citykid09 Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 Another Light Rail Train Hit by a METRO BusWhen will METRO learn to give rail its own right of way. Trains don't mix with traffic and it defeats the purpose of having trains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frheard Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 Or at a minimum, teach their bus drivers how to drive. At times they are very aggressive and kind of oblivious to the traffic around them. I've been nearly side swiped many times due to the drivers failure to check their rear view mirror. "They'll move. I'm bigger than they are" seems to be the line of reasoning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 A METRO bus has collided with a light rail train in downtown Houston. At least 18 people were taken to the hospital, according to METRO.The crash happened after 2 p.m. Monday on Main at St. Joseph Parkway.At least 4 people were taken from the train on stretchers. The extent of the injuries and the cause of the crash are not known, but a spokesman for METRO says no one had life-threatening injuries.http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/traffic/100315-metro-bus-hits-light-rail-train Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fringe Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 Is Metro just hiring former demolition derby drivers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highway6 Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 I think its fairly obvious that CityKid and his "Our rail sucks more than Dallas/Atlanta because it isn't subway or elevated" brethren are paying off these underpaid Metro drivers to crash and sow seeds of doubt in the minds of the LRT faithful.We're on to you Citykid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 Its some kind of miracle that this keeps happening right in front of HQ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
citizen4rmptown Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 19 injured. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6914180.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highway6 Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 19... That does suck.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 Statement from Metro:-------------METRO is single-tracking rail service for northbound travel between the Downtown Transit Center and the UH-Downtown station. Patrons can board a train heading northbound via the Downtown Transit Center northbound platform.Patrons can board a southbound train at the Downtown transit center southbound platform.A bus bridge is in place for patrons traveling the stretch between the Downtown Transit Center and the UH-Downtown station. METRO buses are picking up patrons on Travis for northbound travel and Fannin for southbound travel.Eighteen people have been transported to various area hospitals, reportedly with non-life threatening injuries resulting from an accident involving a METRORail train and METRO bus this afternoon at Main at St. Joseph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 Ugh, I feel my commute to downtown in 15 minutes is going to suck... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtticaFlinch Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 Its some kind of miracle that this keeps happening right in front of HQ.CityKid is right. They need to raise the rail... but only at that one intersection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samagon Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 Its some kind of miracle that this keeps happening right in front of HQ.not really, the number of buses that travel down st josephs and pierce is really high, I think it's a miracle more of these kind of things haven't happened more often.to offer a rebuttal to citykid, I think this highlights the metro bus drivers inability to drive safely. I wish our buses had video on board like they do in other cities, I'd be a donut that the guy was texting, or reading a text. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
citykid09 Posted March 15, 2010 Author Share Posted March 15, 2010 I think its fairly obvious that CityKid and his "Our rail sucks more than Dallas/Atlanta because it isn't subway or elevated" brethren are paying off these underpaid Metro drivers to crash and sow seeds of doubt in the minds of the LRT faithful.We're on to you Citykid.LOL! Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoustonMidtown Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 I wish our buses had video on board like they do in other cities, I'd be a donut that the guy was texting, or reading a text.According to the news, this bus did have video -- it will be interesting to see what it shows....no mention of the bus driver running a red light this time, although I would guess that is what happened.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N Judah Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 Looks like it might be the same route. It could be something about that route. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLWM8609 Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 Ouch! Looks like it was one of their shiny, new hybrid buses involved this time around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoustonMidtown Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 According to the news, this bus did have video -- it will be interesting to see what it shows....no mention of the bus driver running a red light this time, although I would guess that is what happened....Update: Passenger says bus had green light....this should be interesting... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJVilla Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 Update: Passenger says bus had green light....this should be interesting...Just heard this morning on Fox news that they are requesting a formal investigation that includes the lights. So this could be interesting if the timing/sequence of traffic lights could be playing some role. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 I've heard the bus did run a light that had been red for awhile. Pretty sure that bus last month was totaled, but hopefully this one will be alright. I haven't seen LRV 117 back in service yet; crappy timing to have two of them out of service what with the Rodeo and all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 I've heard the bus did run a light that had been red for awhile. Pretty sure that bus last month was totaled, but hopefully this one will be alright. I haven't seen LRV 117 back in service yet; crappy timing to have two of them out of service what with the Rodeo and all.If that's true, it'll throw a wrench in the whole system since the lights are SUPPOSED to change when the rail is crossing.An additional measure that I think would be appropriate is 20mph for all buses and trucks over a certain size in downtown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fringe Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 Maybe they need some kind of sonar in the buses to alert them of the train. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hartmann Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 Maybe they need some kind of sonar in the buses to alert them of the train. Why not? The new Prius has radar guided cruise control...I just want to know how Portland pulls it off. They even let cars use the same lane as the rail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/6915989.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
20thStDad Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 Maybe they need some kind of sonar in the buses to alert them of the train. Yes! Like...ears. And we should install light detection devices in all bus drivers, possibly in the front of their faces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 not that it matters, but why was the light red for the right lane that was next to the train?bigger video: http://www.chron.com/disp/video.mpl/media/20870915?autoplayI feel sorry for the bus driver...seems weird why she did not notice the light was red. Guess she had her mind on other things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 not that it matters, but why was the light red for the right lane that was next to the train?.A lot of intersections along the rail line now go "all red" for traffic when a train passes through. It was the solution to cars making illegal left turns in front of trains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintCyr Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 A lot of intersections along the rail line now go "all red" for traffic when a train passes through. It was the solution to cars making illegal left turns in front of trains.James beat me to it. Also, if you notice there is another light that looks like a vertical bar or a horizontal bar, those are the signals for the train, they don't use the red yellow green traffic lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 Yeah, regarding the vertical/horizontal bar signal, the one for the train underneath Pierce Elevated was recently changed to a red horizontal signal (rather than white) I assume because of the accidents. All the others I have seen remain white. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 Yeah, regarding the vertical/horizontal bar signal, the one for the train underneath Pierce Elevated was recently changed to a red horizontal signal (rather than white) I assume because of the accidents. All the others I have seen remain white.There are other red ones around, but even some signals that have been replaced are still white. I don't know if it's an experiment or what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samagon Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 Why not? The new Prius has radar guided cruise control...I just want to know how Portland pulls it off. They even let cars use the same lane as the railIt's been around for 20 years, vs 5 for us.I'm sure when it opened that there were as many accidents as we have had, on a ratio of cars/sq mile. meaning, if they have 10 cars/sq mile, and we have 100, I'd expect us to have 10x the incident rate.anyway, my point is, that in 15 years when rail is more abundant in houston, and people have become used to driving around with it, our accident rates will be down too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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