Comments on: Fenty Press Conference #3: Liveblog

By: R.B.

R.B. — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:04:32 +0000

I am just now catching up with some of these comments. Is Angry Al Gonzales always this wrong?

By: The Case Against GM: GM wants to leave behind products liability claimants « CarZonline Blog

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 03:48:56 +0000

[...] Fenty Press Conference #3: Liveblog – City Desk – Washington City … By Amanda Hess Hersman says that the entire last car on the train was compromised in the crash. She says only that there have been recommendations made about survivability on the trains made to the feds and to WMATA. Catoe adds in that any crash would … City Desk – http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/ [...]

By: Metro Crash Death Toll Back Up To Nine - City Desk - Washington City Paper

Metro Crash Death Toll Back Up To Nine - City Desk - Washington City Paper — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:47:42 +0000

[...] death toll in the metro crash went back up to nine this morning. The number rose a few hours after Fenty insisted the number was seven at the morning press conference. The Washington Post reports: “The number of people killed in last night’s deadly Red [...]

By: Q

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:01:02 +0000

Agreed Skipper! Angry Al, science, technology, training, etc. may have decreased the chances of the crash but NONE of them deal with the HUMAN condition and feeling of grief, hopelessness, distrust, and overall anguish of the tragedy. You may not like or believe in the concept of prayer, but it WORKS for those that do. In fact, it works for you too, as obviously someone must've prayed for you to make it this far. LOL!

Seriously though, you are doing as much grandstanding on this issue as those whom you criticize. With the advent of seat belts, they have reduced fatalities, but they have not eliminated them. If METRO had the most advanced switches, three operators, and train cars with reinforced hulls and airbags for impact, that would only REDUCE the risk of a fatality, not eliminate it. Please understand that Science (of which I AM of that community) can only be applied to scenarios in which we KNOW of, can predict, or have evidence of. Even theoretically speaking, the telescoping nature of the impact could've been averted, but some other incident i.e., track derailment, debris on rail, gale force wind, etc. could've caused a fatality as well.

If your axe to grind is with the train operator for leaving you on the platform two weeks ago, then deal with that issue and send a complaint to Metro. The accident yesterday is a few factors in magnitude than being left on the platform and requires ALL to help support in some form or fashion the SURVIVORS of this.

By: Angry Al Gonzales

Angry Al Gonzales — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:55:36 +0000

Well, Skippy, I'm glad that Metro is not waiting twelve or eighteen months for an NTSB report, but has already changed some of its procedures. & I hope that the train operators are being watched more carefully.
& who is anonymous? Some clown who calls himself "Skippy"?

By: Skipper

Skipper — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:35:42 +0000

Who needs the NTSB when we have some anonymous online poster to give us all the answers on this tragedy?

By: Angry Al Gonzales

Angry Al Gonzales — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:30:45 +0000

There is evidence that the operator of the second train did not apply the brakes. At all.

Thus, operator error played a key role & was the proximate cause of the severity of this collision. QED.

Prayer is for fools. If people spent less time praying & more time working or learning, this world would be an infinitely better place. In this case, if Metro had better trains, switches, & operators, this collision would not have happened. Prayer will not help overcome Metro's errors. Nor will prayer help avoid future collisions. Only more work & more learning can prevent future collisions.

Science will show us that it was, as is true almost always, human error - here, train operator error. Life is not a fairytale; life is cold, hard facts. Deal with it.

By: Q

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:01:16 +0000

Angry Al, you much like Mayor Fenty need to chill and keep comments to oneself until the investigation is complete. This is a tragedy...people DIED and MANY, MANY, were injured. This is no time to be blaming folks or armchair investigating. The affected families need prayer, METRO needs prayer as I'm sure folks were a little skeptical riding this morning.

Dave, I agree with the headline. Sometimes too much information is not enough, especially when folks are reporting the SAME THING OVER and OVER AGAIN. Fenty, Graham, and others aren't adding any new details. All they are doing is saturating the public with the same information that we already knew. I'd rather Fenty, Bowser, Thomas, and Graham, go back to their jobs instead of wasting my tax monies sitting in front of the camera.

BTW, Good to hear that your neighbor is okay. Unfortunately, some folks went to work yesterday not knowing that it would be their last.

By: anonymouse

anonymouse — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:47:53 +0000

I'm not sure that operator error had anything to do with it, actually. The second train was coming around a right hand curve and under a bridge, and it is likely that there was no way the operator could have seen the standing train until a few seconds before the impact. That's why there's a signal system, which is supposed to prevent these collisions, and this is almost certainly what failed. Imagine, if you will, a road intersection where the traffic light fails and gives a green light to both streets. How many collisions do you think there would be?

By: Angry Al Gonzales

Angry Al Gonzales — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:52:00 +0000

I stand by my original assertion that this collision was caused by operator error, most likely by the same train operator who left me stranded in Takoma Park at 11:44 p.m. two weeks ago last night. The Post reports that operator error was the key factor in the collision.
Metro does not do an adequate job of screening, training, & monitoring its drivers, both train & bus operators. The only surprising aspect to this story is that a similar incident does not happen once or twice a year every year.

By: Scary

Scary — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:36:03 +0000

DID the Deputy Fire Chief say… There was nobody at that moment available to drive the ambulance, for the [most severely injured]? If so, not good...

By: Mike DeBonis

Mike DeBonis — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:25:57 +0000

The accident is in Ward 4, so Muriel is there. It happened a block or two from Ward 5, so Thomas is there. Graham is Metro board chair. I didn't see Michael Brown, but he was there last night as a Metro board alternate.

By: bendygirl

bendygirl — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:14:08 +0000

So, the striking train was an older train and the struck train was the newer model. I'm glad NTSB is there. She seems to be pretty good at discussing things I wanted to know.

Why are there so many unaffected DC councilmembers there. Wasn't this in Ward 5? I could see Harry Thomas being there, but why all the other wards?

By: DC resident

DC resident — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:06:09 +0000

Chief Rubin, try the KISS method “Keep it Simple Stupid.”
Please someone advise that fire chief to quit babbling during news conferences and using terms that need explanation. Omit the BS jargon and provide the information. If you need to explain it, don’t say it. Simply give “accurate” information in layman terms. FYI: Babbling and rambling don’t make you appear intelligent or competent quite the contrary.