Train + Headphones = Death. This equation is so common that the winners now enter the shameful domain of the "Group Darwin Award." As I write this I can hear the train whistle blowing as the freight trains pass through my small mountain town.Here are a few of the many dimwits of 2014.

(14 December 2014, Italy) An event that happens all too often happens again in Castel San Giovanni near Milan. A 27-year-old is crossing the train tracks while listening to loud music on his headphones and we can hear that train a'comin down the line -- but he has disabled his sense of hearing without compensating for it by using his eyes. A freight train smacks him from behind, and the laws of physics state specifically that when a train hits you, you lose. REFERENCE.

(September 2014, Italy) A young Milan boy is bicycling down the tracks while wearing headphones, and astoundingly survives his impact against a train. REFERENCE.

(18 Jan 2014, Nevada) A man is posing for "just one more" picture on the railroad tracks in Las Vegas and is snapped by the train. REFERENCE. Submission.

A 17-year-old is lying on the ground and placing coins on the tracks, while the train passes by overhead. A ladder catches him and tosses him under the train, and he ends up as flat as a coin. REFERENCE Submission.

(1 November 2014, Australia) In Brisbane a 26-year-old was decorating train carriages with spray paint raises his hands high overhead. Staff at the shunting facility observe a flash and find him sitting on top of the carriage. A massive electrical shock from the power lines overhead caused deep burns to 90% of his body and he dies at the Royal Brisbane Hospital. It is the second death in two months linked to graffiti on Brisbane trains, and police renew warnings about the dangers of trespassing into railway yards. The power lines carry so much power that one needs only to be in close proximity to be electrocuted.REFERENCE Submission.

Shocking stupidity!

(5 June 2014, Texas) The train conductor sounds his horn several times, but cannot attract the attention of a San Antonio teen walking north along the tracks wearing headphones. The teen is struck and killed by the northbound train. REFERENCE Submission.

Reader comment: "Evidently we need to watch out for them trains. They leave no trails to know where they may travel and the sum-bitches are sneaky!"

(Croatia) Near Sibenic two lovers walk along the track with headphones in their ears, listening to music together from a mobile phone. The 17- and 20-year-old lovers are still together...in death. REFERENCE Submission.

REFERENCE Submission.

REFERENCE Submission.

REFERENCE Submission. PSA: HEADPHONES ARE DEADPHONES. The United States averages pproximately 500 fatal train incidents per year, many seemingly preventable through the application of common sense. Don't be a statistic. If you don't use your ears, you must use your eyes.

A man and his girlfriend from Las Vegas were visiting Auburn, WA.

The man decided he wanted to get great pics of the scenery with him in it. However, he also decided he wanted to be on the train tracks nearby. Now, this train track is an active one with Amtrak and freight traffic.

Trains are rather noisy, the conductors blow whistles, and they do not move that fast through residential and business areas. Also, they cannot stop very fast either, needing thousands of feet to stop, not a dime.

Despite the train coming, the man wanted more pictures, and stayed on the tracks. Thus, as he was posing for 'just one more', he was hit and killed by the train he was wanting to get into the background of the photograph. It is not known if he had any progeny by his current girlfriend or from earlier trysts.

Submitted on 01/20/2014

Submitted by: Frank
Reference: http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2014/01/19/Man-Run-Over-by-Train-While-Posing-for-Photo

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Candi said:
Definitely Toss: Too Common
Sorry, Frank, but idiots getting hit by trains is far too common today. It's stupid, but not spectacularly so. Thanks anyway, and submit again.

James said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
I don't know, this one may be DA-worthy! Usually, someone is hit because they are listening to an iPOD or some other device requiring headphones, or they are texting...in other words, too distracted to see/hear the train coming. In this case, it should have been painfully obvious the train was approaching (the rails usually vibrate, if nothing else). Also, he could have been aware and waited until the train passed to resume taking pictures. Horrendous judgement and maybe even a bit of narcissism was to blame here! I will vote to give it a DA! Thanks, Frank!

Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
I'm usually the first person to toss out train-related stories for being too commonplace (after all, there are over 2000 train/pedestrian collisions every year in the US alone) but I'm going to have to agree with James on this one. I find it extremely difficult to believe that neither the man nor his girlfriend saw or heard the train coming in enough time to get out of the way. Thanks Frank!

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