Danger Train: Collision #63
The Danger Train suffered collision #63 this evening:
Two people suffered minor injuries after a car ran a red light and collided with a MetroRail train today in downtown Houston. The accident was the 61st involving a light rail train.
The accident occurred at about 4 p.m. at Main and Pierce. A northbound rail car collided with the car after the female driver failed to stop at a red light, said Metropolitan Transit Authority Police Chief Tom Lambert.
The unidentified driver and two children, ages 5 and 9, were uninjured but declined medical treatment, said Metro spokesman Ken Connaughton. Lambert said the driver was cited for running a red light.
Two light rail train travelers complained of arm injuries, but only one was transported to Ben Taub Hospital with minor injuries, Lambert said.
It was actually "incident" #63 by my count.
We are world class!
Incidentally, it comes on the same day David Wolff had this to say:
For nearly nine months now, the Metropolitan Transit Authority has had to deal with jokes and derisive news reports because of accidents between motor vehicles and MetroRail trains. Whatever the cause, there have been too many accidents.
Rather than blame drivers for whom traffic signals seem at best advisory, we have done our best to make the system more user-friendly.
I remember METRO Police Chief Lambert blaming drivers constantly until METRO apparently decided that he was a public relations disaster. Sorry, Mr. Wolff, but I'm not buying your whitewash. Maybe if METRO had engaged critical Houstonians a little more constructively in the beginning instead of treating us all like children, the organization would be the butt of fewer jokes and less derision.
But yes, there HAVE been too many accidents. I guess that admission can be regarded as progress.
(Update) KTRK-13's coverage of the latest accident is here.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/19/04 20:41 | Danger Train | Technorati
Previous Entry | Home | Next Entry
Comments
The most dangerous thing about the train is Houston drivers. I've driven almost the entire length of the train line and there is nothing that is terribly confusion about it. Now, I've also spent most of my life in cities with trains, so I'm sure that helps - but a few simple measures by drivers (like stopping at red lights and obeying "no left turn" signs) would stop the collision problem.
Posted by John @ 16:05 on 09/22/04
Add Comments
While it is not required, creating an account for commenting provides a number of benefits (such as comment editing and bypassing the captcha challenge). You may log in to your account here.
No flames or impolite behavior. Any questions, see the site policies. Older posts are moderated (because of spammers), so if your post does not appear immediately, that could be why.
HTML will be stripped. URLs will be transformed into hyperlinks.
[b]text[/b] will produce bold text. [i]text[/i] will produce italicized text.
Comments for this post must be approved before being published. Thank you!
BLOG
» Create Account
» Log In
DISCLAIMER
Content and design copyright © 1997-2008, Kevin Whited.
Posts represent the views of Kevin Whited (and occasional guest bloggers) only, and do not necessarily reflect the views of employers, family, friends, or significant others.