A Moral dilemma........ (page 3)

undercover

There's not enough info here to make a qualified and informed decision.

Forget the four people on the track. Where does each line go? Does the line that has one person have more potential for even more human loss further down the line than the other track? We don't know.

Are we railway employees or just an observer? If an observer and not qualified to operate track switching equipment, you could very well make matters worse. If we are railway employees, then there is no doubt training we would have for such a situation and we would be obligated to follow that rule despite the number of people standing on the tracks.

But, given the scenerio as written and assuming we are not railway employees, I would do nothing. I have no idea what could transpire further down each line. I don't have the knowledge or expertise to mess with tracking equipment. Unfortunately for the people standing on the track, they'll be victims of a unfortunate accident but not because of any action or inaction on my part. I just happened to be there to witness it.

It's like seeing a traffic accident happen before it happens. You see a car approaching a red light knowing he's not stopping and you know he's going to hit the car in the intersection. What can you do? Ram your car into the speeding car, hoping to deflect it out of harms way? You might deflect into yet another car. All you can do is witness the accident, render aid afterwards and give your report to the authorities.

Tuesday

I guess I would switch the lever for the one person and try to get their attention. But really if you can't see a runaway train coming down a track and have enough time to move, you deserve to get hit.

WTWizard

Which one is the Jehovah's Witlesses? If they get killed, they always have the resurrection hope.

Lady Lee

Since there are 2 tracks and only 2 platforms I must be standing alone on one of them. So it is a choice of saving 3 and sacrificing myself or the other way around

Hope I can jump fast enough.

How long did it take me to figure it out? I read the first post and didn't even get finished reading the second one before I had it

Priest73

Shouldn't you call the Service Desk in Brooklyn and seek their advice?

Sad emo

The way I see it is that the lever is set to the position it is in for a reason, ie trains are expected to run down that particular line, so I wouldn't switch it.

Switching the lever might send the train onto a track going the wrong direction - and cause a head-on collision with another train coming the opposite direction for example.

If there were that many people standing on the two tracks, could it be that they are actually employees working on the lines? - in which case the single person would not be expecting a train to appear, but the other three would be - regardless of the arrival time. When track workers are on 'active' lines, in the UK at least, they place detonators further up the line which make a sufficiently audible noise when an approaching train triggers them - thus alerting the workers to get off the line in plenty of time.

Even if they aren't track workers - the train should have a loud enough hooter (what the hell do you call those things LOL!) to warn everyone to get out of the way.

Finally-Free

The old saying "no good deed goes unpunished" comes to mind. I've learned to mind my own business and let others do the same. I once gave a tip to police after they guaranteed my anonymity. As soon as they got their conviction, the cop crossed the courtroom floor and disclosed the source of his tip to the convicted person. Another time, when I was in my twenties, I reported a small fire in a condominium complex where my girlfriend lived as I was taking her home. The firemen questioned me and tried to accuse me of setting it.

I don't need that crap.

W

troubled mind

I think in this situation my answer would be "do nothing" . Why do I have the right to choose who will live and who will die .

#1 the three people on the track chose to walk in a dangerous area .

#2 the single walker may have known the train runs on the other track and he assumed he was safe, your interference would change that .

just my opinion

tenyearsafter

The real problem here is that by taking action, you will cause the death of someone...at the very least it would be considered manslaughter. That is the fact of the situation...inaction is a moral issue that would not result in legal consequences, but very likely, emotional consequences. What would be easier to live with? Taking action is like firing a gun...you can't get that bullet back once it leaves the barrel. The lever pull will change your life as well as the lives on the tracks. With that being said, I would look for a way to warn the one person on the track to get them out of harm's way.

A Moral dilemma........

Anti-Christ