Typically, railway lines and roadways are adequately signposted to keep drivers from mistaking one for the other. However, one woman in Seattle managed to drive her car around a quarter mile up the track before arriving at a station, bringing the whole line to a standstill.
On Tuesday evening, around 6 pm, a train ground to a sudden halt. An SUV had been reported just up the line, parked on line 1 of the Sound Transit light rail in Seattle. Emergency services had been called, and the culprit was being escorted out of her car and into the confused arms of emergency services.
According to the transit company, the car had become stuck on the elevated lines at the Mount Baker station, stopping all trains for a number of hours. Thankfully, nobody was hurt in the incident, but the 70-year-old woman responsible has been taken into care to assess her health and fitness to drive.
Power was turned off across the lines, and the car was towed to a suitable location. By 9 pm, the line was reopened, and trains were able to move through the station again.
How Did An SUV End Up On Seattle’s Light Rail Tracks?
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The unusual scene raised an obvious question: how did a driver manage to get that far onto an active light rail line?
Took A Very Wrong Turn
Mt Baker light rail station
by
u/Groundbreaking_Net_3 in
SeattleWA
According to the elderly woman responsible for driving her car a quarter mile up the railroad tracks, she was simply following directions. KIRO News Radio reported that witnesses said she told emergency services that she was following the directions given to her by her GPS.
However, the fact that she was unable to notice the multiple signs, change in roadway, and clear indications that she was on a rail track does give some cause for concern. As Redditors noted, from where she accessed the track to where she ended up is not a short distance, and should have been clear.
It may seem like a very difficult mistake to make, with the difference in surface from rail tracks and ballast to good old asphalt, but this happens more than more people realise. In fact, since the introduction of GPS, it has been happening across the US more than ever before.
The Long Island Rail Road reported a total of 21 instances of people driving up railway lines in 2018, claiming that their GPS had taken them on the route. It should be a stark warning to anyone too reliant on their digital navigation systems. Sometimes it’s better to use a little common sense and take a look out of the front window now and again.