Several times a day the trains of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad pass through Norman, Oklahoma. Observe that the horn is blasting even as the locomotive is crossing the gated intersection. This is very common. Over the years their horns have become louder. Sometimes they sound like a howling herd of stampeding elephants. This is probably because car stereos and radios, which are another noise nuisance in the community, have become louder and the railroad operators want their horns to be heard by these drivers. DEATH OF A STUDENT IN COLLISION WITH A TRAIN In 2004, a University of Oklahoma student named Mark Goodnight died after his automobile collided with a train in Norman. In a letter to the editor of the campus newspaper, his sister Kari Goodnight commented on the death of her brother. Go here for the letter and see the last two scans on page 2: www.facebook.com She said that, according to the investigating officer, Mark was driving between 25 and 28 miles per hour when he slammed on his brakes and skidded into the path of the train. Why didn't Mark see the train and the flashing red lights and hear the loud bells before it was too late? His sister Kari provides a big clue when she writes: "I have driven over those tracks myself, and I never hear the bells if I am listening to my radio. The train whistle seems to blend in with the music and the flashing lights rarely catch my attention because they are so far off to the side of the road." Kari appears to be ...
Tags: norman, oklahoma, noise, pollution, train, horns
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