Update: The operator above was suspended for five days without pay.
According to "ThePearlNecklace," the YouTube user who uploaded this video:
"This is D. Marshall. It looks like he's sleeping, but he is actually holding a Blackberry between his legs. The train is moving under automatic control but no one is watching out for what is in front of it! Track workers are frequently out walking the tracks, and if there had been any present, no one would have seen them in front of this train. This was on the Blue Line toward Franconia-Springfield between King St. and Van Dorn St. on 6/5/09 around 3:55 p.m."
How about putting a camera in the cabs, Metro? You watch us enough.
Original post on YouTube here.
Other news:
Flickering track circuit (WaPo)
Red Line riders getting fed up (WaPo)
Metro mulls $177 Red Line rehab ( Washington Examiner)
This video has been circulating for several weeks and has been shared with with our Rail and Safety Departments for appropriate follow-up.
ReplyDeleteIs anyone actually surprised by this? I see drivers and operators texting and talking on phones all the time. Metro really needs to step-up it's enforcement of their own employees.
ReplyDeleteHere, let me:
ReplyDeleteDear Metro Rider:
Thank you for taking the time to make us aware of a Metrobus being operated in an unsafe manner. Safety is Metro's top priority, and occurrences such as this are taken very seriously.
The information you provided helped us identify the driver so that we could take proper disciplinary action. The operator was interviewed and reinstructed on his duties and the safe operation of Metrorail. Safe driving is the chief responsibility of every Metrorail driver, and any conduct that deviates from that will not be tolerated.
We apologize for the unprofessional actions of this driver. Thanks again for contacting us, and we hope that riding Metrorail will be a positive experience in the future.
Sincerely,
Consumer Representative
Office of Customer Service
hehe, i was going to say that letter looks awfully familiar....
ReplyDeleteMaybe this is just a natural result of humans taking a back seat to computers. Computers work efficiently for so long that when one malfunctions the human back-up is caught off-guard. We should train people to run the trains and have computers back up humans not vice-versa as we have now.
ReplyDeleteComplain about being watched but one terror attack in DC and you'd be screaming for more surveillance. You can't have it both ways... well, unless one is an ungrateful, short-sighted pessimist. :)
ReplyDeleteOne week without pay - this idiot should be fired and fined!
ReplyDeleteMaybe this man is a Genius and his brain is so heavy his head leans forward.
ReplyDelete