Friday, January 26, 2007

A dare too dangerous

What I saw at the Civic Center station was disturbing. A group of kids, no more than 15 or 16 years old, made up of both males and femals were waiting for a Richmond bound trian. There were not lining up like the rest of the passengers, instead, they were standing in the yellow area, too close to the tracks.

The kids were daring each other to stand as closely to the end of the yellow area as possible without falling into the tracks! One by one, they lined their toes to the edge. One boy got so close that he lost his balance. Another even gone so far to pretend to dip one foot into the pit while balancing with the other on the very tip of the yellow painted line. Each attempt was met with laughter and more dares!

Granted, if they had fallen into the tracks, they probably would just have some bruises and minor cuts since the pit is not that deep. However, what if a train comes by and they struggle to get back up?

It was so sad to see how little respect these kids had for their lives and rules, especially their own safety!

One by one, they went farther and farther. I was really relieved that no one got hurt. There weren't any BART station agents there to stop them, but then again, these kids really should know better....or not these days.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

As a station Agent, I can tell you for a fact, those kids could die falling onto the track way. Recently we had a man at Bay Point fall onto the trackway and was killed by a four car train! Trains are not your only problem, you still have to worry about the third rail, it really is not that far and after you fall and sprang your ankle, you may fall backwards and hit the third rail.

bartmusings said...

that's scary. i guess i was wrong that you'd only get bruises and scratched if you fall in. i really have no idea- it just doesn't look that deep but i'm sure the impact is severe.

those kids were really reckless and irresponsible.

Anonymous said...

Similar thing at Rockridge on Tuesday. The Agent says he's made reports about it, he said BART Police go through a shift change around 3-4pm and can't get officers there.

The Agent told me the middleschool kids have jumped off the platform, turned off the power to the tracks, and I saw them turn off the escalator in the past. I've also seen them regularly slide down the handrails.

He gave me a comment card and begged me to write about it and send it in.

bartmusings said...

That is crazy what you saw at the Rockridge station! Turning off power to the tracks and elevators? That is just reckless. Maybe that one time when the down escalator I was on suddenly stopped, causing everyone to fall forward, was a result of kids playing around? Kids these days.

Also, at a busy station like the downtown SF staions, or a station by the freeway, people cannot hear the warnings through the speaker system!

I used to write comment cards before this blog. I am hoping that this blog would have similar visibility within BART as comment cards...seems like it does.

Anonymous said...

Sometimes you have to wonder "Too bad something serious doesn't happen to these imbecile kids (perhaps to the point of them not being able to contribute to the future gene pool if you get my drift)." Sometimes that's the only way they learn. Of course, if something were to happen when they turn off the power, jump off the platform, etc...they're just as imbecile parents would sue for lack of safety features to prevent the kids from doing this.

I find it absolutely unbelievable that there are no BART police available during the shift change - wouldn't this constitute as a public safety hazard?

And if there is such a problem with school aged kids at certain stations, plant undercover police officers there. I know they exist, I was witness to one at Bayfair Bart station when some young 'adults' decided to disturb an otherwise pleasant evening commute one day last week.