METROLINK DERAILMENT

[BCL]

That could still reach a hundred thousand dollars per crossing. How about we just make driving licenses a lot harder to obtain and a lot easier to lose? Can't get much cheaper than that.

That could cost a lot in time and money, since it will be a separate battle in each state as driver's license seems to be a state issue.

Theoretically no state is required to accept another state's driver licenses. Some bring up the "Full Faith and Credit Clause" of the US Constitution, but that's not correct. Basically a state will have individual compacts with other states. One could theoretically deny just commercial licenses from a specific state that doesn't meet certain standards, but then there's the issue of reciprocity.

I don't really see anything like this happening though. It would create a lot of chaos if suddenly drivers might not be able to transport goods across state lines because of where they live.

 

[Bjartmarr]

That could still reach a hundred thousand dollars per crossing.

No, wait, that's a good idea. The hardware is mostly already there -- crossing gates already have a second counterweight arm. All you'd need to do is use a long stick instead of a short weight for the counterweight, and figure out a way to have the counterweight arm come down at 90 degrees to the regular arm instead of 180 degrees as it does now. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out how to retrofit the gates we already have.

 

[jis]

That could still reach a hundred thousand dollars per crossing.

No, wait, that's a good idea. The hardware is mostly already there -- crossing gates already have a second counterweight arm. All you'd need to do is use a long stick instead of a short weight for the counterweight, and figure out a way to have the counterweight arm come down at 90 degrees to the regular arm instead of 180 degrees as it does now. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out how to retrofit the gates we already have.

Good point! Hadn't thought through that far. Thanks!

 

[CHamilton]

Some Observations on the Oxnard Metrolink Crash

 

[jis]

Some Observations on the Oxnard Metrolink Crash

The relative shallowness of the analysis from RAILPAC is quite disappointing. Seems like the piece could have written by anyone in the general press rather than by someone from an organization that claims some expertise about rail.

 

[TinCan782]

Some Observations on the Oxnard Metrolink Crash

This wasn't a Chatsworth-type head-on collision.

While the cars physically held up well, "The rolling over of the cars caused most of the passengers to tumble in the cars like clothes in a clothes dryer.". That was the cause of injury and in agreement with my initial thoughts.

 

[Guest]

Some Observations on the Oxnard Metrolink Crash

This wasn't a Chatsworth-type head-on collision.

While the cars physically held up well, "The rolling over of the cars caused most of the passengers to tumble in the cars like clothes in a clothes dryer.". That was the cause of injury and in agreement with my initial thoughts.

Far better than at Eschede (Germany) where the cars came apart.

 

[jis]

Far better than at Eschede (Germany) where the cars came apart.

We'll see what happens to these cars when a bridge falls on top of them bringing them to a standstill in zero distance.
Even with significant distance to spare, the first Amfleet I on the Colonial in the Chase collision did not fare too well.

The lucky thing about this one was that it was a relatively low speed crash when it comes to such things, with nothing to constraint the cars from flying in every direction thus dissipating crash energy harmlessly.

 

[CHamilton]

Train Engineer in Metrolink Derailment Crash Dies

 

[Ryan]

 

[AmtrakBlue]

 

[DesertRat]

 

[Ryan]

The police had previously said the driver would not be charged. Hopefully they reconsider now that his actions have killed someone.

 

[Dutchrailnut]

If they had charged him, and they can not produce evidence they would have to let him go , by letting him go but restricting his travel they can now charge him for accident and death of Mr.Steele.

without proper charges it would have been hard keeping driver in jail.

 

[rickycourtney]

The police had previously said the driver would not be charged. Hopefully they reconsider now that his actions have killed someone.

I never heard that the driver wasn't going to be charged, just that he hasn't been charged yet.
The District Attorney's office has said that they are waiting for the conclusion of the investigation before deciding what charges, if any, to file.