Posted on 01/25/2018 11:32:30 AM PST by outpostinmass2
The engineer on the Amtrak train that derailed south of Tacoma in December, killing three people and injuring dozens, said he didn’t see or didn’t recognize the signposts and signals indicating a drastic drop in the speed limit, a new report from federal investigators says.
It was only the engineer’s second time driving a train in that direction on a newly opened stretch of track, known as the Point Defiance Bypass.
The engineer, who was hired by Amtrak as a conductor in 2004 and was promoted to engineer in 2013, said that when the train passed milepost 15.5 it was traveling at the speed limit, about 79 mph.
NTSB report: Amtrak engineer missed speed limit sign before the train crashed on a curve south of Tacoma 'Holy Cow, so the train is actually on the road?' The wreck of Amtrak 501 It took authorities hours to search the wreckage. Here's why Train was 50 mph over limit when it derailed at curve before I-5 crossing Photos: Investigation at crash scene Longtime rail advocates among those killed These are some of the people who rushed to help the survivors Lakewood mayor had predicted new Amtrak rail line would lead to fatalities Man pulled gun on motorist taking food to Amtrak derailment first responders, prosecutors say
“The engineer told investigators that he was aware that the curve with the 30 mph speed restriction was at milepost 19.8, and that he had planned to initiate braking about one mile prior to the curve,” the NTSB report says. “The engineer said that he saw mileposts 16 and 17 but didn’t recall seeing milepost 18 or the 30 mph advance speed sign, which was posted two miles ahead of the speed-restricted curve.”
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.com ...
95 was the route you was on, it was not the speed limit sign
“Drivin’ that train/high on cocaine/Casey Jones you’d better/watch your speed.....”
Must have been a really, really important text message.
Wow. Now that’s some great detective work right there...
A sign?
It is 2018 and the safety of hundreds depends on a sign?
Like the toll road gate in Blazing Saddles our life depends on a sign.
I call BS.
Pilot-error is always a factor. It would be ‘unusual’ if it was the only failure.
That excuse has only ever worked for me on one occasion in all the times I have been pulled over for speeding by a deputy or trooper.
On that one occasion, a speed limit sign that a Virginia State Trooper was sure was in place, turned out to not actually be there. It had been knocked over and was lying in the roadside ditch.
The day after he issued me a summons for speeding this trooper revisited the area and when he realized I had been telling him the truth, he called me at home and told me he was cancelling the ticket.
Eight years later he was one of the first responders who helped save my daughter's life after she had a head-on collision with a logging truck. He has since retired and I have not spoken to him in years, but he was a stand-up guy and a credit to the State Police.
Somebody’s gonna have to go back and get a sh!tload of dimes...
Great story. God bless that trooper.
So Amtrak never heard of GPS?
Yeah! Great story!!
As I come to the city line there is a sign warning 30 mph ahead. A few more yards there is an actual 30 mph speed limit sign.
I don’t need a sign to tell me that the city speed limit is 30 mph. I don’t need a sign to know WHERE the 30 mph speed limit starts.
My vehicle doesn’t weigh THOUSANDS of TONS. I am not carrying the public.
If my normal route had been modified, I would familiarize myself with the changes and speed limits BEFORE I sped down the tracks.
OH! I just now read ...
“In the five weeks before the crash, the engineer, whose name hasn’t been released, had completed seven to 10 “observational trips” in a locomotive on the new stretch of track, the NTSB said. He had also completed three trips in which he was operating the locomotive.
C’mon man... are you buying this? I missed the speed limit sign????
Maybe the sign was not in ebonics?
Death investigations can be quickly completed when no cover up is in place. Right Minneapolis police department?
Or, that he didn’t have a mileage/cheat card with the big slow-down hazard spots clearly marked?
Ok, then shut down all trains until the auto systems are installed because Amtrak hires blind Engineers.
Pesky ADA law?
Probably playing grab-ass and not looking out the front window.
I would think permanent speed restrictions would be in the employee’s timetable. All operating employees must have one in their possession while on duty.
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