Comments on: Rail Idiots

By: Jeff Brown

Jeff Brown — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:04:04 +0000

I think the problem is perception. The general public is told regularly that transit is getting more funding, higher fares, and sometimes even voter-supported initiatives. The general public does not see or understand transit’s expenses; they only see the inconveniences. Transit keeps asking for subsidies, and the riding public answers “they can subsidize my mortgage.” The same people won’t play the slip-and-fall game in front of a mom-and-pop store they see as a “legitimate business”. In transit, a good operator will earn respect (and often protection) by maintaining a good relationship with riders and community. Perhaps there’s a way for transit as a whole to use the same approach.

By: Vince Dawson

Vince Dawson — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 23:16:45 +0000

These folks are so full of bovine excrement (I’m cleaning it up for you and your readers, Fred)! That’s why transit systems are spending billions of dollars on onboard cameras and digital recorders.

People have been taking advantage of transportation companies for deacades. Mass transit (especailly the bigger agencies) were always easy marks for IDIOTS looking for a fast buck on tort litigations. Many staff lawyers simply paid off the nuisance claims in hopes they would go away. Somtimes they did, other times, the transit system put people’s kids through college. Sad, but true.

The bigger folly is when you have really good employees that are following procedure, and they get called in on a “he said/she said” claim, and a half-hearted investigation proved in favor of the claimant. It’s happened. John Doe walks away with a check, and Good Driver Sam has a spotty record. This may be a “Good Driver Sam” who wanted to move up in the organization (and may have made a good supervisor/instructor/manager) but can’t and is too discouraged from ever trying.

I say thank God for the cameras. Keep them operational and in working order.

…and SOMEBODY in Texas teach those motorists that TRAINS have the right of way!!

By: Ted Vigodsky

Ted Vigodsky — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 14:46:15 +0000

If the numb-nut in the SUV had been taken out by the train, we could have chalked that up to Darwin’s inerring law of de-selection. Unfortunately, numb-nut also put the train driver and passengers at risk of life and limb. The authorities should set an example and dispassionately throw the book at him.

By: Roberto

Roberto — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 23:15:44 +0000

It is the many stories such as these (and many others also involving product liability) that drive home the need for tort reform in this country. If you file suit and lose, ALL of the expenses for these often frivolous cases(including court expenses) need to be paid by the person filing suit. However, many of our politicians are lawyers. So, with their lack of enthusiasm and the pressure brought to bear from the legal establishment, this will not go anywhere, because they do not want to reduce their income stream. So the status quo prevails and these less than reputable lawyers (read scumbags) continue to prevail. This is the real cause of this problem but people are reluctant to speak about it.

Roberto

By: Sloan Auchincloss

Sloan Auchincloss — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 21:41:27 +0000

The lesson here is to make sure your transit authority is not an easy mark. Fight every lawsuit. It is not cheaper to settle. Lou Gambacini, the outstanding former general manager of Septa, made that his policy. One case is indicative of the lengths some people will go for enrichment at transit’s expense, and Gambacini’s legal team fought back and won the case.

A Septa bus driver brought his empty bus out of a garage to begin his route. On the turn he clipped a parked car with no occupants. Within hours eight people showed up at a nearby hospital claiming they were passengers on the bus and suffered injury. Sheesh!

By: Jason Lockhart, Sr.

Jason Lockhart, Sr. — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:36:59 +0000

As a fan of all types of railroading, I have to agree with this 100%.

Take a case in point involving the Union Pacific railroad. Near Baytown, Texas, an underage and unlicensed driver, stole a jeep belonging to his girlfriend’s parents. He, the girlfriend, and one or two other youth boarded the vehicle in the wee hours of the morning (after midnight) and went joy riding. During the trip, they approached a rail crossing at high speed on which a freight train had come to a stop blocking the crossing. They struck the train at high speed killing several of the people in the stolen jeep.

Now, those parents have chosen to SUE THE RAILROAD claiming that their delinquent children’s deaths were the fault of the railroad having a train stopped on top of the crossing! What about the fact that #1, the driver was not legally permitted to drive in the first place? #2, they had no legal authorization from the rightful owner of the vehicle for its use? and #3, they were out at late hours of the night when youth their age would normally be at home at the very least and should have been in bed asleep (commonly known as violation of curfew)?

The fault here lies entirely upon the parents for not properly supervising their kids….no fault should attach to the railroad and this lawsuit should be dismissed by the judge without prejudice.

Jason Lockhart, Sr.
Houston, Texas