Do they stop?

[steveiez]

If a train crew sees a body on the side of the track  [not one they hit} do they stop or just call the police?

[tcwright973]

That caught my eye as well Steve. I couldn't quite figure out exactly where that incident occurred, but it did cross my mind that it could have been an AVR. They wouldn't have had a problem stopping as they would have been the only traffic on their line.

[lwjabo]

My guess is some would and some would not. Why not just call the dispatch and they can have the police there in minutes. Stoping the train might block them from getting to the body. The only time I had it happen to me was 20 plus years ago. It was dark I was on the caboose. Bill callls me on the radio and ask if I can make out what he saw. We were both in agreement and the dispatch stoped trains and had the police in minutes. There have been cases where men were dumped afte a fight. In one case the man found the caboose and ask the Conductor for help.

[Kentucky & Indiana Terminal RR]

I only had this happen once so far, and we actually stopped, it was bitter cold , probably less than ten degrees out, we actually thought he was dead at first but it turned out to be an old man who wandered away from a nursing home and was suffering from dementia.  My engineer went for help as cell phones and the like were in their infancy, and I went to assess the body, which to my surprise he was still alive but barely.  I got to stay with him and keep him awake and warm  until the paramedics arrived.  Most days and most trains may not allow for that kind of response but it still remains as the most rewarding day of my career.

[Backyard]

  Well, I think the general idea is if a human body is laying aside the ROW, the crew would absolutely call the dispatcher, if they can acknowledge the incident...

If they did not run over the dude, why should they stop?