Man dies in Supertram accident

[Mon Ami Mate]

Oh dear, new faddy public transport systems aren't completely safe. Perhaps they need some speed bumps and safety cameras to make them more pedestrian friendly.

Man dies in Supertram accident


The driver saw an object on the tracks
A 22-year-old man has died after he was hit by a tram in Sheffield.
Matthew Lydon, from Derbyshire, was lying on the tracks when he was struck by the Supertram at 2345 GMT on Friday.

He suffered serious head injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The accident happened on a bridge above Park Square in Sheffield city centre as the tram left Commercial Street on its way back to the depot.

A spokesman for South Yorkshire Police said: "The driver saw something lying in the tracks and applied the emergency breaks but was unable to stop in time."

Police have appealed for witnesses.

Supertram services have now returned to normal.

[rich 36]

unable to stop in time? how does that work then, these things only go as fast as a bus dont they, we were going to get this system in Northampton,
(home of stealth tax) but the idea got quietly binned due to lack of interest.

[P*Ting]

Wonder what the braking distances are on these things?

Surely they should either be better than a good cars' brakes or their speed should be limited accordingly to keep stopping distances down.

[agent006]

was lying on the tracks when he was struck by the Supertram

Darwin at work again.

[planetdave]

dont believe the driver. He probably thought 'Hmm-a jolly japester; I'll just put the wind up him a bit.........oh dear!'

[rich 36]

Yeah that sounds about right, whoops!

[littlegearl]

i was in sheffield the other week and rode on one of those trams... even walked across the bridge that guy was hit on...

i can tell you they're not very fast at all, and they can stop reasonably quickly, so god knows how the above accident happened...

the driver must of genuinely not seen the guy on the tracks or must have been playing silly-buggers!!!

[CarZee]

Idiot dies.. big deal.. who gives a crap..

That tram system has been operational for nearly 10 years. Hardly new fangled are they?

[tiggs]

if that happend on a normal road the driver would have lost his licence got fined locked up and had a total cock shafting from the police and courts, just coz it was a tram, f**k sake, there really is no justice in this crap hole that is the british leagal system.

[t1grm]

Oh... supertram. That explains it. Here's me thinking some bloke died from listening to Breakfast in America.

[DrSeuss]

tiggs said: if that happend on a normal road the driver would have lost his licence got fined locked up and had a total cock shafting from the police and courts, just coz it was a tram, f**k sake, there really is no justice in this crap hole that is the british leagal system.

Same deal when a train driver jumps a red signal and causes a crash - all you hear is "the signal must have been badly sited", "the sun was in his eyes" or some other crap excuse, and next thing you know, they're talking about spending £millions of taxpayers' money on an automatic braking system for trains. Do the same in a car and you'll get the book thrown at you. I just don't get it

[Psychobert]

Word in the city is that is was suicide.. I'd have thought the lights should be good enough to see the stopping distance, but aparently not..

If it was suicide, odd way of doing it if you ask me..

[wedg1e]

t1grm said: Oh... supertram. That explains it. Here's me thinking some bloke died from listening to Breakfast in America.

Ian

[soulpatch]

if the tram driver wasnt speeding what has he got to worry about?

If the tram driver wasnt speeding it will be thrown out by the CPS regardless of circumstances, like any other moving vehicle charge.

Or am I being a little cynical?

[tiggs]

soulpatch said: if the tram driver wasnt speeding what has he got to worry about?

If the tram driver wasnt speeding it will be thrown out by the CPS regardless of circumstances, like any other moving vehicle charge.

Or am I being a little cynical?

so a tram runs a guy over, and if hes found not to have been speeding the case is closed end of story.
so if a child gets runover as long as the driver is not speeding the driver doesn't get prosecuted? yer try telling the parent

"oh sorry your child was flattend but they werent speeding so tuff luck"

what a crazy world we live in?!?

[littlegearl]

Psychobert said: Word in the city is that is was suicide.. I'd have thought the lights should be good enough to see the stopping distance, but aparently not..

If it was suicide, odd way of doing it if you ask me..

why didn't he just jump off the bridge onto the busy road below???

thats the way i'd do it, i mean, getting run over by a tram??? hardly the stuff of legends...

[cotty]

littlegearl said:

Psychobert said: Word in the city is that is was suicide.. I'd have thought the lights should be good enough to see the stopping distance, but aparently not..

If it was suicide, odd way of doing it if you ask me..

why didn't he just jump off the bridge onto the busy road below???

thats the way i'd do it, i mean, getting run over by a tram??? hardly the stuff of legends...

No but then he will me infamous as the first to die by tram

[t1grm]

cotty said:

littlegearl said:

Psychobert said: Word in the city is that is was suicide.. I'd have thought the lights should be good enough to see the stopping distance, but aparently not..

If it was suicide, odd way of doing it if you ask me..

why didn't he just jump off the bridge onto the busy road below???

thats the way i'd do it, i mean, getting run over by a tram??? hardly the stuff of legends...

No but then he will me infamous as the first to die by tram

I doubt it. I'm sure loads were killed when trams were the norm accross Britain's cities in the early 20th Cen.

>> Edited by t1grm on Monday 10th March 13:57

[Buffalo]

and dont forget that bloke on coronation street - he did it live on national tv...

mind you that was before the internet... maybe thats the next big scoop..? "live internet stream death by tram)

Anybody remember the scene in 1st austin powers movie, when they run the guy over on one of the electric buggy things..? Takes about 10minutes for him to get there....

[littlegearl]

damn you beat me bro!!! shouldn't you be working???

well, i still think i would rather commit suicide by jumping off a bridge onto a busy street than getting run over by a tram...

its the sort of things people will laugh at you for.