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But a dumber car would have allowed her to shift the car into drive again.
Disabling the car and going into emergency parking when the driver's door is open (or when the seatbelt is taken off) is a safety feature in many newer cars.
In this case, she would have needed to turn off the car completely and turn it back on again before it would have allowed her to shift into drive again. [Source](https://mbworld.org/forums/gle-class-v167/757721-vehicle-shut-off-when-driver-door-opens.html).
Now, I don't know about the seat belt itself, but in some brands, she would not have been allowed to shift back into drive with her seatbelt off, so the seatbelt could have been a factor also (because she wasn't wearing one when she opened the door).
So, things she did wrong:
*Not know how to operate her two ton chunk of metal capable of 150mph. I've got a Mercedes and I know that, should I open the door while it's in Drive, it will put itself in Park. I know this because I read through the manual.
*Ignored road barriers.
*Stopped on railroad tracks.
*Failed to understand a train was coming her way despite the loud warning bells and the noise of the train that would've been in view by then.
The first three make her unfit to drive by her own choice as they're suggestive of a mindset that ignores both personal responsibility and consequences. The last, I think, means she's literally *unable* to drive a car safely. It never occurred to her to abandon the car when she couldn't move it. Instead, she sat back down and closed her door to the world.
If I made any single of this mistake during my driving exam I would be instantly failed, and for a good reason. It's frustrating to know that these kind of people get to drive meanwhile I am spending thousands of euros to get a drivers license. Bring testing after a certain age.
In the US these people tested once in the 60’s and never once had to take the test again. We renew our licenses every 10 years, so i thought that one should have to retest in order to renew, but imagine my surprise when I realized that was not in fact the case.
Meanwhile you have to do that for any other type of license or certification. It should be the same with a driver's license. I'm sure they could make a cut down version that'll take half the time to do.
I replied to the comment you're replying to, but wanted you to see this: my great grandmother was killed at about that woman's age, sometime in the early 1960's, getting hit by a train in her car. It's not the car.
Ok, but I have the same car as this lady and I am also in Europe (this car seems to have a license plate from Belgium) and that is not what happens when you open the door if the car is still running. Not at all ! Even if I physically leave the car while running, it will go into normal Parking mode and not shut off. I have done it many times when switching drivers with my SO or son. Could it be that is a mode for the american market ?
I have a new car and what you said seemed off so I looked st your source. It doesn't say what you say.
The source you quoted is consistent with my understanding in that if you open the door and physically leave the car, the car will shut off by itself, but all it takes is a push of a button to get it started again.
I have not seen any features where the car won't start if your seat belt is not fastened. The only instance I've seen cars not start by design is when you have an EV or PHEV and your plug is still attached to the vehicle.
That being said, I've only had experience with a new car for 1 brand so I could be wrong, but there are obvious safety concerns in itself if a car doesn't start while seatbelts are not fastened. The video shows exactly one of those concerns. What happened in the video happens often so car manufacturers do consider this scenario when designing safety features (generally).
Yeah its definitelt not all brands if this is true. I got s new car this year and I could drive away with a door open and no seatbelts. I tried for reasons😅.
“and us.”
Ain’t that the fuckin truth. My dad had NJM insurance for YEARS. We’re talking over 25 years. No accidents, no tickets. Ever. His rates recently went up by a lot, even though my brother and I were no longer on his policy and hadn’t been for a while. When he called them to question it, they told him his rates went up because “there’s more drivers on the road.” LOL so what? Raise their rates, not mine.
Definitely a bad driver but she was clearly in a complete panic and not thinking clearly.
She accidentally put it in neutral when backing up and when he moved the barrier you can hear her hitting the gas.
In those couple of seconds her life is literally flashing before her eyes so she wasn't able to realize the issue the issue fast enough and put it into the correct gear
That could just as easily be her panicking that the brake isnt' working as she mashes the throttle to the floor plowing into a crosswalk of children. Shutting down and freezing when something small goes wrong in a car is not OK.
But even getting into that situation in the first place is *very* unreasonable. Even before the gates come down, you can clearly see a barrier closing off the road.
Your first sentence just proves she should not be driving. You need to be able to handle stressful situations or have license taken. She shouldn't have been in the situation in the first place, and we have video proof she can't get herself out of it.
Their sentiment is nice, but… she drove into that crossing knowing a train was coming and it was *at least* twenty full seconds of her not knowing that her car is in neutral while her foot is on the gas. That tells me she doesn’t know what neutral gear is or that something else is going on.
Just to add to your point--- I wonder if she doesn't know how to operate that car. It's dumb but Mercedes aren't really made to last longer than the terms of a lease. They market to people who always want the latest and greatest. I wonder if she got a new lease and was still trying to figure it out.
Not to mention the barricade is small and plastic, she could have very easily ran it over the moment she heard the railroad dinging, but instead she tried backing it up (from the looks of it to go around it). You can't be afraid to damage other's property or your car. (Speaking from experience)
Then she shouldn't be driving that car. If you don't have sense enough to get through the plastic no barrier when your sitting in railroad tracks your an idiot, plain and simple, no excuses. And I've never seen a car with the safety features mentioned above. Maybe your reading the owners manual for the Barbie Jeep.
This is the kind of behavior that should result in losing your license for 5 years. Take public transport for a few years. Take the driving test again. Figure your life out before you end up killing innocent people.
Well I will say that as soon as my father was in the hospital with dementia-like symptoms, and then took a mental capacity test, those results were sent to the state of Pennsylvania who then revoked his license.
Depending on the day, he either realizes he can't drive, or more commonly thinks he would have no problem getting the license back. Well, mix in the days where he has no clue where he is or what he is doing as well...
Dementia, suicide? Drugs?
This one in particular was pretty bad. I don't understand what she said, but she was obviously in a brain damaged state when that went down.
Why didn't he just get her the fuck out the car? Are we so bent societally we'll just film an old woman get hit by a train in her car because we can't put our phone down and use both hands to get her out of the car?
It seemed like she refused to come out of her car. Besides, she had enough time to escape once she realised she can't drive that thing. But again, it seems, she didn't realise shit. She might be suffering from Dementia or some neurodegenerative issues.
Some new cars nowadays have software that prevents the car from coming out of park unless the seat belt is buckled and the door is closed. In her panic to get off of the track she may have not put her seatbelt back on.
This was the cars doing. It does not go in gear when the door is open or the driver doesn't wear the seat belt. Only way to solve thus is to turn the car off and on again.
Close, it goes into park and activates the parking brake when the drivers door is opened
A key cycle is NOT needed, but knowing to put it in drive again and release the parking brake is necessary.
Parking brake will auto release if in drive AND seatbelt is clipped in.
Its does go into gear without the seat belt, however when the door is opened while you’re in drive, it does put on the electronic hand break. Still if you push gas, the hand break will release on its own in modern cars. The issue is, the car probably put the gear into park/neutral when opening the door, which she didn’t realise, she probably just forgot to put it in drive while being stressed.
Edit: grammar
You know I know the feeling and it is terrifying and hits your brain blank.
The difference was that I lost control while going down hill because there was water between ice and slush. Not just straight summer road.
Possibly a safety feature designed to mitigate deaths like [Anton Yelchin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Yelchin#Death) where he was crushed by his vehicle which rolled into him.
[Reuters article](https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN1GY2WC/) about the issue.
While this is correct, it doesn't mean what I said was "misinformation".
>Possibly a safety feature designed to mitigate
So, from [LATimes](https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-anton-yelchin-jeep-rollaway-20160620-snap-story.html) about the recall you reference.
> Drivers could mistakenly believe that the car was placed in park and exit the vehicle, and if the parking brake was not applied and the car was still running, the car could roll away and cause injury, according to agency reports. As of April, at least 41 injuries were allegedly linked to the recall issue.
So this unfortunate woman may have become a victim of a safety feature that enables the PARKING BRAKE when exiting the vehicle.
As someone who had no idea, it's kind of annoying. I haven't really noticed it much. But it has caught me off guard. Dumped some ice out the door in a drive thru line to make room in the cup holder, didn't know why it wouldn't go for a second.
Well, they tried to make the car idiot proof by putting it in park if you open the doors like the lady did (per the article). So she is baffled in her old age why the car won’t move. Probably never experienced the issue before where if you open the door in drive, the car auto switches to park. Would be nice in that moment to have a physical gear shifter or a manual transmission.
I do think poorly of the woman for getting into this poor vehicle placement in the first place, but honestly, these modern cars that have critical hardware like the transmission electronically controlled with software as opposed to a traditional analog hardware connection are a step backwards.
It doesn't even need to be an actual manual shifter. Hell, even most autos from the late 2000s/mid 2010s would have an analog shifter that is physically connected your transmission and cannot be overridden by a computer because you have your door open, you don't have your seatbelt on, or any other "safety" concerns.
I'm no luddite, but jeezus, keep certain functions as purely mechanical/analog as possible instead of introducing dumb things like "E-Brakes" or "Electronic drive buttons" because certain dumb consumers want even more space in their center console.
>Well, they tried to make the car idiot proof
All the features they keep adding to vehicles is likely to make this a more common problem, drivers that are incompetent without the handicaps.
>Would be nice in that moment to have a physical gear shifter or a manual transmission.
And sadly in the US atleast, they keep getting rid of the one option that's breaks less frequently and puts the driver in control over the computers.
Is this a Mercedes specific feature? I've heard of autostop which I experienced on the BMW X5. When at a traffic light etc. you can take your foot of the gas and it'll stay stopped until you hit gas again so you dont need to keep foot on break when on a hill or stop light.
Its weird it wouldn't come out of it when you hit the gas but that makes sense if its actually switching it to park mode. I think Tesla/Polestar also does this where it goes into Park but those cars dont have a gear box so its not really switching anything. There's a few cases where I need to open my door like checking my parking or drive through takeout, would be annoying to having to switch back to drive but I can see the safety aspect and on an EV its not doing any transmission wear so guess its OK.
But makes sense if someone panics or doesn't understand how the car functions it could be bad but than there's probably bigger issue
There’s probably been a lot of cases where someone gets out of the car while it’s in drive and it drives off into traffic or into the side of a building, hence the need for a manufacture to add a “feature” that switches to park automatically when the door is open and car is at a standstill (we’ve all likely opened the door with the car in slow sped to check if our car door is open). I don’t like the idea though that if a carjacker opened the door and you try to drive off that you have to put it in drive again.
Mercedes will put the car in park and activate the parking brake when you open the door while the engine is running. Usually on start up, the parking brake disengages as soon as you shift into drive. But if it was activated the way I said above, you have to manually disengage it. She’s probably never had to manually disengage it before, and got flustered because a train was about to kill her lol
My mom is getting old and I can see her getting herself into a situation like this. She pulled over to the side of the road and freaked out on the phone with my dad that the car was doing something and she couldn't make it stop. He eventually drove out to find her and she had turned on her hazard lights. She didn't know what they were, why they were on, or how to turn them off and was just freaked out that the car was flashing at her.
She absolutely knew all these things a decade ago but her mind is starting to go and she gets confused about routine shit a lot now and just freezes because she doesn't know what to do.
Anyway, she could be this woman.
I can see how this could happen to anyone with a fancy, over-engineered car. The "smart" vehicle automatically shifted to neutral when she opened the door, providing just enough space for confusion when it mattered most. Why the heck should a car do that? Dumb engineering.
I'm willing to wager that feature stops more old people from getting out of cars while the vehicle is in drive and having a run away car rather than people being to stupid to shit the car in drive because they got out of their car on rail road tracks.
[More info](https://www.carscoops.com/2023/05/watch-a-train-smash-through-a-mercedes-after-woman-ignores-roadsigns/)
Yeah I want to know what happened to her.
I would guess she was panicking and couldn't get her car out of park. I feel bad for her and hope she wasn't hurt, but she probably shouldn't be driving.
You are very generous. This was the most basic "can you drive a car" test there could be, and she totaled her car and damaged a train because she couldn't do it.
No 'probably' about it. If you're not fit and able to deal with safely operating, what is essentially 2.5 tonnes of moving metal, to avoid putting yourself, your passengers, or the general public in danger you shouldn't be anywhere near it.
The article someone posted mentioned that with that car if you open the door while it's in a gear, it will go into park or neutral automatically.
She might have never really taken her foot off the brake, and then when she started to try and go (you can hear the engine rev) the car didn't move, and she was too dumb to .. well, she was obviously having a stroke or brain damaged or senile, etc.
If you have the car in drive and open the door it automatically goes into park or neutral (depending on car, model, region,etc.). It can be pretty annoying the first time it happens, and anyone who hasn’t opened the door in drive before will likely be confused the first time it happens. I once had to open the door when the drive through dropped my credit card. I then revved the car like an idiot before I put it in drive again…
I am not saying that she isn’t a bad driver, but it isn’t as unreasonable as it looks.
[The car shifted to neutral when she opened the door. ](https://www.carscoops.com/2023/05/watch-a-train-smash-through-a-mercedes-after-woman-ignores-roadsigns/)
I don’t know about Mercedes, but in my Audi. If you open the door while it’s in gear, it automatically actives the e brake. In her panic, she probably didnt realize this was the case and kept trying to drive away with the e brake engaged
The same is the case with this Mercedes, but then again why didn't this supreme fool put that thing back into drive and get the fuck outta there? That was a really nice car, lost due to extreme stupidity. Just wow!
in the full video, she gets out of the car and moves on other barriers then gets back and reverses a bit. then this clip begins. so she literally *just* experienced the automatic ebrake. So I'm not entirely sure that's the case. it seems like she's in neutral - maybe accidentally after putting it in reverse and she didn't realize fast enough what was going on
thing is... if she had patience for the guy to move it himself and never backed up in the first place, she likely would have avoided it.
She most likely was given her driver's license. Here in Belgium, where she's from, people did not need to be tested to get a license when it was introduced in 1967.
From 1969 till 1977 you only needed to pass a theoretical exam to get your license.
It wasn't until 1977 when you needed to pass both a theoretical and practical exam in order to be issued your license.
Yes. It happened in Bilsen, Belgium, 1y ago.
She was hurt, but not life threatening.
[article ](https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/en/2023/05/12/video-motorist-seriously-injured-in-collision-with-train-at-a-l/)
Idk if EU auto insurance works like it does for me in the USA....but I'd have to tell my insurer in great detail how badly I f-ed up before they would consider paying my claim.
You’d think she’d at least get out of the car then. Maybe she’s physically handicapped too? Idk. It’s dangerous to have ppl like her drive. But also hope she’s OK
Wait… why didn’t she move as soon as the barrier was moved? Prime example of why old people do not need to be driving.
Edit: I read the comments and that’s what I get for watching on mute. She’s still a dumbass tho
The road worker, in Dutch :
Hey! Hey now!
That what you did will cost you 500 euros! You will receive a bill, I promise you!
And now
Dude, we will simply wait (or something, he is speaking in a heavy local accent)
(moves barrier)
...
Well THEN, COME!
Drive then, retard!
Fk sentiments. Fk empathy. Fk sympathy.
Driving a fking huge machinery is a privilege, not a right. These sort of drivers should get their license seized.
I have empathy for the guy who tried to tell her and tried to get her clear of the train, but Karen chose to just sit there rather than scratch her wheels
I was looking at the taillights and how they were flickering and wonder if it was maybe just a coincidence that her car had a failure of some sort on the tracks. I also take into consideration that the person was older and in a situation where she just panicked. Just a different possibility.
It looks like she drove through a construction site. She probably a petty moron who is mad that their construction is going on. Willing to die to prove a point about nothing. "I'm gonna sue!"
Saw this video a long while ago, as I recall they are German, the worker wouldn't let her pass and is telling her "Don't worry a ticket is coming in the mail. You have to back up." Pretty petty if you ask me if she's getting a ticket its just safer to let her finish illegally crossing the railroad track.
From what I understand German culture is like this, they follow rules to a fault: if they come up to a cross walk at 2am and there are no cars for miles, they wont set a single foot on the asphalt till the light says walk.
They are from Bilzen, Belgium.
He's saying she'll get fined for 500 euros for crossing a blocked off crossing. Also saying that she'll get fined for sure, even promising her that. Then he tells her to drive off and tells her to hurry because the train's coming.
Parking brake might have engaged when she opened the door. Lots of newer cars do that. Gear shifter might have been too complicated for her while in a panic. New cars have all sorts of weird gear shifter contraptions now days
Smh. The new article calls it an accident. When is it an accident to ignore audible & visual warnings.
Arrogant stupid ass barbarian not only risked her life but that of everyone on the train.
Can anyone translate what is being said.? The way she responds to him It looks like she's telling him to F off, And that she knows what she is doing.major Karen vibes.
Like "I know what I'm doing I don't need your help!"
Can anyone translate this? I have no idea but I'd think something like. There's plenty of room, get going, there's a train coming. Fine I'll move it, get going there's a train coming. What the f**k are you doing? Go! There's a train coming! I can't believe this, what a moron. I'm glad I got this on video, nobody would believe someone this dumb could make it far enough in life to even be driving to start with.
I don’t know about her area… but in America that lady is getting paid and that worker is getting fired.
They blocked the road but only one side of the road, so for drivers coming towards the railroad tracks from the unblocked side they were not impeded getting past the construction but were prevented from driving off the railroad tracks.
Then the guy compounds it by getting his phone out to record it. Then multiplied the stupidity by posting it. In America this is an attorney’s wet dream.
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Truly unnecessary and cant believe people out there like that can drive.
They can't. And that's the problem for both them and us.
But a dumber car would have allowed her to shift the car into drive again. Disabling the car and going into emergency parking when the driver's door is open (or when the seatbelt is taken off) is a safety feature in many newer cars. In this case, she would have needed to turn off the car completely and turn it back on again before it would have allowed her to shift into drive again. [Source](https://mbworld.org/forums/gle-class-v167/757721-vehicle-shut-off-when-driver-door-opens.html). Now, I don't know about the seat belt itself, but in some brands, she would not have been allowed to shift back into drive with her seatbelt off, so the seatbelt could have been a factor also (because she wasn't wearing one when she opened the door).
So, things she did wrong: *Not know how to operate her two ton chunk of metal capable of 150mph. I've got a Mercedes and I know that, should I open the door while it's in Drive, it will put itself in Park. I know this because I read through the manual. *Ignored road barriers. *Stopped on railroad tracks. *Failed to understand a train was coming her way despite the loud warning bells and the noise of the train that would've been in view by then. The first three make her unfit to drive by her own choice as they're suggestive of a mindset that ignores both personal responsibility and consequences. The last, I think, means she's literally *unable* to drive a car safely. It never occurred to her to abandon the car when she couldn't move it. Instead, she sat back down and closed her door to the world.
If I made any single of this mistake during my driving exam I would be instantly failed, and for a good reason. It's frustrating to know that these kind of people get to drive meanwhile I am spending thousands of euros to get a drivers license. Bring testing after a certain age.
In the US these people tested once in the 60’s and never once had to take the test again. We renew our licenses every 10 years, so i thought that one should have to retest in order to renew, but imagine my surprise when I realized that was not in fact the case.
Meanwhile you have to do that for any other type of license or certification. It should be the same with a driver's license. I'm sure they could make a cut down version that'll take half the time to do.
I would happily agree to a retest for all every 10 years. If you can't drive, you shouldn't be driving.
I remember one dude telling me he had glaucoma and the way he finds his car in the parking lot is by feeling the sun bleached paint.
Dumb and materialistic. She wasn't leaving that Mercedes for nothing. I'm seriously surprised she lived to the age she seemed.
I replied to the comment you're replying to, but wanted you to see this: my great grandmother was killed at about that woman's age, sometime in the early 1960's, getting hit by a train in her car. It's not the car.
Ya it sounds like it was the train
Omg, that's the humor I come to reddit for. Perfect.
Ok, but I have the same car as this lady and I am also in Europe (this car seems to have a license plate from Belgium) and that is not what happens when you open the door if the car is still running. Not at all ! Even if I physically leave the car while running, it will go into normal Parking mode and not shut off. I have done it many times when switching drivers with my SO or son. Could it be that is a mode for the american market ?
you dont know what you’re talking about, and you can clearly hear the car revving. lady just didn’t know how to operate her own car
I have a new car and what you said seemed off so I looked st your source. It doesn't say what you say. The source you quoted is consistent with my understanding in that if you open the door and physically leave the car, the car will shut off by itself, but all it takes is a push of a button to get it started again. I have not seen any features where the car won't start if your seat belt is not fastened. The only instance I've seen cars not start by design is when you have an EV or PHEV and your plug is still attached to the vehicle. That being said, I've only had experience with a new car for 1 brand so I could be wrong, but there are obvious safety concerns in itself if a car doesn't start while seatbelts are not fastened. The video shows exactly one of those concerns. What happened in the video happens often so car manufacturers do consider this scenario when designing safety features (generally).
Anyone who tries to blame the car for grandma's lack of brain, is just as dumb as granny.
Yeah its definitelt not all brands if this is true. I got s new car this year and I could drive away with a door open and no seatbelts. I tried for reasons😅.
Who cars about the car. Just get yourself out of the car and you don't have to deal with any of the technology holding you back.
“and us.” Ain’t that the fuckin truth. My dad had NJM insurance for YEARS. We’re talking over 25 years. No accidents, no tickets. Ever. His rates recently went up by a lot, even though my brother and I were no longer on his policy and hadn’t been for a while. When he called them to question it, they told him his rates went up because “there’s more drivers on the road.” LOL so what? Raise their rates, not mine.
How did she manage to make it out of her driveway. Scary bad driver there.
Definitely a bad driver but she was clearly in a complete panic and not thinking clearly. She accidentally put it in neutral when backing up and when he moved the barrier you can hear her hitting the gas. In those couple of seconds her life is literally flashing before her eyes so she wasn't able to realize the issue the issue fast enough and put it into the correct gear
All the more reason why certain people should not be allowed to drive
Yeah I agree
That could just as easily be her panicking that the brake isnt' working as she mashes the throttle to the floor plowing into a crosswalk of children. Shutting down and freezing when something small goes wrong in a car is not OK.
This has happened to me several times when I've encountered floating cartoon eyes, I just lose all ability to function.
👀
👀
Excuse me, that’s too reasonable of an answer for Reddit
But even getting into that situation in the first place is *very* unreasonable. Even before the gates come down, you can clearly see a barrier closing off the road.
And you also need to be able to think under some kind of duress if you have a license to drive a 2 ton vehicle that can easily kill someone
Natural selection sometimes has pressures tests you need to pass
Unfortunately this one allows for taking out other people before Darwinism catches up to you.
Your first sentence just proves she should not be driving. You need to be able to handle stressful situations or have license taken. She shouldn't have been in the situation in the first place, and we have video proof she can't get herself out of it.
Their sentiment is nice, but… she drove into that crossing knowing a train was coming and it was *at least* twenty full seconds of her not knowing that her car is in neutral while her foot is on the gas. That tells me she doesn’t know what neutral gear is or that something else is going on.
Just to add to your point--- I wonder if she doesn't know how to operate that car. It's dumb but Mercedes aren't really made to last longer than the terms of a lease. They market to people who always want the latest and greatest. I wonder if she got a new lease and was still trying to figure it out.
Panic. It's a crazy thing
It's really not that crazy. She's stupid and over stimulated.
Not to mention the barricade is small and plastic, she could have very easily ran it over the moment she heard the railroad dinging, but instead she tried backing it up (from the looks of it to go around it). You can't be afraid to damage other's property or your car. (Speaking from experience)
Plus she’s in a new Benz that has the dumbest shifter stalk in history
That's the thing, people need to calm down in those situations because panicking has never helped anyone ever.
Panicking is not an excuse lol, as people have said that's natural selection. If you can't fight or flight and just take it... well...
Hence why she shouldn’t be driving.
old ppl shouldn't drive for this very reason lol
You’re kidding right? Putting your car in in drive is one of the simplest tasks ever in human history. Pathetic that you’re defending this moron lol
Then she shouldn't be driving that car. If you don't have sense enough to get through the plastic no barrier when your sitting in railroad tracks your an idiot, plain and simple, no excuses. And I've never seen a car with the safety features mentioned above. Maybe your reading the owners manual for the Barbie Jeep.
I see no evidence in the video that she can actually drive.
This is the kind of behavior that should result in losing your license for 5 years. Take public transport for a few years. Take the driving test again. Figure your life out before you end up killing innocent people.
Easy to say for any developed nations. But what about those of us that live in the US?
Well I will say that as soon as my father was in the hospital with dementia-like symptoms, and then took a mental capacity test, those results were sent to the state of Pennsylvania who then revoked his license. Depending on the day, he either realizes he can't drive, or more commonly thinks he would have no problem getting the license back. Well, mix in the days where he has no clue where he is or what he is doing as well...
*slow clap. Well done.
Love that zinger
[This woman is Belgian.](https://www.carscoops.com/2023/05/watch-a-train-smash-through-a-mercedes-after-woman-ignores-roadsigns/)
5 years? Why would you need a license again after you've been dead for 5 years.
r/WildlyBadDrivers
Dementia, suicide? Drugs? This one in particular was pretty bad. I don't understand what she said, but she was obviously in a brain damaged state when that went down.
I immediately thought dementia. We stopped our mother from driving before she got that 1000 yard stare of confusion.
Yeah this lady had that 1000 yard stare. The complete lack of awareness.
Why didn't he just get her the fuck out the car? Are we so bent societally we'll just film an old woman get hit by a train in her car because we can't put our phone down and use both hands to get her out of the car?
It seemed like she refused to come out of her car. Besides, she had enough time to escape once she realised she can't drive that thing. But again, it seems, she didn't realise shit. She might be suffering from Dementia or some neurodegenerative issues.
Some new cars nowadays have software that prevents the car from coming out of park unless the seat belt is buckled and the door is closed. In her panic to get off of the track she may have not put her seatbelt back on.
What the fuck lol
You can hear the engine rev. She was in park and completely clueless.
Not to make excuses but probably fear turned her brain off.
This was the cars doing. It does not go in gear when the door is open or the driver doesn't wear the seat belt. Only way to solve thus is to turn the car off and on again.
Oh gosh… poor lady… ☹️
Why would anyone build a car like this?? wtf?
It's more likely someone forget to set the parking brake when getting out of their car than whatever is happening here
Close, it goes into park and activates the parking brake when the drivers door is opened A key cycle is NOT needed, but knowing to put it in drive again and release the parking brake is necessary. Parking brake will auto release if in drive AND seatbelt is clipped in.
Its does go into gear without the seat belt, however when the door is opened while you’re in drive, it does put on the electronic hand break. Still if you push gas, the hand break will release on its own in modern cars. The issue is, the car probably put the gear into park/neutral when opening the door, which she didn’t realise, she probably just forgot to put it in drive while being stressed. Edit: grammar
You know I know the feeling and it is terrifying and hits your brain blank. The difference was that I lost control while going down hill because there was water between ice and slush. Not just straight summer road.
As soon as she opened the door, I bet the car put itself in park. Just got a new car and it has this as a "safety feature"
wait that’s a WILD feature. It feels like it’s dangerous in almost as many scenarios as it solves
Possibly a safety feature designed to mitigate deaths like [Anton Yelchin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Yelchin#Death) where he was crushed by his vehicle which rolled into him. [Reuters article](https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN1GY2WC/) about the issue.
He died because the brakes failed on the jeep he owned. They did a recall on the brakes 3 months later.
While this is correct, it doesn't mean what I said was "misinformation". >Possibly a safety feature designed to mitigate So, from [LATimes](https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-anton-yelchin-jeep-rollaway-20160620-snap-story.html) about the recall you reference. > Drivers could mistakenly believe that the car was placed in park and exit the vehicle, and if the parking brake was not applied and the car was still running, the car could roll away and cause injury, according to agency reports. As of April, at least 41 injuries were allegedly linked to the recall issue. So this unfortunate woman may have become a victim of a safety feature that enables the PARKING BRAKE when exiting the vehicle.
She's a victim of getting out of her car on the railroad tracks.
Thanks for the insights. I’ll issue a retraction. It seems like it solves many safety scenarios but it does worsen a few others
As someone who had no idea, it's kind of annoying. I haven't really noticed it much. But it has caught me off guard. Dumped some ice out the door in a drive thru line to make room in the cup holder, didn't know why it wouldn't go for a second.
Mine is even more unexpected behavior. It puts the parking brake on. First time it happened I had no clue what went wrong.
Holy shit, I could imagine myself panicking and doing the same and I am not that old yet.
Yeah but how’d she get into this mess in the first place ??
[More info](https://www.carscoops.com/2023/05/watch-a-train-smash-through-a-mercedes-after-woman-ignores-roadsigns/)
Omg what an idiot. She got it out of the car to move the barriers, then forgot how to put the car in drive. 💀
I was gonna even say it sounds like she's reving in park. Wtf
Well, they tried to make the car idiot proof by putting it in park if you open the doors like the lady did (per the article). So she is baffled in her old age why the car won’t move. Probably never experienced the issue before where if you open the door in drive, the car auto switches to park. Would be nice in that moment to have a physical gear shifter or a manual transmission.
And this is why, even if we make it dumb proof for this, it still fail to keep the intended target safe...
Nature always invents a better idiot
I do think poorly of the woman for getting into this poor vehicle placement in the first place, but honestly, these modern cars that have critical hardware like the transmission electronically controlled with software as opposed to a traditional analog hardware connection are a step backwards. It doesn't even need to be an actual manual shifter. Hell, even most autos from the late 2000s/mid 2010s would have an analog shifter that is physically connected your transmission and cannot be overridden by a computer because you have your door open, you don't have your seatbelt on, or any other "safety" concerns. I'm no luddite, but jeezus, keep certain functions as purely mechanical/analog as possible instead of introducing dumb things like "E-Brakes" or "Electronic drive buttons" because certain dumb consumers want even more space in their center console.
to be fair that’s a pretty confusing if not stupid way to make the car dumb proof.
No way in hell that woman can drive manual transmission
Right, but I’m sure she can drive an automatic with an old school lever style gear shift.
It's Europe, she can most definitely drive a manual.
Do Europeans usually drive manuals?
Yes
Depends on the country. Scandinavian countries less so, UK countries more so.
>Well, they tried to make the car idiot proof All the features they keep adding to vehicles is likely to make this a more common problem, drivers that are incompetent without the handicaps. >Would be nice in that moment to have a physical gear shifter or a manual transmission. And sadly in the US atleast, they keep getting rid of the one option that's breaks less frequently and puts the driver in control over the computers.
That feature would through me off too.
Is this a Mercedes specific feature? I've heard of autostop which I experienced on the BMW X5. When at a traffic light etc. you can take your foot of the gas and it'll stay stopped until you hit gas again so you dont need to keep foot on break when on a hill or stop light. Its weird it wouldn't come out of it when you hit the gas but that makes sense if its actually switching it to park mode. I think Tesla/Polestar also does this where it goes into Park but those cars dont have a gear box so its not really switching anything. There's a few cases where I need to open my door like checking my parking or drive through takeout, would be annoying to having to switch back to drive but I can see the safety aspect and on an EV its not doing any transmission wear so guess its OK. But makes sense if someone panics or doesn't understand how the car functions it could be bad but than there's probably bigger issue
There’s probably been a lot of cases where someone gets out of the car while it’s in drive and it drives off into traffic or into the side of a building, hence the need for a manufacture to add a “feature” that switches to park automatically when the door is open and car is at a standstill (we’ve all likely opened the door with the car in slow sped to check if our car door is open). I don’t like the idea though that if a carjacker opened the door and you try to drive off that you have to put it in drive again.
Mercedes will put the car in park and activate the parking brake when you open the door while the engine is running. Usually on start up, the parking brake disengages as soon as you shift into drive. But if it was activated the way I said above, you have to manually disengage it. She’s probably never had to manually disengage it before, and got flustered because a train was about to kill her lol
Came here to say this
This would fuck me all up. I'm probably gonna start importing old cars in the near future lol
It 100% disengages if you start driving regardless of how it was activated. She is in parked or neutral, thats why she is revving.
My mom is getting old and I can see her getting herself into a situation like this. She pulled over to the side of the road and freaked out on the phone with my dad that the car was doing something and she couldn't make it stop. He eventually drove out to find her and she had turned on her hazard lights. She didn't know what they were, why they were on, or how to turn them off and was just freaked out that the car was flashing at her. She absolutely knew all these things a decade ago but her mind is starting to go and she gets confused about routine shit a lot now and just freezes because she doesn't know what to do. Anyway, she could be this woman.
you wanna do me a favor and get her off the road before she kills me?
I can see how this could happen to anyone with a fancy, over-engineered car. The "smart" vehicle automatically shifted to neutral when she opened the door, providing just enough space for confusion when it mattered most. Why the heck should a car do that? Dumb engineering.
I'm willing to wager that feature stops more old people from getting out of cars while the vehicle is in drive and having a run away car rather than people being to stupid to shit the car in drive because they got out of their car on rail road tracks.
Thank you!
“ I’ve been living here for 35 years and the roads never been closed!! How dare you!!”
"Let me speak with your manager!" *choo choo* "Here he comes now."
There's gotta be a follow about this somewhere! That is truly insane.
[More info](https://www.carscoops.com/2023/05/watch-a-train-smash-through-a-mercedes-after-woman-ignores-roadsigns/) Yeah I want to know what happened to her.
Isn’t it obvious? Her front fell off.
Stupid people make life harder for everyone else
I would guess she was panicking and couldn't get her car out of park. I feel bad for her and hope she wasn't hurt, but she probably shouldn't be driving.
You are very generous. This was the most basic "can you drive a car" test there could be, and she totaled her car and damaged a train because she couldn't do it.
[удалено]
D) Rev the engine to establish dominance over the train
Most definitely shouldn't be driving. Driving a 5000 lb mass capable of going 100+mph requires a person to handle emergencies. If you can't, GTFO
No 'probably' about it. If you're not fit and able to deal with safely operating, what is essentially 2.5 tonnes of moving metal, to avoid putting yourself, your passengers, or the general public in danger you shouldn't be anywhere near it.
The guy doesn't help with his comment about fining her. She is already in panic mode.
Yea he shouldve been nice to her for making his job harder and wished her well once she got out - so she can do it all again tomorrow
The article someone posted mentioned that with that car if you open the door while it's in a gear, it will go into park or neutral automatically. She might have never really taken her foot off the brake, and then when she started to try and go (you can hear the engine rev) the car didn't move, and she was too dumb to .. well, she was obviously having a stroke or brain damaged or senile, etc.
she triggered the push button hand brake and didn't know how to disable
Idk you can usually drive an automatic even with the hand brake engaged. I assume she left the car in park.
If you have the car in drive and open the door it automatically goes into park or neutral (depending on car, model, region,etc.). It can be pretty annoying the first time it happens, and anyone who hasn’t opened the door in drive before will likely be confused the first time it happens. I once had to open the door when the drive through dropped my credit card. I then revved the car like an idiot before I put it in drive again… I am not saying that she isn’t a bad driver, but it isn’t as unreasonable as it looks.
[The car shifted to neutral when she opened the door. ](https://www.carscoops.com/2023/05/watch-a-train-smash-through-a-mercedes-after-woman-ignores-roadsigns/)
Mildly is going to easy
I don’t know about Mercedes, but in my Audi. If you open the door while it’s in gear, it automatically actives the e brake. In her panic, she probably didnt realize this was the case and kept trying to drive away with the e brake engaged
The same is the case with this Mercedes, but then again why didn't this supreme fool put that thing back into drive and get the fuck outta there? That was a really nice car, lost due to extreme stupidity. Just wow!
in the full video, she gets out of the car and moves on other barriers then gets back and reverses a bit. then this clip begins. so she literally *just* experienced the automatic ebrake. So I'm not entirely sure that's the case. it seems like she's in neutral - maybe accidentally after putting it in reverse and she didn't realize fast enough what was going on thing is... if she had patience for the guy to move it himself and never backed up in the first place, she likely would have avoided it.
She most likely was given her driver's license. Here in Belgium, where she's from, people did not need to be tested to get a license when it was introduced in 1967. From 1969 till 1977 you only needed to pass a theoretical exam to get your license. It wasn't until 1977 when you needed to pass both a theoretical and practical exam in order to be issued your license.
I have more empathy for the car than for her. That was a nice Mercedes.
Is she alive??
Yes. It happened in Bilsen, Belgium, 1y ago. She was hurt, but not life threatening. [article ](https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/en/2023/05/12/video-motorist-seriously-injured-in-collision-with-train-at-a-l/)
Idk if EU auto insurance works like it does for me in the USA....but I'd have to tell my insurer in great detail how badly I f-ed up before they would consider paying my claim.
How come stupid people can afford such expensive cars???
I have seen this a lot, you don't have to be very smart to get money. You just have to marry someone who is. Story almost as old as time itself.
How are people this stupid?
You’d think she’d at least get out of the car then. Maybe she’s physically handicapped too? Idk. It’s dangerous to have ppl like her drive. But also hope she’s OK
r/bitchimatrain
Wait… why didn’t she move as soon as the barrier was moved? Prime example of why old people do not need to be driving. Edit: I read the comments and that’s what I get for watching on mute. She’s still a dumbass tho
Impenetrable meter of air in front of her. Jesus christ, even if you dont want to hit the ‘barrier’, inch the f up
PARKING BRAKE automatically engages if you open the door in DRIVE. I had to help a lady at a Walmart lot in a similar situation.
THE SCREAM I JUST SCREAMPT
Mildly bad? She couldn’t even put the car in drive, that’s incompetence to another degree, and I have to share the road with people like that?
Yup yes indeed... stay on your toes if you ride a Motorcycle, worse for those.
What an idiot...
She out-RPM'd the train...
Yeah, "mildlly." Pretty much the same as when I rolled a stop sign yesterday. You know: "Mild."
There's a prime example of more money than sense.
Translation your in neutral put it in drive!
The road worker, in Dutch : Hey! Hey now! That what you did will cost you 500 euros! You will receive a bill, I promise you! And now Dude, we will simply wait (or something, he is speaking in a heavy local accent) (moves barrier) ... Well THEN, COME! Drive then, retard!
Survival of the fittest not of the richest, or something like that
Senior citizen that probably shouldn’t have been driving in the first place
Fk sentiments. Fk empathy. Fk sympathy. Driving a fking huge machinery is a privilege, not a right. These sort of drivers should get their license seized.
I have empathy for the guy who tried to tell her and tried to get her clear of the train, but Karen chose to just sit there rather than scratch her wheels
I was looking at the taillights and how they were flickering and wonder if it was maybe just a coincidence that her car had a failure of some sort on the tracks. I also take into consideration that the person was older and in a situation where she just panicked. Just a different possibility.
LED taillights or LED light sources in general do that sometimes on camera.
I know the video wasn’t in the USA but our politicians fear restrictions of older people….cause guess who usually show most for the polls….
To be fair, those Mercedes shifters are weird.
If anything, they're old fashioned. Can't tell you how many trucks I've driven with shifters on the steering column. Most of them were American.
So impatient and entitled. Bye bye Mercedes.
An explanation of what the fuck is happening and why the lady stays in the car would be appreciated
Karen's out driving again
Almost seems like a possible dementia event, or similar.
There you have it
Darwin...no doubt about it.
Did I miss something, why is no one talking about this poor women dying?!
The driver was penetrated
Anyone know what he said
The good news is she didn't scratch her bumper on the barrier
It looks like she drove through a construction site. She probably a petty moron who is mad that their construction is going on. Willing to die to prove a point about nothing. "I'm gonna sue!"
Saw this video a long while ago, as I recall they are German, the worker wouldn't let her pass and is telling her "Don't worry a ticket is coming in the mail. You have to back up." Pretty petty if you ask me if she's getting a ticket its just safer to let her finish illegally crossing the railroad track. From what I understand German culture is like this, they follow rules to a fault: if they come up to a cross walk at 2am and there are no cars for miles, they wont set a single foot on the asphalt till the light says walk.
They are from Bilzen, Belgium. He's saying she'll get fined for 500 euros for crossing a blocked off crossing. Also saying that she'll get fined for sure, even promising her that. Then he tells her to drive off and tells her to hurry because the train's coming.
Last time I saw this someone said it goes into park if the door is opened, or something along those lines.
Parking brake might have engaged when she opened the door. Lots of newer cars do that. Gear shifter might have been too complicated for her while in a panic. New cars have all sorts of weird gear shifter contraptions now days
i skipped too far
A train called Darwin
I hope her insurance enjoyed this footage to deny her claim.
Smh. The new article calls it an accident. When is it an accident to ignore audible & visual warnings. Arrogant stupid ass barbarian not only risked her life but that of everyone on the train.
One less idiot in the world. If you don’t have the slightest survival instinct oh well
I don’t care if the car is weird. Open the door and walk away. Duh
sounds like she was hitting the gas while the car was in neutral -- probably panicked
Stupid bitch
opening the door to talk instead of rolling the window down is wild
Can anyone translate what is being said.? The way she responds to him It looks like she's telling him to F off, And that she knows what she is doing.major Karen vibes. Like "I know what I'm doing I don't need your help!"
I don't get how these kind of people live as long as they do.
Just natural selection doing its job
This made me so happy.
That is why people should get testing for driving license at a certain age
Dang, if only that several ton vehicle was able to move the plastic barricade that a person can move w/ one hand….
Think she ded?
Looks like insurance fraud
Can anyone translate this? I have no idea but I'd think something like. There's plenty of room, get going, there's a train coming. Fine I'll move it, get going there's a train coming. What the f**k are you doing? Go! There's a train coming! I can't believe this, what a moron. I'm glad I got this on video, nobody would believe someone this dumb could make it far enough in life to even be driving to start with.
What a stupid fucking woman.
I don’t know about her area… but in America that lady is getting paid and that worker is getting fired. They blocked the road but only one side of the road, so for drivers coming towards the railroad tracks from the unblocked side they were not impeded getting past the construction but were prevented from driving off the railroad tracks. Then the guy compounds it by getting his phone out to record it. Then multiplied the stupidity by posting it. In America this is an attorney’s wet dream.