if someone in a car gets hit by a train does the train conductor have to stop and call the police or else it will be a hit and run?

Question

Or are they exempt from hit and runs since technically it's not the train drivers fault it was the guy on the tracks

Answer 1

The engineer will stop the train per company policy and they will radio in the situation and sometimes the conductor or engineer will also call the local emergency responders if they aren't too shaken up from the incident. It might take it a minute to do so for the train to stop, but it will be called in. It could be up to 6 or 7 hours before they could get the train moving again. Both local and railroad police have to process the scene, then EMS or the coroner have to pick up and locate the body parts with the police following them in toe so they could mark where each body part was found. This is so they could have a thorough police report. The train crew gets swapped out and replaced and they are put out of service until the investigation is over which is standard procedure whether or not it's the train crew's fault or not (more than likely if the idiot is on the track when they aren't supposed to, it's usually that person's fault and not the train crew's fault). They are also put out of service for a few days too to get counseling for what happened and the emotional trauma caused by the accident. The crew knows it's not their fault, but the thought of someone getting killed and they couldn't do anything about it and stopping on time is what gets them.

Answer 2

The CONDUCTOR does not have to stop. They are just one of the crew on the train.

They DO NOT have to call police.



The Engineer will in most cases stop the train. The crew members can call who they like for assistance to get the train moving again.



The railroad has its own Police Service if they think they need them.



It is not train crews job to pick up body parts or untangle wreckage.

It is not train crews job to contact family members to come fetch the leftovers.

Train dispatcher can contact appropriate local personal to assist in getting the train moving.

That might be local or state Police, Local Ambulance or Fire service. A Local Crane,a railroad crane, Maybe some electricians to repair gates or signals maybe even NTSB or some part of Homeland security maybe you are a terrorist trying to do damage to the rail system . Not the train crews job to figure it out.



The irritant of you smeared on the train parts is usually handled with a Fire Hose.



Railroad in most places is not under the Highway traffic rules.

It is under Railroad rules.They are FEDERAL Laws.

Which part of Right of Way do you not understand?

If the train is on the tracks it is where it is supposed to be.



YOU can call police if you want after an accident. Probably a better idea to call an ambulance and fire rescue services.

This theoretical problem is not something you need to worry about if you stay out of the trains way.



If you are lucky maybe someone will take a video of your parts that they can give your family or post online for everyone to enjoy,

Many videos on line if you want to see them. Most require you to be 18 to view them.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc-8rZPk6-A



If it is an electrically powered train they may need to wait to help you while electricity is shut off.

POLICE do not shut off the electricity.

Sometimes Police are already there and do not need to be called.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YJfMr5OOuY

Answer 3

The train will stop and the emergency services are called.

Remember a train can easily take over 1 mile to stop using emergency braking.

The only thing the driver can do after hitting the emergency brakes is keep on the hooter and hope everyone gets clear.

Answer 4

It is always the automobile driver's / pedestrian's fault. Trains and the people who run them don't hunt people down. People put themselves in harm's way.



No one I know including myself has ever heard of even one case of 'hit and run.' It is a traumatic experience for the train driver/locomotive engineer. Of course the train is stopped as quickly as possible. A crewman calls the dispatcher via radio to report the incident, including the railroad mile post location and the crew usually knows most of the street crossings by name and a more precise location for first responders to find. The dispatcher's office in turn calls the proper civil authorities, anywhere from municipal police to sheriff's deputies, state police, fire response, EMTs and which more often than not includes the coroner.



But since some survive the experience of kissing 10,000 tons loping along at forty miles an hour all attention is given to them, post impact. And they probably garnered a lot of attention pre-impact. It did no good.



Conductors do not run the engine but they do get to walk back and count the dead and see how badly someone has been mangled or to render aid to crippled and maimed survivors before the arrival of first responders, and reporting this to the dispatcher as well. A total waste of life(s) for zero gain. Often overlooked is the fact these grade crossings in large numbers are out in the middle of nowhere. Get tagged out there and medical help will be a long time in coming.



Odds are someone got greased while you have been reading this. Grade crossing fatalities are only eclipsed by the drunk drivers amongst us in annual death rate on the highways.



Bottom line is if people stay out of the way they stay alive and in one piece. Keep in mind that as soon as you come into an engineer's view, even at low speed with a very heavy train, it is already too late to stop for you.



The closest I ever got to a hit and run was when the dispatcher called me around 3am one night near Chico, Ca. and asked if I had hit anybody. I said no. The train following close behind me, right on my block, saw someone all chopped up and reported it. It turned out the victim had fallen off the end of a car he was riding in my train. Stupidity. Not a true hit and run, but just as deadly, and we were spared the trauma. Not so for the people who had to go out and scrape up the crap that was left in our wake...



Also in California, arguably the most screwed up state in the Union, post accident a driver's license should not be given as an identity. If so, this can go against your personal driving record as an accident. Watch what happens to your insurance rates. Open for lawsuits as well.



Railroad employees have photo identification cards issued by the railroad. In addition the engineer will have his FRA license with him. If a peace officer insists on a driver's license it's better to go to jail for a few hours than bring your personal driving record into the mix.



And to my fellow hogheads, if they do haul you away, just be sure you take the reverser with ya...

Answer 5

I looked it up. The first definition I could find was Massachusetts state law, which explicitly excludes a train as a motor vehicle. Other state laws are probably similar. In a case where state law is silent on the issue, a judge would look to the laws and case law from other states.



"Motor vehicles'', all vehicles constructed and designed for propulsion by power other than muscular power including such vehicles when pulled or towed by another motor vehicle, except railroad and railway cars,

Answer 6

Of course someone calls the police. If a road vehicle is struck by a train it is 9999 times out of 10,000 the fault of the driver of the road vehicle. When you have almost 10,000 tones of train traveling at 65 mph they do not stop like a car does.

Answer 7

No...only if they think there is damage to the train. Once someone is on the tracks even if it is a car they are no longer a human being and the conductor is allowed to murder them.

Answer 8

Train conductor may never even know. Now the train driver, that's another story, though it is still possible for him not to notice what happened.

Answer 9

They call the police yes, to remove the car and the bodies from the front of the train.

Death is not funny you sad troll.

Answer 10

They stop, obviously not fast enough. I've been on a train that hit a car on the track. We were delayed for hours.

Answer 11

Hi Many a suicide has been done this way. the train does stop and an accident report and police are involved.

Answer 12

Not if it's a driver only operated train.

Answer 13

They have to fill out a bunch of forms, submit blood, 30 day automatic suspension, inquiry.

Answer 14

They'll stop, and wait for law enforcement officials to arrive.

Answer 15

of there is very big damage yes. but most trains won't stop.

Answer 16

The fault will always just fall upon the idiot who was dumb enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.