Comments on: From a West Portal resident: ‘Wrong Solution to Saturday’s Tragedy’

By: james

james — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 20:45:05 +0000

i don’t have a problem with manual. that is what they are paid to do. i have a problem with a driver blacking out. get him out of any job that endangers the public or himself, asap!

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By: Jeremy Randall

Jeremy Randall — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:17:47 +0000

It is safe for Muni drivers to go manual, they are trained to drive the trains. Let’s not overreact.

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By: Alex

Alex — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:37:26 +0000

The NTSB knows a thing or two about public transportation. It’s the California PUC you should be irritated with. The CPUC runs its safety inspection every few years, and never finds any problems with MUNI. The NTSB folks will at least call it like it is. If the MTA, CPUC, or some other local agency were qualified to oversee the investigation, they would.

https://ntsb.gov/recs/letters/1997/R97_47.pdf

This was about ten years ago, but here’s a choice quote:

“[NTSB] Safety Board discussions with the CPUC uncovered a lack of urgency in the [CPUC] commission’s efforts to address the recurring accidents on MUNI. Indeed, the CPUC intended to give priority in its safety audits to other fixed guideway systems that had not experienced the level of accidents that MUNI had. In light of the high number of accidents on MUNI since December 1996, the Safety Board is concerned that the CPUC has not taken the initiative to immediately conduct a safety audit of the [MUNI] system.”

In short the CPUC has tried to assert that they are the appropriate regulatory body to oversee MUNI. To noone’s surprise they don’t really do much. Unfortunately the NTSB only has the resources to investigate roughly a dozen accidents a year, and can’t solely focus on the inteptitude at MUNI.

P.S. My captcha is “351 disgust”. Heh.

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By: Alex

Alex — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:29:42 +0000

As stated above, diabetes is reason to pull a pilot’s license. If the driver is morbidly obese (check the pictures) and doesn’t have his diabetes (again look at the picture) under control, he’s got no business driving a public transportation vehicle.

Keep in mind MUNI drivers came to the defense of Mr. Bradley Bradley, he was one of the good one. It was just a fluke that he happened to be texting and speeding when he ran his train into a stopped one on 3rd St.

Taking the train out of auto mode is hardly as terrible as you’re talking it up to be. Think about it for a moment. If this wreck had occurred five minutes later, the train would have been legitimately in manual “street” mode and the consequences perhaps far higher. If it’s unsafe for this driver to operate a train manually in a tunnel, on a dedicated right of way, with only LRVs going in the SAME direction to contend with… how on earth would it be safe for this driver to operate his vehicle on the street in a shared right of way with pedestrians, automobiles (some going the wrong way) to contend with?

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By: james

james — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 05:48:39 +0000

here’s some background on what it takes to get faa approval to still fly with a diagnosed diabetes condition. good info on how prevalent this disease is in our society too.

http://www.pilotfriend.com/aeromed/medical/diabetes.htm

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By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 05:24:00 +0000

i was one of the injured on this muni accident, and honestly, after all is said and done, yes, the driver had a medical condition and passed out. not his fault. not munis fault. fine. i for one feel that rather than arriving at my destination a few minutes early i would choose my safety and life. so im sorry if i STILL think it is ridiculous for everyone to look the other way while the muni drivers impliment a practice that is so blatently against regulations.

put yourself into the situation and then see how you feel about all of this, i thinks its easy to come up with a rational, but ridiculous thought, when you are not the one who has been hurt.

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By: james

james — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 04:46:32 +0000

i don’t care. pilots are disqualified from flying if they test positive for diabetes.
so should public transit operators. i care more about you and your safety than these
guys right to be a ticking time bomb behind the wheel.

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By: Cub_Oski

Cub_Oski — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 22:25:25 +0000

I’m not saying it’s from sitting for 8 hours. I’m saying is he passed out because maybe his sugar was low or somthing like that. If muni give the drivers a few minutes to get something to eat or take a break from work like we all do then maybe something like these won’t happen.

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By: Aaron

Aaron — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:36:52 +0000

I was talking to one of the Metro operators today and he said that the operator who caused the crash is one of the best in the system. Like it was mentioned he had been a driver for 30 years and has an almost impeccable safety record. Please do not call him “incompetent” because he suffered a medical condition. Of course the facts are not out yet, but from the sounds of it he passed out because of a medical problem not because he was tired from sitting for 8 hours a day!

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By: Cub_Oski

Cub_Oski — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:16:28 +0000

That guy been a driver for 30 years. It looks like he feel ill. If muni give the drivers breaks and not have the drivers in the seat for 8+ hrs something like this could have been prevented.

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