(no subject)

[Phillip Clark Campbell]

	* To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
	* Subject: [PRCo] Re: Portland Green Line
	* From: Joshua Dunfield <joshua.dunfield at gmail.com>
	* Date: Sun, 20 Sep 2009 12:36:33 -0400
Do you want more people to die, overall, or fewer?
If fewer, you have to try to look at the whole 
picture dispassionately.
If you want to move everyone back to high-floor LRVs,
you have to demonstrate that low-floor LRVs are less safe.
Then, even if you can show that low-floor LRVs are less safe,
you need to estimate the additional deaths caused by
people not riding the high-floor LRVs because they're
less convenient, and subtract that from the
additional side-impact deaths.

(Berating people who complain about steps,
as you do in a later post,
doesn't change this calculation.)


________________________________
Mr.Dunfield;


We are back to statistics;  I don't like dealing with 'life' in
this way.  I also recognize this needs to be addressed
from a business perspective;  'care' is an operative word
because shifts from safe to less safe are very subtle
taking place over time.

Transit designers are not responsible for the death of those
who choose other forms of transportation;  I heartily disagree
this is part of the equation.  The other side of that coin is:
"I would rather die than ride in a 'standard' floor vehicle."
Bad choice, isn't it.

It is not an issue of floor height;  it is an issue if the more
obvious safety concerns of the low floor vehicle have not
been addressed.  I forgot to mention - I do not have statistics
on types of impacts / collisions.  I did see a side impact into
a motor coach about 25-years ago;  good it was standard
floor height.  No one on the motor coach was hurt.  Auto
distinctly ran a red light.

I am not berating, Mr.Dunfield;  just making observations on
'our' human nature.  I don't stand alone;  I have much company
on this stand:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/49/Pogo_-_Earth_Day_1971_poster.jpg



Phil
Without  a   'coast'   but  not  a   'cause.'