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Report: Canadian National signal crew violated hours of service limits in fatal accident
another reason to do away with rail unions, it is always their fault when any thing bad happens
another reason to do away with rail unions, it is always their fault when any thing bad happens
How could a railroad crew be as inept and dishonest as this one was? A young woman paid with her life because the crew didn’t obey the safety rules! No amount of money in a litigation settlement will bring that young lady back or assuage her family’s grief.
I go over this crossing 2-3 times a month. There are two signs that say “do not stop on tracks”. This is the first level road crossing from downtown Chicago. Its a very sad accident.
Looks like we just uncovered a part of CN that could use a little de-Huntering, but in spite of that they managed to get off fairly cheap in this case. Under these circumstances a good lawyer should have been able to win at trial many times the amount of the reported settlement, but maybe the family couldn’t manage the delay that litigation would have entailed.
And lest I be perceived as simply anti Hunter Harrison, let me hasten to add that his basic premise that capital and human assets should be used as productively as possible is simply sound management.
But, as usual, the devil is in the details, particularly how that message gets communicated down the organization. When all the operating employees hear is boost productivity and cut costs, the necessary attention to safe working practices can be seen as an expendible frill, setting an organization up for sad situations such as this.
Pershing Square Capital are you paying attention?
Screw up, cover up, pay up. Seems to me a few people should see some crowbar hotel vaca time. This is criminal-not accidental. What’s $6 mil to an insurance co. or RR?
It is one thing to err on the railroad and do only damage to one’s self and railroad property. It is entirely another to do what has conspired here. The public already disdains railroads at grade crossing, esp. in the Chicago area since CN bought the EJ and E. CN needs to straighten out its labor troubles here and if that means jobs lost then so be it. If it was me responsible I would have quit the day they fairly determined I was at fault. How can those signal folks sleep at night? And then deny they “inadvertantly” disabled those warning devices. Fools and cowards. Do it it right, or don’t, or get help.
I am not sure how a union is to blame for this as per Richard M. Davis’s post? The people to blame are those who deliberately did things whilst knowing they were doing wrong.
These signal people should have told the Dispatcher that crossing signals where out of service. The Dispatcher should have issued a 529 A or B to all train crews. 529 is a"Activation Failure at a crossing". Trains when notified must stop before entering a crossing & place lighted fusees on each side of the crossing.
In this case CN broke its trust with the public. The accident probably would not have occurred if a bus or commercial truck had prepared to negotiate the crossing. Such vehicles are supposed to stop before any RR crossing. Do all such drivers stop? In light of other accident reports, apparently not. A truck–RR accident would have created an even greater catastrophe with more deaths likely and a huge ongoing liability for CN. The RR got off easy with this terribly sad accident. It could have been worse.
To Tony Schedlbauer of Oregon, if YOUR daughter had been killed due to the recklessness and negligence of a third party, how much would YOUR daughters life be worth?
Mr. Hays’ comment about “Stop, Look, and Listen” when a motorist is approaching a grade crossing is really out of line. The only crossings that require S,L and L of motorists are the ones not protected by automatic grade crossing warning devices.
That is why there are severe penalties for signal department employees who repair, maintain, inspect, and construct the grade crossing signals who do not follow the rules that govern such work. That is why train dispatchers, who are required to warn trains approaching crossings not working as intended, are also subject to the same penalties, up to and including dismissal for not following the rules and proceedures called for in their craft, as they relate to crossing safety.
Sounds like they were covering up evidence.
CN “stepped on it”, but the $6 million settlement is outrageous. Regardless of the crossing warning system in place, “Stop, Look, and Listen” is still the rule-of-law.
Saying that unions are the cause of anything “bad” that happens is really narrow-minded. Unions do not make or break human nature. Dishonesty exists in some people regardless of who they work for and any labor-management agreement. If all that we read in the story is true, then th employees involved clearly dropped the ball. But the $6 million settlement is defintely outrageous.
If in fact, as the article states, that the incident was not reported until the crossing system was “re-adjusted” then criminal charges should follow.
Davis was being satyric in his comment about unions. Loosen up, guys. There are definitely elements to this case that make me think that criminal proceedings were in order. Crossing signals are critical for public safety, and should be double- and triple-checked. Involuntary manslaughter is a crime that involves negligence, not intent. Sometimes a driver just cannot see well enough or hear well enough to be sure that a crossing is clear. That’s the reason for the bells, flashing lights, cross arms, and the horn being sounded.