In San Francisco they have two different devices: a polite bell, used when they’re about to start moving into a crosswalk or intersection; and an angry loud buzzer for when some idiot double-parks on the tracks or cuts off the train.
The trams in your video kinda split the difference with a bell that somehow also sounds angry.
Trams of steel.
Part of the issue here is also just how many drivers seem utterly oblivious to the lengthy stopping distances of large vehicles.
It’s particuarly noticeable on youtube videos i’ve seen on train crossing accidents, where the stopping distances under emergency braking can be many hundeds of meters
Car Driver: “You couldn’t move over a little bit?”
Tram Driver: “Uh, no.”
they are much better off putting a repairable dent in somebody’s car than slamming the breaks and throwing everybody on board (no seatbelts) out of their seats and on to the floor.
In my experience from days long past as a truck driver, if you have time to hit the horn you have time to avoid the wreck.
Prosser: Have you any idea how much damage that bulldozer would suffer if I just let it roll straight over you?
ARTHUR DENT: How much?
Prosser: None at all!
I had this happen when I was in an F-Line historic streetcar in San Francisco near Pier 39. The tracks there go from isolated track down the middle of the Embarcadero to one side of the street, and someone driving a car didn’t see the signal and tried to merge in front of the streetcar. The streetcar briefly merged with the car’s back fender and handily bumped it out of the way, but we had to stop and record the incident, so most people just got off and walked the rest of the way.
They must have training in how to balance the risk of a serious collision vs the risk of injuring passengers. Probably the training says “Passenger safety comes first”.
I thought someone was going to drop the Breath of the Wild mod, but have to admit Skyrim is a better fit under the circumstances.
Melbourne trams have a bell which they use on any excuse, certainly when cars are as close as shown in the video. They also have a horn, which is used in dire situations, and above that they have an external PA for the delivery of more… targeted messages.
To be fair, every one of those drivers looks kinda dumb too.
And trams are heavier again - I once saw the aftermath of a tram being derailed by a bus. The tram was off the tracks - just - but otherwise pretty much untouched, and the bus was quite crumpled.
Thinking that there is the added reinforcement of the rails, too. At least to a degree.
This was (is?) used as a warning by Melbourne’s tram operator for a while.
Yeah it shits me because it implies that being big gives you right of way, so I, as a bike commuter, should give way to all cars and trucks, right?
Melbourne’s railway safety campaigns are something to behold.
If cars and trucks ran on tracks w. a legal right-of-way all the time, so if you get in their way it’s your own damn fault, yes. But oh, it doesn’t work like that, so this is an inappropriate and inaccurate comparison.
tinker bell
Trams don’t have a legal right of way all the time. For example if you are stopped in traffic and a tram runs into the back of you, the tram is in the wrong.
