[PRCo] Re: Interurban Accidents

[Fred Schneider]

No one starts out his day saying I want to have an accident.  There  
needs to be a reason.    And sometimes it is that teeny bopper in the  
bikini walking along the side of the road that distracts us.   But  
not always.  I've wondered for a number of years what portion of the  
accidents are the result of very minor and undiagnosed brain  
seizures, which may be more common than we realize.    More recently,  
after an acquaintance was fired from operating light rail vehicles  
after an unexplained shift in blood pressure caused him to miss a red  
signal and not know it, I guess we need to add that to the possible  
clinical reasons.  And what portion of the accidents happen simply  
because we are tired.   Eight hours running back and forth from one  
side of San Francisco to the other can be pretty grueling.

I know, according to my insurance agent that my interval between  
accidents (about 1 in 500,000 miles) is better than five times the  
national average.  I also know that my last one was simply late in  
the day when the main spring had wound down.   I think that tells me  
two things ... the fact that I drive 30,000 or more miles a year  
tends to make me see accidents developing that people driving 5,000  
miles a year may not see.  It also tells me that after driving all  
day, particularly in England, one just doesn't think quite as rapidly  
as one would like.  I'm not even sure if red and green flashing zebra  
stripes on the other car would have helped.  Indirectly, Jim, you  
made your point.   And maybe this is what you are saying in the  
below.   No matter what steps we take ... no matter how brilliant the  
brake lights, no matter that we put strobe lights on the mail trucks  
or school buses, or unexpected red lights on a freeway, there will  
will be wrecks.

On Sep 27, 2005, at 4:05 PM, James B. Holland wrote:

> Ken & Tracie wrote:
>
>
>> People tell me the Breda cars are so darn noisy, you could hear them
>> in the
>> fog. The trolley coaches, in gray....well, they could probably be
>> called a
>> fleet of "silent killers."
>>
>> K.
>>
>
>
> Yes, Bredas Are Noisy.
>
> New ETIs  Are  Noisy  --  relative to Flyer 40-footers!
> Electronics whine, sing, howl, scream  --  transmission roars.
> NOONE  likes the HV system in the ceiling.
>
>
> Going along with my last paragraph below, Anything New will work for a
> while but then people get accustomed to same and ignore it.       We
> Are  ALL  creatures of habit  --  NO  trains at RR Crossing  --
> therefore  NO  Look!       And so on and so on and so on.......
>
> Have an article where TTC is concerned about vehicles plowing into the
> Back End of their TrolleyCars  --  Year--1939  --  66-years ago!
> Guess what?       SF Muni changed brake lights on beeses.
> Why?       Because 66-years later People Still Plow Into The Back Of
> Transit Vehicles.       Why ain't they solved this problem in
> 66-years.       NO  single answer but no matter how successful a
> campaign in the short-term, it dassn't work in the long term  
> because of
> our InHuman Nature  --  we get used to it and ignore it.
>
> Problem is that Muni's Solution Causes A Worse Problem.        
> Across the
> back of Muni buses under the rear window are 3-red brake lights -  
> one on
> either side and one in the middle  --  this in addition to a couple
> others on each side.       In between these three under the window are
> two yellow lights which  *-flash-*  when braking and cease flashing  
> when
> stopped.       These are  NOT  the 4-way flashers  --  4-ways are on
> either side below brake lights.       When we stop and open the doors
> the 4-ways come on automatically.
>
> Hit the brakes - yellow flashing brake lights come on.       Hit left
> turn signal - motorist behind thinks the 4-2ay flashers are on and
> passes on the left setting the vehicles up for a front end
> collision.       One can Talk And Talk And Talk And Talk  A--N--D   
> Write
> And Write And Write And Write but the idiots upstairs in Muni  
> management
> Ain't Got A Clue.       How Can Their Idea Be Bad.
>
> Inattention To Duties  --  this is how they write up drivers /  
> operators
> when they can't get them for anything else.       The only reason they
> can so do is that because they are masters of the same themselves.
> Ain't Looking At Big Picture  --  Basic Rule in Professional
> Driving.       Yes, flashing yellow brake lights make sense when just
> looking at pure braking but it also conflicts with 4-way flashers.
>
> The best form of management is example  --  And I could Sit Here  
> for the
> rest of the year listing such examples.
>
>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>>
>> From: "James B. Holland":
>>
>>
>>> We as drivers strongly opposed going back to that gray. This
>>> photo, shot by Presidio Driver Robert Parks, was included in a  
>>> letter to
>>> then GM Michael Burns revealing the camouflage nature of the gray
>>>
>>> What you are saying above is it dassnn''tt matter what color the  
>>> vehicle
>>> - we get accustomed to same and ignore it and hit it! This is
>>> underscored by those who Have To See Lowered Gates at RR  
>>> crossings yet
>>> choose to go around the same.
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
> -- URL : 
> http://lists.dementia.org/files/pittsburgh-railways/ 
> 5428and5511andCamoflaugeGreyGhostChinatown2002-10-26-112425R.jpg
>
>
> Jim__Holland
>
>
> I__Like__Ike.......And__PCCs!!
>
> down with pantographs ---- UP___WITH___TROLLEYPOLES!!!!!!!
>
>
>