From Jacksonville.com, September 17, 2013:
“An empty train struck a 18-wheeler that was carrying 38,000 pounds of coleslaw Tuesday afternoon at Faye and Alta roads, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said. No one was injured in the accident.”
While the thought of such a thing may seem a little ridiculous–even funny–it is anything but. Thankfully, neither the two people in the cab of the truck nor anyone on the train was hurt in this incident, as reported by the journalists at Jacksonville.com (a division of the Florida-Times Union). The Jacksonville.com article goes on to say that there were no crossing arms at this particular location on the track, and that a sign was in place warning drivers to avoid parking on any portion of the track.
Safety around train tracks is literally a matter of life and death. Operation Lifesaver is dedicated to providing information about railway safety and offers these safety tips and facts for all drivers. Perhaps one which we should remember at all times states that:
“The average locomotive weighs about 400,000 pounds or 200 tons; it can weigh up to 6,000 tons. This makes the weight ratio of a car to a train proportional to that of a soda can to a car. We all know what happens to a soda can hit by a car.”
DRIVE SAFELY! The Law Offices of Paul J. Healy are here to help those involved in truck accidents and commercial vehicle accidents in Jacksonville and Duval, Baker, Clay, Nassau, and St. Johns counties in North Florida.
