in the Philippines. Actually saw a car got its rear bumper clipped since that after the railroad crossing was an intersection and happened to also be a redlight.
Exploring worlds and ways of thought
And THAT ladies and gentlemen, is why you WEAR A HELMET! You might not think it's cool to wear it, or that it will mess your hair, but you will be glad you did when and if you fall.
If the person in the video did, he could have gotten up and said a few nasty things while riding away on his bicycle, instead of on an ambulance comatose. And I will add one more thing, wear leather riding gloves with padding on the palms of them to cut down on the road rash if you fall. The first thing you do is to stick out your hands if you fall to catch your self, if falling forward-ish.
Mouth guard is optional, but not easy to talk with.
Exploring worlds and ways of thought
*blushing* P.S. Don't ignore traffic signals......
mechanical engineer
Jeremy Clarkson is big on wearing proper safety clothing when jumping the gates.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekpD06P7kiI&feature=related
another classic
Mad scientist
High Visibility Vests (VSTs) really works, at least on the roads. I once had a tire problem on the car and stopped on the roadside to check it out. Other cars were speeding past me with minimal distance and I didn't like that so I took my VST from the car and put it on. All of a sudden all cars slowed down to like 30 km/h and went to the other side of the road and I really mean all cars. I think at least 5 cars passed me before I took it on and they all were too close. After I put it on like 15 cars passed me and they all slowed down.
A VST works really well at night and in foggy conditions, but it seems that they are more like a mental safety device on the roads.
Apart from that I have to say that the "siren" warning in England sounds horrible. If you leave the mechanical bell behind then at least pick a sound that you can endure hearing while waiting for the train to pass like Japan did. The British one will give me a headache >_<
university film student | ecchikid | the Archivist
http://www.vimeo.com/longhim
...Okay, I'm sold. Remind me to get a vest when I get my full license.
mechanical engineer
I haven't kept a vest in my car before, but it seems like a good idea. I've been caught out in bad situations with flats recently, including a memorable two in one night, on the same wheel. Regular tire and donut combined with bad roads.
mechanical engineer
Another idiot on a bike:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgoTTJbnJvY&NR=1
Somehow i don't think wearing a helmet would help either of the guys on bikes. A helmet doesn't protect what isn't there.
Student
http://lordofgundams.blogspot.com/
The guy on the bike got owned. Though for drivers driving through railroad crossings, it's sometimes as frequent like red light runners.
Student & Artist
http://kanochu.wordpress.com
Wow the guy on the bike really did get owned ^^; But really I hope he was okay.
Mad scientist
It's amazing how stupid people can be when they have to cross a railroad (ok, in general too). The worst I have seen was somebody running across the tracks 10 meters in front of the train. It was in the countryside and really silent so the only noise was the diesel locomotive blasting the horn. It shouldn't be that hard to miss. Considering the train was fairly short it would have been a 10 second wait, but it would appear that this person didn't care enough for her life to wait 10 seconds.
"Over 70% of railroad crossing accidents are from folks ignoring the sirens like the chap below."
Here the railroad crossings are close to failsafe as possible (sensors will detect failures and warn the train in time for the train to stop). This alters statistics somewhat. Around 95% of all accidents are due to human error from the person being hit. The remaining 5% are split between mechanical failures (like brake failure on bikes like in the Girl who leaped through time") and the railroad. I think this number will change soon because people are becoming even more reckless than say 5 years ago.
The stupidist person regarding railroad safety would be some woman walking next to the track. Uniformed railroad crew told her to return to the platform because she was too close to the track and would get hit by the incoming train, which were already visible. She refused because she was taking a shortcut of around 100 meters and she was old enough not to get to the rails themself and didn't believe that the train could be wider than the gauge (distance between the rails). For the record, the gauge in Europe and North America is 1435 mm while trains can be more than 3 meters wide (or more than twice the gauge). Assuming the train not to be wider than the tracks can be a last mistake.
http://buffsotakuworld.blogspot.com/
Wow!!! That was awesome!!! Seeing something like that in realtime would probably be a little disturbing, though....
Student, Uncle & hopfully a good husband..
Ouch...that really must hurt...
Full-time geek/Part-time student/Part-time musician
http://randomgeekness.livejournal.com/
I've always wanted to see one of those in real life and stare at it o.o lol.
Producer
There are still plenty of level crossings in the UK, even in some suburban areas like where I used to live in RIchmond, Surrey.
I love the advice in the Highway Code which reads, "If you are on a level crossing and the warning klaxon sounds, DON'T STOP."
Marketing Assistant
I always loved the sounds of these. ^^
Caretaker
Im sure the person on the bike will take a min to stand up but at least he walks away and didnt become a new hood ornament for the train.
Ninja / Engineer / Sensei / 魔法少女 (What!?! I can't be, I'm a guy...)
Lesson: If you are going to run the signal, learn how to jump/duck the lowering beam.
Better Lesson: Just don't run the signal and wait. ^^;
Student
The guy on the bike is a pure genius....
Mad scientist
I wonder if the guys in the ambulance thinks the same thing. It's my impression that medical guys (females too) don't really care for drunk people or people they assume to be drunk. I once got an infection where I couldn't eat and vomited all the time and had to go to the hospital. The nurses treated me like some drunk guy who ended up like this due to his own fault. They even ignored my request for water even though my request for drinking water even though the main reason I was there was dehydration. I did get some directly to the blood though and that did the trick but still... Knowing this I will make extra sure that I will not do something stupid like this since I no longer expect treatment. All the other times I went to a hospital I got excellent care but those times it was clear that it wasn't due to my own fault.
For those who didn't notice: the van at the end is a Japanese ambulance.
???Confused???
I know it's mean, but I just couldn't stop laughing when the guy on the bike got clothes lined by the pole..
http://thisblogissuxor.blogspot.com
That bike video is hilarity but you can't help but wonder why he didn't see it coming?
Also nobody rushes to help him haha is this common in Japan?
Mad scientist
if you look closely then the person to the right wearing something white and with a bike moves towards him soon after it's clear that he didn't get up on his own right away. The guy to the left also starts moving, possibly going around a trash bin in order to get to the road. It's a bit hard to see because the movie cuts to the scene where the ambulance leaves. The whole part in between about getting this guy into the ambulance and stuff isn't shown and I think that's a good thing. The work of an ambulance is serious stuff and shouldn't be considered entertainment.
The last question is a good one though. If somebody gets hurt in public in Japan, will people around him come to his aid?
university film student | ecchikid | the Archivist
http://www.vimeo.com/longhim
The person on the right seems shocked, but does move to help him. The person on the left is questionable - you can see him/her jump back the moment the biker gets hit, because the biker flies right in front of him. I can understand stepping out of shock, and the person actually backs up all the way back to the sidewalk.
A moment later, he goes around the trash bin, and from there what he/she does is speculation. It looks to me like he kept walking and minding his own business.
Mad scientist
I agree. It's not possible to say for sure if they help or not because the movie cuts. However somebody called an ambulance so at least one person cared. It's possible that the train driver used his radio to report the crossing malfunctioning and reported that a person was lying still on the road. This is nothing but speculation though.
Student
http://foxkey.blog126.fc2.com/
It was pretty sad how I saw no one running over to help the man though.
Other than that, I don't think i've ever heard those sounds or been to a railway crossing, only seen/heard them in shows.
http://moemoekyun.wordpress.com
I think that's safety. just last month there are an accident with train crash a bus in my city !
Mad scientist
Not far from my place a train hit a bus like 10-15 years ago. I never got an explanation for why it happened because the bus was parked and left behind and the train showed up with 15 km/h so it could easily have stopped, but it didn't.
I didn't have any problems getting information about the train which hit a car around 100 meters further down the track. Some woman driver saw the slow moving train and figured that it was so slow that it had decided to stop for her. When she moved onto the tracks the train couldn't stop even though it applied emergency brakes. The car got a twisted door and roof and some smashed windows and the locomotive didn't even get scratched paint as the coupler had pushed the car away from any painted parts.
No people were hurt in either incident. The same goes for the train which hit an empty bus in a crossing a few years ago. Smashed windows and stuff like that can be fixed (at a price and the driver gets the bill!) but injuries and death of people can't be fixed. I hope the people in the bus at your place weren't hurt too badly. After all they are innocent considering it was the fault of the driver. Even if the crossing fails it's still the responsibility of the road driver to ensure that no train is approaching. Many people forget this fact right after they leave traffic school.
Pastry and baking / Culinary
http://www.illidangdn.deviantart.com
no such scenes in singapore haha, all the trains either pass by above or under us...
But i still see scenes like that clothes lined cyclist around haha...
biker tried to ride pass the beam after a car went thru, and the beam came down too fast and "beam-choppu" him on his head and he fell off haha
i was behind him and OMG WTF O_o but i did lol =p
evil me >.<
Otaku/Illustrator/Mangaka
http://www.bloglines.com/blog/Kyukun
Lmao! its not exactly right to be laughing at that man, but that was just plain ignorant stupidity.
maintenence
http://joey1058.wordpress.com
I can remember as far back as when the warning bell was actually a bell, and not a speaker. There is always going to be some loser that thinks they can move fast enough to avoid a train. Crossing gates in my area of the US are made up of 6 inch boards, Watching these videos and seeing the flimsy gates had me concerned. Then the truck goes thru, and the gate actually reset itself, so I was kind of impressed with that.
http://otakuposts.blogspot.com/
in my country, most of the level crossings are manned. the beams are lowered manually using a rotating wheel of some sort. so such incidents are rare. also the beams are made of thick bamboo which is stronger than a metal pipe i think.
the rest of the crossings have roads built over or under them.
Screenwriter Wannabe
I used to think they were cool.. until I had to drive through them every day on my commute... :p
Student
http://www.lesterho.com
I love to stand in front of this railroad crossing line whenever I walk around the area near my living area especially the train line that I use to commute to school.
Tech Support Officer - Network Security Engineer
http://burugureibi.blogspot.com/
idiots...
Time Traveller/High School Student
http://thetsundere.wordpress.com/
OUCH! For a second it looked like he got severed in half... that dark thing flying along the ground looked like his legs! (but then I realised it was his bike =P)
College Student
http://www.projectsaber.com
I see quite a bit of railroad crossings here as well. Not that much trains go past though, most just Amtrak - which goes by quick anyways.
student
http://zephi-san.deviantart.com/
lol I was staring at one of these railroad crossings when I was in Oosaka, there was one right beside my accommodation. Interesting sight.
That was kinda hilarious, the guy on the bike. Didn't see anyone running over to help him though, one guy sees the accident and turns away while the other guy just slowly walks across the road.
Pseudo-Graphic Designer, 触手 wrangler, H-Man
http://lightningsabre.blogspot.com/
Ouch! What a clothesline effect XD I remember seeing a lot worse though... He's a lucky fellow that there were other people around to help him. I didn't realize it was that bad in Japan where people sneak in when the gates are going down like that. Are there a lot of train accidents in Japan?
Mad scientist
http://yazor-san.daportfolio.com/
I know I should'nt laught at the guy who fell down, but I did anyway. ^o^
Dance Trooper: DCX-001 O.D.E. (Order of the Dancing Empire)
http://dannychoo.com.my
Served!
Mechanical Engineering student
http://sabekujikaneda.multiply.com/
I will not lie: the first video made me laugh! XD
Ambassador
http://througheyesfromafar.blogspot.com/
They always show videos like whenever some bigshot from HQ visits my office.
Support
I shouldnt laugh at others misfortunes, but the guy on the bike was too funny. Its true that the sensory memories are as strong as any other memories you can have. The certain smell of someplace or the the clanging something else
Dental Technician, i make teeth!
http://antsizedman.blogspot.com/
Ouch, thats might hurt in the morning. Love these, see them in so much anime.
Finding books on Amazon
I'm cruel... couldn't help myself from laughing at guy crossing...
Anyway, I think people who get owned like that deserve it in some ways
otaku!
http://cafe.daum.net/heavyvehicle
LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL now that was funny!!!!!!!!!!!! ^___^
http://thetruemelody.wordpress.com/
dang it. whenever i see a railroad crossing these days, i think about 5 centimeters per second...
though that youtube video is pretty great xD
student
http://listlessink.wordpress.com/
That looked soooooo painful. I almost felt bad for him. Almost...
College Freshmen
What a random thing to make an post about. Railroad crossings can get really annoying when the train is really long. I've seen pedestrians consider jumping a moving train because it was taking too long.
Student / Freeloader
lmao i kept replaying the first video..he got seriously owned...
collector of stuff
http://www.tristanforsyth.com
That first image is amazing...I would love to have a camera that can take shots like that (and the opportunities to take photos like that!!)
Amazing....
Chef, Full fledged Otaku, Full time Observer.....
Man, that has gotta hurt big time...
Full Time Student, Musician
http://www.spencersetters.com
Roads? Where we're going we don't need roads.
高校生
http://stickymochi.blogspot.com
Hahaha xD There's a railroad crossing near where I live, though usually trains never come by whenever I go through it.
Mad scientist
US crossings needs to activate at least 20 seconds before the train arrives and if the trains are short, they will pass in less than a minute after activation. This makes it harder to hit the "wrong" time than you imagine, specially if there are only one train every hour or so.
Yes 20 seconds is quite late compared to other countries. In Europe it's common that the crossing activates and then tells the train if it's activated correctly. The train will be informed of this early enough to stop before the road in case of failure meaning the wait at the road increases. On the other hand the result of this extra safety can really be seen in the accident statistics.