Public Transportation Accidents on the Rise?

As more people turn to public transportation because of rising gasoline prices, public transportation systems are feeling the strain. On Tuesday, June 3rd, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) reported a record 812,812 riders on Metrorail. Metro reports that ridership has catapulted over 800,000 on 5 other weekdays this year as well! And as more riders turn to the rails and buses the public transportation systems are feeling their age. (www.wmata.com, 6/4/08)

In the last couple weeks, Chicago has seen two commuter train derailments. The famous Chicago Transit Authority is facing repairs in the amount of $10 billion dollars over the next five years to "bring the system up to better repair, not necessarily good repair," announced Steven Schlickman, director of the Regional Transportation Authority, which oversees the city's mass transit network, said at the time. There are many reasons for derailments including operator error. As in the case of the Chicago accidents, "the operator said he inadvertently passed a red signal, and when he realized his mistake, he stopped the train and then moved in the opposite direction, causing the train to derail." (Babwin, www.washingtonpost.com, 6/4/08)

The Washington Metrorail has been scrutinized lately because Metro operators are opening the train doors before all the cars reach the station. "From January to April, at least 13 incidents were reported in which eight-car trains were not stopped properly, officials said." This type of mistake has not resulted in any injuries to date, but is very dangerous for Metro riders. Not every accident with a public tranporation carrier like Metro is actionable but if you are injured or have questions about your specific situation contact one of our attorneys today. (Sun, www.washingtonpost.com, 5/29/08)