How long does it take for a train to stop?

PREPARE TO STOP!

I was talking with a train conductor a while back and he was telling me about car/train accidents. One thing that I found fascinating is that, when a train is long enough, it can take a mile or more to stop that train!

Can you imagine if we had to prepare a mile ahead to stop our cars? 

I love to apply things to real life. And, since I write a lot for the spouses of addicts, I couldn't help but think about how this mile-to-stop would apply to addiction. I'm sure you could think of all sorts of things, but the one I want to focus on is that the conductor has to purposefully stop the train. You can't be wishy-washy or put it off. If, a mile down the road, you are wanting to be in a better place, then you have to stop now. Knowing that for that mile you will be working against the massive momentum you've built up. And even after that you have to be careful not to pull up on those brakes.

I couldn't believe it. A mile!