Rail Idiots
Posted by Fred Jandt
Mass Transit magazine editor
As rail transit grows in popularity across the United States, transit agencies will need to be more aware of the idiots they have to deal with. No, not the people who try run the lights at rail crossings, those are expected. I’m talking about the ones who try and make a buck off the seemingly “fat cat” transit authority in the process.
Here’s a case in point. Austin is putting in a new passenger rail line. I’ve seen the Capital Metro DMUs and they are real nice. The agency has had some problems with its crossings, mainly faulty signals, but it’s doing the right thing and making sure the system is 100% before opening it.
A few weeks back there was a “near miss” at one of the crossings as covered by a local TV station. This was largely a sensationalistic piece where the driver was claiming he had a life-threatening run-in with a Cap Metro train and he was upset the authority had “blown him off.” The video is largely dismissive of Cap Metro, opting to paint the guy who barreled across the train crossing in front of the train as a poor innocent than the idiot he really is.
Oh, did I forget to mention that Cap Metro has video of the incident? Here. Here. And here. Having 18 cameras on your vehicle has its advantages after all.
I like video number two the most myself. I like how the SUV’s “life-threatening” run-in amounted to stopping at the crossing as the train approached and when it stopped deciding it was a good time to throw caution to the wind and tear across the tracks in front of it before it starts moving again – 15 seconds later! And it’s not like this is a Porsche or anything.
I will give the TV station credit. When Cap Metro presented them with the videos, they did run another story on it. They even brought back the same people they interviewed from the previous story. The guy who claimed to be having nightmares about the train showed an estimate for body work as proof that he got into an accident by slamming on his brakes to stop from getting hit by the train.
OK, the video does show the SUV coming up short at the crossing. But you can see daylight between it and the car behind it. And if there was an accident, didn’t the footage show him leaving it?!
As I said, the real idiots transit authorities need to be on the lookout for are the ones trying to profit off them. This isn’t anything new. Transit agencies have been targets for con men for decades. But with more agencies looking to add rail to their systems, they need to be careful they’re not just adding another mode to be fleeced.
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Fred
fred.jandt@cygnusb2b.com
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June 12th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
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
June 12th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
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!
June 12th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
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
June 13th, 2009 at 9:46 am
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.
June 13th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
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!!
June 18th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
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.