Another class of accidents which are of altogether too frequent occurrence are injuries caused by trains not stopping long enough for passengers to alight.
Frequently the persons injured are old people not accustomed to traveling, who are necessarily slow in their movements, and of whom we should take greater care. Think how you or I would feel if our mother or grandmother, if we were fortunate enough to have them with us still, were injured just because a conductor or brakeman didn't have forethought or decency enough to give them time to get off. If you will do that, there will not be a procession of such cases as the following, and the companies will be so much ahead.
Mrs. A. J. Denman, passenger from Norwood to Avon, injured at Garwin, Sept. 7th; caused by the train not stopping long enough for her to alight.
Mrs. C. E. Collinwood and C. Collinwood, passengers on train No. 32, from Omaha, injured at Hamburg, Oct. 17th; caused by train starting before they had an opportunity to get off.
P. J. Wilkins, passenger, injured at Johnsport, at 1:10 a.m., Oct. 31, getting off train No. 35, while in an intoxicated condition; brakeman gave signal for train to start as the man was coming down the steps, thinking as he claims, that the man would have gotten off before train started; both the brakeman and the conductor of train knew that the man was intoxicated.
Sarapino Guiseppi, injured at Engletown, Sept. 26, at 6:15 p.m. When train stopped at Engletown a number of passengers crowded onto it and, before this man had an opportunity to get off, the train started, and, while alighting, he fell and was run over and lost his left arm.
It seems to me that if the instructions contained in Rule 19, requiring the announcing of stations by brakemen, were complied with and thereby passengers given ample notice of the approach of the train to their destination, they would be prepared to get off instead of in the present method, or, rather, lack of method, as the rule is so seldom observed as to cause comment when it is complied with, and if, before giving the signal to start, trainmen would get upon the car platform and look into the cars to see that there was no one else to get off, especially should this be done at night when passengers are tired and sleepy, when platform lights are not any too numerous, and with excursionists, and picnickers who are often none too sober and who are not accustomed to moving quickly, and if at division terminals trainmen would pay more attention to assisting passengers off instead of being in such a hurry to cut off a car, getting their markers, or getting away from the train, not only would such accidents as those last enumerated be avoided, but the journey would be made much more comfortable to passengers; and the road doing this would increase its traffic. Deadheads, who mostly ride in Pullmans or private cars, do not realize how annoying and exasperating to paying passengers is the present method of trainmen, going into the cars and pretending to call stations in some dead language, or by talking to themselves. In transferring passengers from express to local trains trainmen must bear in mind that the passenger is frequently unaccustomed to the surroundings, is generally overanxious about getting off so as not to miss connections, and coming from a lighted car out into the darkness, in his hurry and excitement may not notice that the train is running; in these cases the train is always moving so smoothly the passenger thinks (or says he does) that it has stopped, and off he goes, and it is necessary, to prevent such accidents occurring, to exercise the greatest care, and by proper announcement make it plain to all such passengers that ample time will be given them to alight, and that the train they are to take cannot pull out until after your train does.
And when you are receiving passengers, especially on mixed or freight trains, don't start until they have a chance to get seated, and then such cases as the following won't occur:
Mrs. A. L. Bishop, passenger on freight train 91 from Milton to Jessop, had gotten into caboose, but had not time to get seated before train started with a jerk; she was thrown down and injured.
Mrs. Mary Hanson, passenger from Grant to Portsmouth, on train 15, June 4th, 1:15 p.m. Before she had time to get to her seat, train started, and she was thrown down and injured.