The Chronicle‘s Rad Sallee has the following update today on that bicyclist who was rammed by a Danger Train that ran a stop signal:
The driver of a light rail train that struck a cyclist in the Texas Medical Center had received permission to pass with caution through a track signal that warns not to proceed, according to documents on the Feb. 8 accident.
[snip]
Metro previously said the accident was preventable and that the train operator received a five-day suspension and 40 hours of retraining. Metro also released a video that shows the train moving forward while a horizontal bar signal, similar to a red light for motorists, is visible ahead.
The police report quotes Granderson: “I was told to go through the horizontal bar, and as I was passing the crosswalk, a lady on a bicycle rolled out in front of me.”
A report on her disciplinary action confirms that Granderson “had been given authorization to pass horizontal bar signals as needed, due to an existing emergency situation.”
Metro has said there was an earlier accident on the line that had delayed Granderson’s train and others.
“She sounded her gong and proceeded southbound,” the report says. “A bicyclist entered the path of the train and Operator Granderson was unable to stop short of making contact.”
Since the accident, it says, she has been “counseled regarding the importance of proceeding cautiously” when authorized to go through a bar signal.
Training reports as late as Feb. 22 grade her as satisfactorily performing supervised runs on the line.
That column raises at least as many questions as it answers.
At a newspaper with editors, an editor might have insisted that the following questions actually be answered:
1) Did the earlier accident on the line cause signal malfunctions that contributed to this accident? 2) Did the earlier accident on the line lead METRO to disregard safety in order to try to “make up” for delays? 3) WHO gave the train operator the order to go through the horizontal stop signal? 4) Were any personnel assigned to stations and traffic intersections to help train operators monitor potential safety issues with the train disregarding the horizontal stop signals? 5) Do the safety issues raised by this preventable accident caution against building even more at-grade rail lines in the middle of busy pedestrian/traffic corridors?
Sadly, the Chronicle doesn’t seem to have any editors these days, and reporters rarely venture into territory that might be critical of METRO, so those questions went unanswered in this column.
We looked to the METRO blog today hoping to see some elaboration/spin on these issues, but instead, METRO’s expensive blogger has a features-style post about a thirteen-year-old who really likes METRO.
Dwight Silverman should sign that kid up as a featured Chron transit blogger. He’d be a perfect (uncritical) fit for the local Hearst daily and its featured blogger stable!
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