Transit is Public for Everyone
Posted by Fred Jandt
Mass Transit magazine
Ever had one of those days or weeks that just goes off the rails? One where everything you planned to do got pushed to the side by stuff that just came up at the last minute. This week’s blog went off the rails about 10 this morning when I was reviewing this week’s news stories. Sometimes people are just so maddeningly ignorant you have to call them out.
I had been a part of a transit symposium put on by INIT this week in Virginia Beach, and I had planned on writing my blog on some thoughts from that, but then I read this story.
You have got to be kidding me!
OK, let me get this straight. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen is suing to prevent video cameras being put into the cab of Metrolink trains because it is an invasion of privacy?
Did anyone explain to them that this wouldn’t have been an issue if the engineer driving the Metrolink train on Friday, September 12th, 2008, had been doing his job instead of texting, so he could have prevented a head-on collision with a Union Pacific train, which resulted in 25 deaths and more than $200 million in liability damages to the agency alone?
Did anyone explain to them that this is a public transit vehicle? So cameras are OK to view the passengers, but the engineers get a private suite up front? It’s not like it’s a bathroom or anything that, you know, something you would normally consider private. I’ve been in cabs while the train is going down the tracks. When the engineer is doing his job it’s not really exciting viewing. Because—and let me reiterate—he’s doing his job. How many of our jobs are enthralling viewing?
This isn’t even a nuisance lawsuit. It goes beyond that. This is tantamount to flipping off the agency and its rules despite the fact that the cameras could improve both safety and performance by the engineers.
Heck, virtually all transit buses have cameras on the drivers these days. Why should these guys be given any sort of a break, especially after such a devastating crash just a year ago?
Oh wait, I forgot, following the rules is a “bad†thing.
Public transportation is just that — public. It’s public for the riders. It’s public for the drivers. And it’s public for the train engineers. At some point we have to stop dancing around the subject of safety and do what is the best for all involved.
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Thanks for reading the MT Position updated every Friday,
Fred
fred.jandt@cygnusb2b.com
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October 23rd, 2009 at 9:16 am
Fred -
I have a few thoughts on this. First, I absolutely agree that the engineers, completely separate from their huge safety responsibility, do not have a reasonable expectation for privacy in their cabs. There is a ton of precedent that backs that statement up, including the one you noted – bus operators on camera.
Second, I also agree that given the awesome responsibility that engineers have, a camera is a logical tool for managers to audit performance and to have an after-the-fact recording post-incident to help rule in or rule out human error.
I think it’s important that a random camera recording review be made part of the railroad’s operational efficiency testing program, just as a random event recorder review would be.
The BLET’s position on this is not very defensible given the circumstances.
October 23rd, 2009 at 9:35 am
Fred,
I agree with you – and thanks for stating your opinion publicly.
John
October 23rd, 2009 at 9:53 am
interesting thought, how about a loop tape simular to aircraft that only keeps the last 1/2 hour and loses the rest (to keep management from using it as a tool against employees) , or lets put a camera at your work station for a month ,where any one can bring you up on the net and watch you work…or some kind of device to jam the phone signal inside the cab… texting seems to be addictive , i see it all around me , driving cars,buses, at dinner,in meetings at work, for the record i do not text, in fact i remember when i started working you couldnt even get a phone call at work , only a message to call back
October 23rd, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Your analysis regarding “public” for transit could be applied to resistance at a number of other public organizations.
October 23rd, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Most of the banks I have been too recently have their cameras positioned so that the actions of the clerk and the actions of the customer are viewable.
October 23rd, 2009 at 12:34 pm
This sounds more like a marketing problem. The Brotherhood should have been told the cameras would be there to protect their membership in case of an incident, hopefully showing they were doing their job properly and therefore not to be held responsible. Of course that presupposes the engineer is not screwing off.
October 23rd, 2009 at 1:45 pm
Most everything on the web social sites are monitored in varying degrees…with more detail watching/reading/data crunching to occur via the CIA and like depts. This lawsuit is stupid.
October 23rd, 2009 at 1:46 pm
Brave New World…
October 23rd, 2009 at 6:00 pm
It’s a rotten shame that the union is resisting this accountability. The focus should be on the safety of passengers, not on sparing engineers from the embarrassment of being caught in an act of gross negligence. Let’s hope the suit isn’t a black eye on the whole of the transit field.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
A long time ago I did a stint as car operator where the conductor served as the eyes, ears, and “corrective comment” supplier if I deviated from his opinion of correct operating procedure. So how is a camera or recorder any more objectionable?