Gugny Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 Obviously it pales in comparison to the four people who lost their lives, and any others who may have suffered life-changing injuries, but I do feel bad for this guy - his life is effectively ruined by a single case of the kind of case of doziness I think every one of us has felt at some point. This is a very good point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 Obviously it pales in comparison to the four people who lost their lives, and any others who may have suffered life-changing injuries, but I do feel bad for this guy - his life is effectively ruined by a single case of the kind of case of doziness I think every one of us has felt at some point. That was my thought too. By all accounts he was a good engineer and a decent guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 That was my thought too. By all accounts he was a good engineer and a decent guy. Aren't we supposed to judge him as criminally irresponsible and demand prosecution, conviction, and execution? What happened to this board? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 Obviously it pales in comparison to the four people who lost their lives, and any others who may have suffered life-changing injuries, but I do feel bad for this guy - his life is effectively ruined by a single case of the kind of case of doziness I think every one of us has felt at some point. YEP! So true. I just tell myself, on this God awful schedule that I work: Thank God I only lock boats! Been saying that for 20+ years. Boats are so God forsaken slow! Yet, mistakes can still happen when you are throwing/diverting millions of gallons of water @ people. A snapped 2 inch rope will decapitate a person. Shift work sleep patterns are getting a lot of attention... I wonder what employers are going to do when somebody has the disorder and calls them out on it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfanmiami(oh) Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 I wonder if he works shift work too? It is easy to do. I work one week of day shift, then go to one week of afternoons, then go to one week of midnights and then back to day shift... Been doing it for 20+ years... My sleep pattern in is all jacked up. Anyway... WTF is up with this... This is what I was mentioning. It is 2013! "The train might have benefited from a Positive Train Control (PTC) system to stop or slow a speeding train, Weener said. "For more than 20 years, the NTSB has recommended implementation" of PTC, Weener said. "Since this is a derailment, it's possible that PTC could have prevented it." Railroad experts have been advocating for PTC systems for years, but they are expensive and complicated and often incompatible for all trains within a single transit system." On the surface, it seems like a no brainer. However it's a lot easier said than done. I work in the railroad industry so I have a little background on how this stuff works. The biggest reason and simplest explanation was referenced in the article, cost. I can't even begin to quantify how much money it would cost to even start implementing systems like that. Railroad signaling systems are not universal, though they often share basic principals. They can vary greatly along a route even within a single railroad. A lot of commuter trains also run on track that's owned by another railroad, or sometimes have to cross tracks controlled by other railroads. When you start adding all these kinds of variables in, the logistics of trying to integrate all these systems together would be staggering. The railroad industry as a while is very regulated and very safety oriented. It's become a huge area of focus over the last 20 years or so. Like anything that involes a human component though, there will be mistakes. Very sad and saying prayers for all the people hurt, killed, or affected by it. Oh and to another earlier question yes engineers & conductors have strict hours of service requirements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 Aren't we supposed to judge him as criminally irresponsible and demand prosecution, conviction, and execution? What happened to this board? Trying to prevent the inevitable reality show that would come off this. I think it's about time to call things for what they are, an unfortunate tragedy caused by common human error. I think he'll have a hard enough life going forward after this incident. On a separate note, it's good to see news stations avoiding playing Newtown tapes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 On a separate note, it's good to see news stations avoiding playing Newtown tapes. I couldn't agree more. I don't know what kind of person - not intimately involved with what happened - would want to hear those tapes. The only word that comes to my mind is, "sick." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 I couldn't agree more. I don't know what kind of person - not intimately involved with what happened - would want to hear those tapes. The only word that comes to my mind is, "sick." I think that news media are finally figuring out that sensationalizing mass murderers feeds the minds of potential future mass murders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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