Location Transport

Are you scared to ride metro,and could this accident be prevented?

Investigators in northeast Washington, D.C., Tuesday at the site of the deadliest accident in Metro history began examining why systems designed to keep trains safe failed Monday evening at the height of rush hour. Computer systems control the speed and brakes of the trains which collided. With nine people dead and 76 sent to area hospitals -- some of whom are critically injured -- the accident site remained a rescue scene Tuesday, with a crane and cadaver dogs brought in to find people who were possibly still trapped on the trains. Watch "World News With Charles Gibson" tonight at 6:30 ET for the full report. Today investigators said the two trains that collided were likely being run by computers that control speed and braking. Officials said Metro trains travel above sensors along the rail that can automatically detect when trains are getting too close to one another. The computerized systems stops them from coming within 1,200 feet of each other, and investigators need to find out why it didn't work. "What causes us concern the most is the fact that this was not supposed to happen," said Jackie Jeter, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 today. "There are safety mechanisms that are on place on the trains to prevent this type of accident. And, for me, as president of the union and as a train operator, I have to wonder why didn't those safety mechanisms kick in and prevent it." It's still not clear whether the crash was the result of an operator error, a train malfunction, or a problem in the computer system. "It's much too early to speculate as to what actually happened," former National Transportation Safety Board investigator Barry Sweedler said, adding that investigators will take a close look at the automatic train controls.

Public Comments

1. no I'm not scared to ride. They said the conductor was on the train that crashed. WTF was he doing, reading a book? I know the thing is supposed to have autopilot but he had a job to do and he failed. The autopilot on the rail system in Vegas is much better. No conductor on board, but a more modern system with better communication to a central control point. People monitor and pilot all trains from this central point, and would have manually controlled the train to stop before the collision.
2. The DC Metro System, like all rapid transit systems in the U.S., remains much safer than car travel. According to your information, there were only nine rail deaths that day, and that was a bad day. There are over one hundred passenger car deaths in the U.S. on an average day. In the average two hour period, there are as many deaths in passenger car accidents in the U.S. as there were deaths in that accident. Airline pilots have a running joke that the most dangerous part of their job is the drive from their house to the airport. Taking a train is even safer than being an airline pilot.
3. I'm to old to be scared of everything plus as you get older you realize that sometimes accidents happen and you just can't prevent everything<
4. No, I am not scared. To the first persons post on here, the operator of the train did do here job by placing the train into emergency. The reports on yahoo today say that the problem was from one of the circuits. The circuit was bad where the train stopped at, so the system could not see it stopped or even there at all.