One of the implications of the crazed-philosopher setup, though, is that there are well-enforced laws against tying people to railroad tracks, so that should be a rare occurrence, not something that people should have to take into consideration in their day to day lives. (So should 'workers on a section of track that's not protected from trains', actually - OSHA would have something to say about it, I'm sure. I still prefer the crazed philosophers, though. They're funny.) You do have a point, but that's an issue that we as a society have already resolved in many cases.