According to a July 19, AP report “The operator of a light-rail train that crashed [in San Francisco], injuring dozens of passengers as well as the operator, came under scrutiny on Sunday as federal investigators tried to figure out why he turned off the automatic controls moments before the accident. Ted Turpin, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, said that the operator switched the controls from automatic to manual in a tunnel near the West Portal Station and that he never engaged the emergency brake. Had the operator kept the autopilot on, Mr. Turpin said, the train would have slowed down before arriving at the station and most likely not have careened into a parked train while going 23 miles per hour.”
Lack of Safety Standards Contributed to Utah Bus Crash
October 24, 2009
A recent AAJ article says that the National Transportation Safety Board cited a lack of appropriate federal safety standards and driver fatigue as contributing factors in this deadly crash where nine people died. The AAJ is calling for new regulations directed at improving the safety of passengers on