Metrolink Wreck

[Dutchrailnut]

i know this is a different wreck but the one were the 2 metrolinks crashed into a car parked by a man claiming suicide. they say the driver of that train could have stopped in time if he had been paying proper attention and he goes on trail next year. seams metrolink has trouble with the drivers they use.

drivers ?? what are we British ?? their called Locomotive Engineers

 

[George Harris]

i know this is a different wreck but the one were the 2 metrolinks crashed into a car parked by a man claiming suicide. they say the driver of that train could have stopped in time if he had been paying proper attention and he goes on trail next year. seams metrolink has trouble with the drivers they use.

1. Complete nonsense. Probably could not have gooten stopped in tine no matter how hard he tried.

2. Why should be expected to have stopped.

 

[Ryan]

i know this is a different wreck but the one were the 2 metrolinks crashed into a car parked by a man claiming suicide. they say the driver of that train could have stopped in time if he had been paying proper attention and he goes on trail next year. seams metrolink has trouble with the drivers they use.

drivers ?? what are we British ?? their called Locomotive Engineers

Actually, while we're being overly pedantic, they're called Engineers (unless you happen to know someone that possess an engineer, and then I stand corrected).

 

[amtrakwolverine]

i know this is a different wreck but the one were the 2 metrolinks crashed into a car parked by a man claiming suicide. they say the driver of that train could have stopped in time if he had been paying proper attention and he goes on trail next year. seams metrolink has trouble with the drivers they use.

drivers ?? what are we British ?? their called Locomotive Engineers

there the same thing engineer driver same thing. i'll call them what i will maybe murderer would be better HMMMMMM :angry:

 

[amtrakwolverine]

i know this is a different wreck but the one were the 2 metrolinks crashed into a car parked by a man claiming suicide. they say the driver of that train could have stopped in time if he had been paying proper attention and he goes on trail next year. seams metrolink has trouble with the drivers they use.

1. Complete nonsense. Probably could not have gooten stopped in tine no matter how hard he tried.

2. Why should be expected to have stopped.

2005 Glendale train crash

though Mr. Alvarez has been convicted, the Metrolink engineer allegedly should have been able to stop the train before ever striking the jeep had he only been paying proper attention. That case is scheduled to go to trial on June 8, 2009, with Los Angeles attorney Jerome Ringler as lead counsel.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrolink_(Ca...2C_January_2005

like said it seams metrolink needs to find another sub-contractor for its ENGINEERS

 

[had8ley]

i know this is a different wreck but the one were the 2 metrolinks crashed into a car parked by a man claiming suicide. they say the driver of that train could have stopped in time if he had been paying proper attention and he goes on trail next year. seams metrolink has trouble with the drivers they use.

drivers ?? what are we British ?? their called Locomotive Engineers

there the same thing engineer driver same thing. i'll call them what i will maybe murderer would be better HMMMMMM :angry:

I watched 17 people commit suicide in front of my engines in my career; EVERY crossing that they tried to beat me at had either cross bucks, lights and/or gates. It's a state law in Louisiana that the train has the right of way and automobile traffic must stop and yield to the train. I didn't sleep well after many of these incidents (they were NOT accidents) but I certainly don't feel like a murderer~ I hope St. Peter agrees. "They say" doesn't hold much water with me.

 

[George Harris]

i know this is a different wreck but the one were the 2 metrolinks crashed into a car parked by a man claiming suicide. they say the driver of that train could have stopped in time if he had been paying proper attention and he goes on trail next year. seams metrolink has trouble with the drivers they use.

drivers ?? what are we British ?? their called Locomotive Engineers

there the same thing engineer driver same thing. i'll call them what i will maybe murderer would be better HMMMMMM :angry:

I watched 17 people commit suicide in front of my engines in my career; EVERY crossing that they tried to beat me at had either cross bucks, lights and/or gates. It's a state law in Louisiana that the train has the right of way and automobile traffic must stop and yield to the train. I didn't sleep well after many of these incidents (they were NOT accidents) but I certainly don't feel like a murderer~ I hope St. Peter agrees. "They say" doesn't hold much water with me.

Had8ley:

I appreciate the massive level of restraint in your response. So far as I am concerned, KISS ALIVE has gone way beyond any level of reason or decency in his statements, and stooped to gross insult. I really do not trust myself to say more.

George

 

[Ryan]

i know this is a different wreck but the one were the 2 metrolinks crashed into a car parked by a man claiming suicide. they say the driver of that train could have stopped in time if he had been paying proper attention and he goes on trail next year. seams metrolink has trouble with the drivers they use.

drivers ?? what are we British ?? their called Locomotive Engineers

there the same thing engineer driver same thing. i'll call them what i will maybe murderer would be better HMMMMMM :angry:

I watched 17 people commit suicide in front of my engines in my career; EVERY crossing that they tried to beat me at had either cross bucks, lights and/or gates. It's a state law in Louisiana that the train has the right of way and automobile traffic must stop and yield to the train. I didn't sleep well after many of these incidents (they were NOT accidents) but I certainly don't feel like a murderer~ I hope St. Peter agrees. "They say" doesn't hold much water with me.

Had8ley:

I appreciate the massive level of restraint in your response. So far as I am concerned, KISS ALIVE has gone way beyond any level of reason or decency in his statements, and stooped to gross insult. I really do not trust myself to say more.

George

Really? I don't want to put words in KISS ALIVE's mouth, but the way I read it, I don't think that he called Had8ley a murderer at all. Obviously, there is something different about this case that the engineer COULD HAVE prevented this (or at least there's a reason enough for a prosecutor and grand jury to send it along to trial - in any event, the proof is a heck of a lot stronger than just "they say"). Seems as though you both aren't able to separate his criticism of a particular engineer with criticizing engineers as a whole.

Just my $0.02 (now worth $0.015)

 

[Dutchrailnut]

Latest NTSB report, note accident happend at 16:23 or 4:23PM.

************************************************************

NTSB ADVISORY

************************************************************

National Transportation Safety Board

Washington , DC 20594

October 1, 2008

************************************************************

UPDATE: NTSB'S INVESTIGATION OF THE METROLINK, UNION PACIFIC

ACCIDENT IN CALIFORNIA

************************************************************

The following is an update of the NTSB's investigation of

the September 12, 2008 accident in Chatsworth, California

involving a Metrolink commuter train and a Union Pacific

freight train. As a result of the head-on collision, there

were 25 fatalities and numerous injuries.

Information regarding the Metrolink engineer's cell phone

activity on the day of the accident was obtained from his

service provider under subpoena from the NTSB. As part of

the ongoing investigation, this information is being used to

determine the timing of cell phone activity, which includes

text messaging to and from the engineer's cell number, in

relation to the engineer's duty hours and train operations.

Although the precise timing and correlation of these events

is still underway at the Safety Board's Recorder Laboratory,

preliminary information is being released regarding the

approximate cell phone activity during the engineer's duty

hours on the day of the accident.

On the day of the accident, the Metrolink engineer was on

duty for two periods of time. The engineer was responsible

for the operation of a train from 6:44 am until 8:53 am.

During this period of time, the engineer's cell phone

received 21 text messages and sent 24 text messages.

He was then off duty until 2:00 pm. The engineer was

responsible for the operation of Metrolink train 111 from

3:03 pm until the time of the accident. During this time

period, the engineer's cell phone received 7 text messages

and sent 5 text messages. According to the time on the cell

phone provider's records, the last text message received by

the engineer's phone before the accident was at 4:21:03 pm,

and the last text message sent from the engineer's cell

phone was 4:22:01 pm.

 

[gswager]

And what time was the train ran over the switch and at the point of accident?

 

[Joel N. Weber II]

If you start looking at the seconds, you'd better make sure everyone is handling leap seconds in a consistent fashion.

 

[PetalumaLoco]

If you start looking at the seconds, you'd better make sure everyone is handling leap seconds in a consistent fashion.

Don't they happen only every 4 minutes?

 

[PetalumaLoco]

The senate is voting right now on Amtrak and Railroad Safety programs.

On C-Span2.

 

[PetalumaLoco]

nevermind

 

[Dutchrailnut]

from signal to point of impact is 25 seconds

 

[Joel N. Weber II]

Don't they happen only every 4 minutes?

No, leap seconds happen sometime between one second every few years and one second every six months.

The problem is that if some of the systems you're dealing with happen to ignore leap second corrections completely and others don't, over the years they will gradually drift out of sync by several seconds.

One of my coworkers was recently pointing out to me that one of the problems with leap seconds is that you cannot pinpoint a time 50 years in the future precisely, because we do not know how many leap seconds will be inserted over the course of the next 50 years.

However, given that the timestamps on any cell phone text messages only indicate when the cell phone user hit the send button (if they even reflect that time precisely) and not when he was busy looking at the cell phone's display to compose a message, the potential leap second issue may not have much relevance. A hypothetical engineer could spend 30 seconds composing the first 2/3rds of the first text message he starts composing that day during the time he or she runs a signal and is killed in a collision, and then there'd be no record of a text message being sent that day at all.

 

[PetalumaLoco]

Don't they happen only every 4 minutes?

No, leap seconds happen sometime between one second every few years and one second every six months.

The problem is that if some of the systems you're dealing with happen to ignore leap second corrections completely and others don't, over the years they will gradually drift out of sync by several seconds.

One of my coworkers was recently pointing out to me that one of the problems with leap seconds is that you cannot pinpoint a time 50 years in the future precisely, because we do not know how many leap seconds will be inserted over the course of the next 50 years.

However, given that the timestamps on any cell phone text messages only indicate when the cell phone user hit the send button (if they even reflect that time precisely) and not when he was busy looking at the cell phone's display to compose a message, the potential leap second issue may not have much relevance. A hypothetical engineer could spend 30 seconds composing the first 2/3rds of the first text message he starts composing that day during the time he or she runs a signal and is killed in a collision, and then there'd be no record of a text message being sent that day at all.

Joel

I appreciate the explanation. I was pulling your leg. B)

 

[user 1215]

Interesting that the cell phone usage was so well documented. Now they need to get a time stamp on the train and correlate it to the phone records. Then they need to back up and see if the engineer could have been in the station at the time the text was sent.

Good point, Joel, about the fact that it can take several minutes to compose a text, but the time stamp is only relavent when you hit send. Also, if he was in the middle of texting while driving, and had the collision before hitting send, it would never be recorded.

I'm interested in learning from the pathology reports....

 

[frj1983]

Can someone, please, please, explain to me what is this big DEAL about texting and why it is so important to be doing it anywhere and everywhere?????????????????????????????

I just don't get it! :blink:

 

[haolerider]

Interesting that the cell phone usage was so well documented. Now they need to get a time stamp on the train and correlate it to the phone records. Then they need to back up and see if the engineer could have been in the station at the time the text was sent.
Good point, Joel, about the fact that it can take several minutes to compose a text, but the time stamp is only relavent when you hit send. Also, if he was in the middle of texting while driving, and had the collision before hitting send, it would never be recorded.

I'm interested in learning from the pathology reports....

The latest report shows he sent a test message 22 seconds before the crash. Whether sending or receiving, it appears as though he was more focused on the texting than on his train duties. Very difficult.

 

[amtrakwolverine]

i know this is a different wreck but the one were the 2 metrolinks crashed into a car parked by a man claiming suicide. they say the driver of that train could have stopped in time if he had been paying proper attention and he goes on trail next year. seams metrolink has trouble with the drivers they use.

drivers ?? what are we British ?? their called Locomotive Engineers

there the same thing engineer driver same thing. i'll call them what i will maybe murderer would be better HMMMMMM :angry:

I watched 17 people commit suicide in front of my engines in my career; EVERY crossing that they tried to beat me at had either cross bucks, lights and/or gates. It's a state law in Louisiana that the train has the right of way and automobile traffic must stop and yield to the train. I didn't sleep well after many of these incidents (they were NOT accidents) but I certainly don't feel like a murderer~ I hope St. Peter agrees. "They say" doesn't hold much water with me.

Had8ley:

I appreciate the massive level of restraint in your response. So far as I am concerned, KISS ALIVE has gone way beyond any level of reason or decency in his statements, and stooped to gross insult. I really do not trust myself to say more.

George

now look i was not calling Had8ley a murderer your the one who needs to stop reading posts wrong. i was referring to the engineer sense Had8ley was mad cause i said driver instead of engineer. there the same thing he drives the train. and i said i'll call them what i will.

 

[user 1215]

Can someone, please, please, explain to me what is this big DEAL about texting and why it is so important to be doing it anywhere and everywhere?????????????????????????????
I just don't get it! :blink:

Here is one BBK Report that shows how texting can be more dangerous than driving drunk. It's a no brainer: Anything - whether it's the radio, a Happy meal, or booze - that distracts your mind from driving is hazardous. In aviation, it's called Situational Awareness. Know everything that is going on around you.

If it were only a matter of your own life that was at risk, that'd be one thing. When you're charged with the safety of even one other person or more, then it's your responsibility to have their interest above all.

 

[quadrock]

Any chance that they can or did recover the Engineer's cell phone from the wreckage?

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

I too have never been able to understand the reason for a text message when we already have voice mail technology. Hopefully some good will come out of this tragedy and get states to pass laws banning these cell phones, at least while driving. I know in Oklahoma there is already talk of making text messaging while driving a crime as serious as DUI, hopefully carrying the similar fines and prison.

 

[user 1215]

I too have never been able to understand the reason for a text message when we already have voice mail technology. Hopefully some good will come out of this tragedy and get states to pass laws banning these cell phones, at least while driving. I know in Oklahoma there is already talk of making text messaging while driving a crime as serious as DUI, hopefully carrying the similar fines and prison.

Now I don't think that's necessary. It's already illegal to drive while distracted. You can be ticketed for weaving while eating a cheeseburger. Point is, we don't need new laws - particularly laws that are nearly impossible to enforce. Enforce the laws that exist and bust people for reckless driving.