I don't feel bad for that Penn student at all-- he's not a survivor or a hero in my eyes. If you're walking around NYC drunk you deserve what happens to you because you gave up your ability to make wise decisions to ensure your safety.

there is something on top of the rail, but there's more than enough space for an arm/finger to touch it.

and i think most mta track workers are trained to stand between the two tracks and told to watch out for rats when the trains go by. b/c when they see the rats, they freak and when that happens, they move and the train hits them.

I warned them, but they did not listen to me.

No one listens to me...

Natural selection at work!

My friend works for an institute for the blind and she's advised her clients to lie down flat on your back between the two rails. If you try to hide under the platform you'll be crushed. It's not a perfect method but it's better than nothing.

isn't there a protective covering over the third rail? MTA workers walk on it all the time.

also it looks like you could always roll over toward the right side of the tracks, under the platform; looks like there would be room for a person there, but it'd only work if you had a deathgrip and weren't sucked out from the wind.

Penn State!

OR if you touch both the 3rd Rail AND place your hand on one of the other rails (I've been told that this will complete the circuit), you will become electrified; possibly to the point that the power drain will render the oncoming train inoperative.

*Though it will kill you in the process. At least its better then getting turned into hamburger meat

"... So, what should you do if you fall onto the tracks?"

Step 1: Put you're head between your knees.

Step 2: Kiss your ass goodbye.

WTF, I'm not Anonymous. I'm Jeff.

Ok, I understand that getting down on the tracks is a bad idea in the first place. Yes.

But barring stupidly touching the third rail, and/or being incredibly drunk, how do these people get run over? I mean, do they get down there and realize that it's a longer drop than they expected, and then can't climb back up? Have they tried dodging the train by standing between the two tracks, like the MTA workers do when trains go by?

To me it seems a little like when Wiley Coyote runs down the tracks to get away from the train instead of taking one step to the left to get off the tracks completely.

I've never been down on the tracks, so this is all pure speculation. But there has been many a time I've thought about what I would do if I fell or dropped something.

But I could be completely wrong. So, what should you do if you fall onto the tracks?

We Are...

"Drunk Penn State student" - Isn't that redundant?

We are...

Waddell. . ."lucky in so many ways."

Yes, lucky, but still stupid.