GPS Leads Woman Onto Railroad Tracks, Minivan Destroyed

[RRUserious]

Somehow this brings to mind things that are done in the automatic cockpits of airliners. Pilots are led to believe that the computer knows better. Maybe its even somehwat true in a lot of situations. But I remember a crash in South America where a pilot keyed the wrong letter into the computer and flew straight into a mountain range. A similar thing happened when a plane was flying into an airport in, I think, Colombia. The information was faulty and the pilot believed one of the two mountain ranges that formed the valley was thousands of feet shorter than it was. That plane was so remote, they never recovered it. I have to look up those stories again. Computers can do a lot to remedy human shortcomings, but they lack the subtlety of human perception. If you were in your car, next to a ditch, and the GPS said "turn here", wouldn't you say"Not likely, pal". And look for a place where a turn makes sense. Other question I would have is "why stop on the tracks?" What possible sense could there ever be of going less than completely across the tracks? And if I couldn't get to where I wasn't on tracks, I don't think I'd start the crossing.

This may be a case of the all-too-common "licensed without being qualified". Those people are legion out on the roads.

 

[chakk]

Both of my standalone GPS devices attempt to always move my position from railroad tracks to a nearby road -- if it within 100 feet or so of the railroad tracks. This is the way that the manufacturers have programmed the basic software in their units. There is no inherent reason that the device would choose roads over railroad tracks. The manufacturers could certainly reprogram their software to stay "on track" if they wanted to.

 

[RRUserious]

Well, God gave us eyes to SEE we're on a track and get off it. Stop looking at the GPS, start looking at your surroundings. So like the Eastern Airlines plane that dove into the swamp while everyone was staring at an indicator light.

 

[RailRide]

RailRide, on your second picture it shows the train paralleling a river. If that's the Pennsylvanian, then is that the Juniata River or something else? I thought US Route 22 also parallels the Juniata.

According to my camera, the photo was taken at 4:26pm on 7/4. According to the travelogue I posted on my artsite, we left Huntingdon, PA at 4:22pm, so yes indeed, we were alongside the Juniata River on the long straight stretch north of Huntingdon before the river and railroad make an abrupt turn to the northwest, right about where a NS intermodal train can be seen on the line in the Google "satellite" view of the area.

---PCJ

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

RailRide, on your second picture it shows the train paralleling a river. If that's the Pennsylvanian, then is that the Juniata River or something else? I thought US Route 22 also parallels the Juniata.

According to my camera, the photo was taken at 4:26pm on 7/4. According to the travelogue I posted on my artsite, we left Huntingdon, PA at 4:22pm, so yes indeed, we were alongside the Juniata River on the long straight stretch north of Huntingdon before the river and railroad make an abrupt turn to the northwest, right about where a NS intermodal train can be seen on the line in the Google "satellite" view of the area.

---PCJ

Thanks. I'll read the travelogue when I have more time.

Well, God gave us eyes to SEE we're on a track and get off it. Stop looking at the GPS, start looking at your surroundings. So like the Eastern Airlines plane that dove into the swamp while everyone was staring at an indicator light.

Tunnel vision kills. I saw an article about Turkish Airlines (THY) pilots that click on autopilot as much as they can, while exibiting very poor flying skills. THY has great service, but safety dosen't seem nearly as good.