Drunk Driver Experiences Power of Moving Train Firsthand, Car Ripped and Tossed Around Like a Piece of Cheap Cardboard
He didn’t sleep it off nearly enough.
A driver who told police he’d been out drinking Sunday night woke up hungry for breakfast on Monday and decided to get behind the wheel of his car.
Driving while you’re still drunk is a bad idea under any circumstances, but when a train comes into the picture, it can get a whole lot worse.
In a video getting wide attention after being picked up by Fox News, the driver’s car is seen plowing straight through a crossing rail and directly into a speeding passenger train.
The incident took place near Jiamin, Taiwan, about 70 miles south of the island country’s capital of Taipei.
Considering there were no serious injuries, it’s got to be seen to be believed:
#Taiwan “Drunk Driver Rams Car into Train”#DrunkDrivingIncident #CarVsTrain
Video: PTV News pic.twitter.com/6HFYfqA6s4— Vehicles (@VietNamVehicles) August 23, 2023
According to the news site ViralPress, a sensationalistic partner of Reuters, the collision occurred at about 6:40 a.m. Monday local time (about 6:40 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time). That’s prime morning commuter time for the northbound train, carrying passengers in the direction of the capital city.
The driver said he never saw the train coming. Judging by the speed he hit the crossing rail and then the train itself, it’s a good bet that’s true — in fact, it’s a good bet that the driver wasn’t seeing anything at all. (If he had, it probably would have been two trains.)
The 20-year-old survived the collision with only minor injuries. That’s pretty miraculous, considering his vehicle had just been tossed around like a piece of cheap cardboard.
The train was barrelling along with 700 passengers and crew, according to the Taiwan News, an English-language outlet based in Taipei.
None of the passengers were injured, according to Fox.
The driver was “was detained for alleged drunk driving and putting members of the public in danger,” ViralPress reported.
He might have learned a lesson. But as always, there was a public lesson to be learned.
“We urge people not to drive after drinking,” local railroad police said in a statement, according to ViralPress.
“We must also remind drivers to be careful when crossing level crossings, and to always yield to trains.”
“Always yield to trains” is one of the great pieces of advice of all time. It’s like “buy low, sell high,” “don’t do anything they’ll make fun of you for in the emergency room,” or “don’t hire Dylan Mulvaney to push your beer.”
Lessons like that can make life longer — and a good deal healthier.
Experiencing the raw power of a moving train is something that’s much more enjoyable from the inside than it is running headlong into it in a drunken stupor.
But if you experience it like this guy, and are around to tell the story, you’re one of the luckiest men alive.
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