It was a dark and stormy night, and a rail worker had a job to do, removing temporary signs from the track on completion of some engineering work. Now, the rail industry has pretty high standards when it comes to be clothing worn trackside, and fluorescent high visibility Gore-Tex(TM) jacket and overtrousers are standard issue. However, our hero had better ideas, and preferred to use his traditional umbrella. An umbrella does keep the rain off, but compared to a foul-weather jacket it has 3 major drawbacks. 1) It obscures all-round vision. 2) The 'drumming' of the rain upon it interferes with hearing. 3) Not being fluorescent or reflective, it's not very conspicuous to others- including train drivers.

So, we have a man walking, in the dark and rain, back to traffic on a 125mph main line, effectively blind deaf and invisible. The consequences were predictable to everyone except him- the driver of the train saw him only a coach length away, and had no chance of stopping in time. The broken umbrella was found at the site, and when they cleaned out his locker they found 2 high-visibility waterproof jackets, brand new and unused.

Link leads to the Rail Accident Investigation Branch report on the incident: RAIB is a UK government body. http://www.raib.gov.uk/cms_resources/081028_R212008_Reading%20-1.pdf

Submitted on 11/04/2008

Submitted by: Anonymous
Reference: RAIB Official report, incident date 29/11/07

Copyright © 2008 DarwinAwards.com

Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
Although train/pedestrian collisions are extremely common I think this fellow went above and beyond to demonstrate that even a routine incident can achieve the lofty standards of a full DA. The stupidity exhibited by this worker, especially since he had TWO new waterproof jackets in his locker, is unbelievable. Thanks!

James said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
I agree entirely with Bruce. Whereas the general public (ie those who most often wind up getting hit by trains) often don't fully appreciate the sheer bulk of a speeding locomotive, those who WORK for the railroad in whatever capacity (particularly those who work on or near the tracks) should. This fellow obviously didn't. Hopefully, his replacement does! Thanks!

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