Blue Line jumps tracks at O'Hare; 32 injured

Terrible. I'm so glad that no one was standing on the escalator when the train hit. It's weird how those guys just stood chatting at the top of it. Don't wait, run!

The driver not only was asleep but had fallen asleep at the controls before! That's outrageous!
 
Reba said:
Terrible. I'm so glad that no one was standing on the escalator when the train hit. It's weird how those guys just stood chatting at the top of it. Don't wait, run!

The driver not only was asleep but had fallen asleep at the controls before! That's outrageous!
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Hence her termination not too far in the future. CTA policy does not allow for tired workers to be at the controls of trains.
 
Chicago transit line have 24 hours service everyday?


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Wow. I believe homeless passengers mostly sleep on this train overnight. Why?


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Chevy57 said:
Wow. I believe homeless passengers mostly sleep on this train overnight. Why?


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They used to, until the CTA started enforcing the rule that homeless people can't be sleeping on trains. Really, in general, sleeping on CTA trains isn't allowed, but back when I used to ride the Brown Line, I would sneak a nap if I was coming from Harold Washington Library.
 
ChicagoBlue2 said:
Hence her termination not too far in the future. CTA policy does not allow for tired workers to be at the controls of trains.
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No, I would say apparently they did allow tired workers to be at the controls because she did this twice.
 
Reba said:
No, I would say apparently they did allow tired workers to be at the controls because she did this twice.
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And that's a violation of federal rail rules. The FRA says that no engineer or motorman should be at the controls for more than 10 hours. That's because they can get tired if running a freight train solo, which is why there are always at least two people in the cab.
 
That's how the managements puts their workers into too much overtime making people tired. The similar thing happened to the drivers where I work... one of the drivers who worked 80 hours before peak season and he crashed the truck into a tree and very lucky walked away from it. Without the tree in the way, he would have been on the busy highway which would be a disaster. He fell asleep at the wheel because of overtiring and is a huge problem in many places.
 
Should be driverless mass transit. Few European counties have it. USA have it?


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Calvin said:
That's how the managements puts their workers into too much overtime making people tired. The similar thing happened to the drivers where I work... one of the drivers who worked 80 hours before peak season and he crashed the truck into a tree and very lucky walked away from it. Without the tree in the way, he would have been on the busy highway which would be a disaster. He fell asleep at the wheel because of overtiring and is a huge problem in many places.
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Doesn't the government have rules about delivery drivers having limited hours behind the wheel? I know semi-truck drivers aren't permitted to drive more than 10 total hours, or they risk violating federal law if caught. I know this because my Dad is a semi-truck driver.
 
I wouldn't be surprised nothing will be done about it... it is cheaper to pay overtime than to hire drivers and put more vehicles on the road. Don't know about train staffing but if they are understaffed, that's what happens when they put people into overtime and making them tired... something such as this crash is bound to happen.

ChicagoBlue2 said:
Doesn't the government have rules about delivery drivers having limited hours behind the wheel? I know semi-truck drivers aren't permitted to drive more than 10 total hours, or they risk violating federal law if caught. I know this because my Dad is a semi-truck driver.
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Calvin said:
I wouldn't be surprised nothing will be done about it... it is cheaper to pay overtime than to hire drivers and put more vehicles on the road. Don't know about train staffing but if they are understaffed, that's what happens when they put people into overtime and making them tired... something such as this crash is bound to happen.
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These kinds of practices were outlawed for a reason, and yet, companies are still ignoring it to the point of putting people's lives at risk. They need to have common sense and a conscience. People have already died because of that. Two state troopers here in IL and three people in Indiana recently.
 
Dayum, talk about a wake-up call. That's why in the truck driver industry they have rules for certain # of hours you can work; they last thing you want is someone dozing off on the wheel.
 
A Nihilist said:
Dayum, talk about a wake-up call. That's why in the truck driver industry they have rules for certain # of hours you can work; they last thing you want is someone dozing off on the wheel.
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Yes, and considering a truck weighs roughly 80,000 pounds, it can do a heckva lotta damage.
 
I thought all trains had deadmans handle so if nod off this wont happen
 
caz12 said:
I thought all trains had deadmans handle so if nod off this wont happen
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US and European trains are a little different. For the CTA, if the train reaches a certain speed, it will automatically stop if it's going too fast. As for diesel locos (freight trains), there are ways to stop a train, but it has to be done safely, because if a train stops too quickly, and cars with hazardous materials in them tip over, it would be very bad, and people could potentially die, like what happened in Canada last year.
 
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