Posted on 05/13/2009 9:39:21 AM PDT by raccoonradio
Any T (Boston: Mass Bay Transit Authority) driver caught using a cell phone on duty will be fired on the spot, MBTA officials announced this morning unveiling what could be the toughest such policy in the country.
“We believe this is the strongest policy of its kind for any major transportation agency in the nation and I think it will help make us one of the safest,” said MBTA General Manager Dan Grabauskas this morning.
Any subway or bus driver caught using a cell phone on the job will be fired and any driver caught even in possession of a cell phone while on duty will be suspended for 10 days, Grabauskas said. A driver in possession of a cell phone on duty could be fired for the breach on a second offense.
The new policy takes effect Monday.
Under the old policy, drivers caught using a cell phone on the job were suspended for three days and could fired for the gaffe on the third offense.
Grabauskas unveiled the new policy five days after 24-year-old T driver Aiden Quinn rear ended a stopped trolley at Park Street, causing millions of dollars in damage and injuring dozens. Quinn at the time said he was text messaging his girlfriend when he crashed.
Yesterday, Gov. Deval Patrick expressed outrage at the T’s apparent low standards that allowed a young, inexperienced driver with a poor record to take the controls of a trolley full of commuters.
Patrick ordered a full review of T hiring, safety and training.
“These jobs have the public’s safety in their responsibility, and these drivers have the public safety in their hands, and we want the absolute best, most conscientious performance all the time,” Patrick told reporters yesterday.
Quinn applied in 2004 at age 19 and was hired as a part-time worker in 2007. He had three speeding tickets and an accident on his auto driving record within that period. He was a full-time T driver for just two months when he rear ended the trolley.
It was the second time in less than a year that a Green Line driver’s inattention caused a wreck. On May 28, 2008, driver Terrese Edmonds, 24, was killed and a dozen commuters were injured in a similar rear-end crash.
Meanwhile, the T Carmen’s Union last night called on the T to install automatic sensors that would reduce the potential for driver error. The union also voiced support for better training and hiring standards.
“The truth is that the T’s commitment to safety is lacking,” union president Stephan G. MacDougall’s statement said. “When it comes to passenger safety, MBTA operators should be held to very high standards. . . . But T management should be held to the same high standards.”
MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo, when asked whether commuters are safe on the T, responded by e-mail: Texting while driving is not an issue of age or experience. In L.A. last year, a 46-year-old train engineer was texting when he crashed his train, killing 25 people. He had more than 20 years of experience in operating a train.
Pesaturo declined to answer questions by phone.
Patrick, who wants a review of all the state’s public transit systems, said yesterday he was “outraged, and I think everybody else was” by Quinn’s alleged admission to T authorities he was text-messaging his girlfriend while he was at the controls. Patrick also wants the T to reconsider its minimum age of 18 for trolley drivers. “I certainly think that is going to be on the table now,” Patrick said.
The MBTA has taken steps to fire Quinn.
Quinn failed for the second straight day to meet with National Transportation Safety Board investigators. Quinn’s lawyers in a statement said he “is extremely remorseful.”
He is scheduled to have surgery on his shattered wrist later this week and remains in substantial pain from the injuries he suffered, his lawyers said. They said Quinn is also horrified that his claim to state officials he changed his gender from female to male has made headlines. They declined comment on Quinn’s alleged admission he was text-messaging.
>>He
Formerly she.
Automation of Subway vehicles would seem to be pretty trivial these days.
>>They said Quinn is also horrified that his claim to state officials he changed his gender from female to male has made headlines.
I think Michele McPhee (WTKK Boston) read an help wanted ad from the T in which transgendered people were encouraged to apply...
maybe they had a quota to meet. Diversity in action!
now is this new rule for trannys only???
“They said Quinn is also horrified that his claim to state officials he changed his gender from female to male has made headlines. They declined comment on Quinn’s alleged admission he was text-messaging.”
Until our society embraces transsexuals and ceases its blatant sexism, trolleys are going to spontaneously smash into other things out of righteous indignation. This blamelsss driver was also a victim of ticketism and textism, a veritable trifecta of victimology.
I think that policy is stupid. If you are driving a surface vehicle and get in an accident, cell phones are much more reliable than dispatch radios. Especially in states where you can't legally carry a gun, a cell phone is safety equipment so at least the police know where to find your body.
Doctors' fear that the wrist may remain limp forever.
The first I heard of his”conversion”was listening to Howie Carr.
At least maybe the rest of the horses won’t escape!
Knee-jerk response relying on restrictions as a substitute for judgment.
You make a good point. I guess they hire people they can’t trust not to do stupid things like text and drive. Maybe they should improve the quality of their hires.
So what other mental illnesses move you to the top of the Hack-o-Rama?
It’s amazing to me that people have to be TOLD not to text while they are driving.
Most of us on this site would have enough common sense to know better.
it will cost ‘em (operators union not likely to go along unless they hold them up for additional concessions)
Existing subway system perform a 3-letter task: “J-O-B-S” < /Biden >
If they are union, then it is not common sense to do the task they were hired to do and quick slacking off.
Wonder whether he thinks the same thing about the apparent low standards that allowed a young, inexperienced senator with a poor record to take over as President...
Common sense has taken a holiday.
In illinois last week, a motorcyclist died because some woman was painting her nails while driving.
Strangely this woman owned up to this strange fact after the fact, however will not bring motorcyclist back.
Every day there is another story on wire about some stupid behavior resulting in death, usually with appellation of “hold my beer”.
I have come to the accept stupid behavior from my fellow citizens, because there is no swift and sure punishment for such acts
Formerly she.
I think you mean IT, formerly she. It isn't a male.
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