light rail is "dangerous"?

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Okay, so there's been talk about a few new light rail train systems being build in my area, and I've heard a few times on TV and the 'net that light rail is proven to be dangerous, but I can't find ANYTHING that explains WHY. Are they prone to derailing? Exploding? What?? I'm thinking this argument is kind of a load of crap, but now I just HAVE to know what it is that's supposed to be so dangerous about these otherwise pleasant little trains. XD;

Excellent question you have there.

For something so dangerous it sure has several thousands of miles of tracks placed all around the planet.

Found these on the net using google search term light rail is proven to be dangerous

Light Rail Fables
That one is anti

Light Rail Myths & Facts - Bicycle Austin
That one is pro

Its incredibly dangerous here in Calgary, people are always getting killed
here, either by falling on the tracks or not paying attention while driving, we
haven't had any derailments as far as I heard.
Its funny that in my hometown Edmonton, its exceedingly rare to hear of
any accident on that rail system, seems to be alot of stupid people in
Cowtown, so I guess its like culling the herd.

Thanks for replying..

Crashes, huh? That's the only big danger? That's only a danger if you're not paying attention..

Once it becomes a regular thing, kids will be learning about it from a young age, like they learn about everything else.. I mean, we all know not to stick anything into an electrical outlet, or run after a ball into the street, or go near a dog that's foaming at the mouth. D: I expect that people just aren't used to it, so they don't have an automatic stay-off-the-tracks reaction yet. I guess it might be kind of dangerous if you're in the train when it hits a car, but that's still not really a built-in danger.

I mean come on, when cars were first invented, there was no age limit and definitely no airbags.. that stuff comes with time.

Exactly.
Which means it isn't dangerous, you are.

Wonder how many folks complaining about light rail "dangers" have a grasp of how we wipe out better than thirty-five thousand people a year in automobile crashes?
http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Main/index.aspx
Maybe they do have a grasp of that, but have an overriding agenda?

(hmm, let's see, take around 35,000 traffic fatalities average yearly, divide by our town's population of 8700 or so, and every year traffic crashes - without light rail - wipe out our town 4 times over)

When the light rail was first built in Houston, there were numerous car-rail crashes. Not anymore, because people are actually obeying the signs.

Hey Tim, ain't it amazing how much better off people are when they do that, eh.

It is a bit of generalisation, it can mean one of several setups. Docklands light railway has be operating in the modern side of the financial district of London for years. I don't think there are any really problems with it (I willing to bet my bottom dollar that more people are killed on the tube), other than the fact it is a bit annoying sometimes to interconnect between tube and DLR.

Ah you confusing light rail with effective a trams system. Just because a tram system has a line of cars doesn't mean it is different, it is irreverent if there is an overhead cable or third/fourth rail. The fact it shares its track with some other transport system makes it especially the same as a tram system. Then obviously common sense dictates that the safety is dependant on what safety measures they have in place. There is one around Croydon. I not head of major hiccups.

They have recently doesn’t an experiment in London where a street is shared by pedestrian and motorist. They deliberately removed all the road markings. Just have sign at the beginning and end. It seem that the cars drive more carefully because they are not just following road rules, they are looking out for the pedestrians. This is based on successful scheme in town centre in Europe.

Thing is, over here we don't know what we mean by what.

Some promoters of trams, over here "trolleys", are using name light rail to get around "oh isn't that cute" dismissive flavor of trolleys.

Portland is one of the most heavily covered light-rail cities in the world. We have trains everywhere. The biggest danger is their silence. These trains are VERY quiet and people often don't hear them coming.

Accidents are rare now, but when the system first went in there were some unforunate... um... mistakes... as we learned which stations were more dangerous and why people were ending up as experiments in mass transit vivisection.

But again, it wasn't the trains that were dangerous, it was the force of evolution, as the really stupid people removed themselves from the gene pool.

Seattle, WA, just opened their first light-rail line last month (IIRC - you know how the aspie time sense works...). So far they've only had one accident, when someone thought they could beat the train at a crossing. No one was injured, but the system was thrown off by over an hour.

Oh, I quite like that

Darwin Awards!
http://www.darwinawards.com/

Sorry for the mangled English. It is not dyslexia, which would make it at least consistent. It's executive dysfunction. Oh joy!

It's not the light rail, just people who are not paying attention. Like the jogger in SF Park that ran off a cliff a few years back or the guy at one of my jobs who was yacking on his cellphone and ran into a door. I'm seeing people complaining that electric cars are too quiet and that makes them dangerous. Unless you are blind (and I mean that literally), look before you step into the street. But, there are blind people, so a little noise-maker might be a good thing.