Train speed needed to kill a man?

Question

Hi,

I've been wondering lately how fast does a train need to go in order to kill a man when hitting him? Say the train weight is approximately 10000 metric tons. I know that a car (1000 or so kg) moving with 60kmh has a 80% chance of killing a man when hitting him. But what is the speed a train need?

Answer 1

If not being crushed, the same speed as a car. Anything over the weight of a person, the energy is transferred to your dead man. A bullet travailing at 60km/h will just bounce off but a 10Kg water balloon at the same speed will knock them over so weight and speed are the factors.

Answer 2

lets see if he stays on the track? I will say as slow as possible

Answer 3

Martokus I think you are crazy

Answer 4

Hi Martokus. The answer for your question is over 60km i think. If the train does not run over. Because it's the speed that kills not the weight. take for example the bullet low weight high speed - dead man

Answer 5

Almost no speed is necessary,   depends on the circumstances.    If the train is barely moving and knocks the guy down so he hits his head on the rail,   he is still just as dead.    

Play is safe,   stay away from the trains.

Answer 6

With the trains weight and just the engine part, I would say just idling down the tracks would kill the man................

Answer 7

it doesnt matter. the train will squish him at 1 mph

Answer 8

Cars are designed to avoid accidents (they have steering and very good brakes). They are also designed to do as little damage to the object/person they hit as possible.

Trains are not, as only a complete pillock acting illegally would ever be in their way.

A man standing on the tracks would go from stationary to the speed of the train in a split second. For an idea of what this does to a body, watch a slow motion video of the ball in a tennis serve.

The train would slow in no measurable way due to the collision. For a demonstration of this, watch the video of a train hitting a car on youtube.