[Speed Gibson,
Sunday October 18, 2009 at 9:37pm]
Equal Time
I am of course sad to report that a woman died after being hit by a Metro Transit bus Friday morning. As you may remember, about one person a year is dying from Hiawatha Line accidents, which should be of great concern to those planning the much more exposed Central Corridor and other lines.
But to be fair, yes, there are fatal bus accidents like this one from time to time. I couldn't find any official statistic, but I doubt it exceeds one a year, maybe about the same as Light Rail. But of course, buses are everywhere, mostly in dense residential neighborhoods. The intersections of pedestrians, motorists, and buses are several orders of magnitude that of Light Rail.
The obvious difference is that trains don't stop very quickly and don't mesh well with the surrounding traffic infrastructure. That's one reason why they generally increase congestion, not reduce it. And why mistakes are so much more likely to be fatal. And another reason why surface Light Rail should be halted in its tracks.
Again, my sympathies to the family and friends of the victim.
But to be fair, yes, there are fatal bus accidents like this one from time to time. I couldn't find any official statistic, but I doubt it exceeds one a year, maybe about the same as Light Rail. But of course, buses are everywhere, mostly in dense residential neighborhoods. The intersections of pedestrians, motorists, and buses are several orders of magnitude that of Light Rail.
The obvious difference is that trains don't stop very quickly and don't mesh well with the surrounding traffic infrastructure. That's one reason why they generally increase congestion, not reduce it. And why mistakes are so much more likely to be fatal. And another reason why surface Light Rail should be halted in its tracks.
Again, my sympathies to the family and friends of the victim.
Whenever he brings the topic up, I say 'you're welcome,' and he realizes that I'm expecting 'thank you' for having me pay for his convenience.
He doesn't bring the topic up for discussion very often anymore. Funny how people getting free stuff don't want to ask questions about who's paying for their largesse.