Yesterday, TriMet general manager Neil McFarlane held a press conference to talk about safety in light of this spring’s tragic bus accident and the ongoing safety review that incident spurred.
Some of the big changes announced (more are pending the outcome of the review):
- TriMet will create a new safety director position which answers directly to the general manager
- A safety task force will be empaneled, to be headed by former TriMet general manager Tom Walsh
- Restrictions on the use of personal electronics by transit operators will be expanded to mandate that any such devices must be turned off at all times while operating a vehicle
Video – Part 1 – Main Presentation
Video – Part 2 – Q&A
We will be including portions of these videos in our feature interview with Neil McFarlane to provide additional context.
21 responses to “Video – TriMet Safety Review Press Conference”
This is great Bob that you are really getting into coverage of this stuff!
Thanks Al. It remains to be seen how much “sustainability” there is to this approach because, although I have a flexible schedule, I do have to get work real paid work done on occasion. :-)
Bob, me too on the paid work that has to be done on occasion!
God the quality of the vid’s is most excellent!
Well hopefully you’ll keep it up as much as you can do.
We need you out there!
BTW-my understanding is that if we remove the high profile crash, our actual safety record exceeds the industry norms.
And this ongoing fixation with cell phones is bizarre.
There have been no accidents of any consequence involving cell phones or electronic devices.
And I was told I can eat if the bus is stopped at a light or whatever.
All of this stuff is nothing but a witch hunt with bus operators being the target of the burnings.
It’s news media fueled hysteria, and Trimet is allowing it to continue.
The problem is, you can’t remove the high profile crash from your statistics. Now if you want to argue mean v. median that’s a different story.
” Now if you want to argue mean v. median that’s a different story.”
Let’s argue over the destruction, mayhem, and murder perpetuated by the gas combustion engine, not the Trimet bus driver.
It’s easy to scapegoat, it’s hard to look at the reality of the situation.
Everybody wants a perfect world, well it aint gonna happen.
You can put 10,000,000 regulations on us and there will still be fatal accidents.
That is the nature of the beast.
The crazy thing about all this talk of safety records is it totally discounts all the deaths that happen because of motorists operating their personal vehicles. As an example, look in the newspaper a day or two after a major 3-day weekend. This last Memorial Day, the Oregonian published short blurbs about all the local traffic deaths occurring over that weekend, in small print and hidden on an interior page of the Metro section.
Where’s the outrage over that? Where’s the heads of auto groups pleading for people to be safer drivers? Where’s the demands of others that drivers’ licensing have tougher requirements and even more “dos and don’ts” to try to follow? Why aren’t more people demanding that unsafe auto drivers shouldn’t be driving in the first place?
Yes, it’s interesting how society has come to accept 40,000 Americans killed – and many more maimed – on our roads every year. Cell phones aren’t the only problem, but they are certainly part of it. Transportation networks that induce unnecessary travel (like our urban freeway systems) certainly contribute greatly to our inflated totals.
Al, remember the LA Metro train engineer that ran a signal and killed many a few years back? As a public transit provider, you are (and should be) held to a higher standard. I would make the same argument about school bus drivers.
One obvious question regarding TriMet drivers (bus and rail), and many other folks who operate vehicles for a living (police officers, firefighters and paramedics, truckers, taxicab drivers, delivery drivers, etc) Virtually all of these professions require drivers to communicate with dispatchers regularly as part of the job–while the technology to do so has improved over the years (no more hand-held microphones like back in the Smokey and the Bandit days), how does this differ from yakking on a cell phone, especially with a handsfree?
There have been no accidents of any consequence involving cell phones or electronic devices.
In Portland, that is accurate. In other cities, not so much. When a person is operating something the size of a bus I’d prefer they’re not distracted by their cell phone ringing/vibrating/whatever.
how does this differ from yakking on a cell phone, especially with a handsfree?
How necessary it is to do the job I’d say is a big factor. If it’s not necessary and you’re driving for a living, you really should focus on the driving.
From what I have seen, most people who use radio communications as part of their duties operating some kind of fleet vehicle do so asynchronously, often employing a “push to talk” system.
When that’s happening, everyone involved is aware that there may be long pauses between snippets of conversation while other duties are performed.
On a cell phone, however, especially if one is trying to conduct business and give the impression of being fully attentive, focus shifts to the conversation. The person on the other end doesn’t know what’s going on in the car, and can interpret pauses incorrectly.
This is why cell phone conversations on the road are inherently different than talking to another passenger in the same vehicle. A passenger in the vehicle will notice when you are changing lanes, when you have to stop, when you have to pay attention to the road, etc. (Well, at least most of the time.) But a driver on a cell phone is tempted to shift their focus to the non-paused input from the phone conversation.
In a push-to-talk asynchronous workflow, usually only a few sentences are uttered, and the driver may concentrate on his/her duties without having to answer right away. In fact, the driver’s brain has time work out what was said in the background of thought without having to force themselves to focus on the radio rather than the road.
YMMV, of course.
I’m not arguing that we should be able to use cell phones, obviously we should not.
I was only saying that the cell phones have not caused any major accidents in Portland!
So why the hysteria?
Although I am generally quite supportive of removing factors which can distract drivers, there is one thing about this new policy which troubles me, and I hope accommodation can be made…
When we think of “personal electronic devices” and driving, we think of drivers who are texting or talking on the phone. I presume the edict that the devices must be turned off completely is so that drivers won’t be distracted by a ringing phone, be tempted to see who left a voice mail, be tempted to read a text, etc.
But there is another category of device out there, and that’s a video camera.
Dispensing with the elephant in the room, there has been some controversy about the use of video cameras for blogging by transit operators, including a regular commenter or two here on this blog.
But there is an entire genre of video on YouTube in which the operator is not actively interacting with or even touching a video camera. That category is videos which show a windshield view of motorist, bicyclist, and pedestrian activity. There’s a whole bunch of videos which appear to be taken by a camera set behind the driver, pointed out the windshield. The drivers are clearly not distracted or concerned with the moment-by-moment operation of the camera. And these cameras catch some amazing things — awareness of which can lead to improved safety.
So I’m concerned here that by overreaching a bit, in one small way, safety in the long run could be diminished.
Also keep in mind there have been near-tragedies in the past where someone with a cell phone saved the day. If, in an emergency where the main radio is down or subjected to interference, it could take minutes for a modern smart phone to get booted up.
So my proposal for a compromise would be:
1. Personal electronics which are turned on may not be touched and may not make noise during the operation of the vehicle.
2. Personal electronics must be secured in such a way that they will not fall or be in the way of critical vehicle controls, or otherwise create a distraction should the device malfunction during vehicle operation.
I know that’s wordy, but I think that accomplishes the goal of safety while still allowing some freedom.
Your comment is great Bob and you should forward it to our new General Manager, I’m gonna post it too!
Also keep in mind there have been near-tragedies in the past where someone with a cell phone saved the day. If, in an emergency where the main radio is down or subjected to interference, it could take minutes for a modern smart phone to get booted up.
Uh, it’s not as if bus operators don’t have radios…
Jeff, I did say “If, in an emergency where the
main radio is down or subjected to interference”.
I don’t know about the range and reliability of TriMet’s radio communications, but I have had people who work in local law enforcement tell me stories of communications dead zones around town, were cell phones worked but police radios did not.
I agree that the situation is unlikely, but also unlikely is an accident being caused by a stowed electronic device which happens to be turned on.
Of course, the distinction between a “cell phone” and a “radio” has been blurring for years now…
Bob R., sorry. That’s what I get for speed reading. Or reading pre-coffee.
Jeff ole buddy,
If I had a nickel for every time my radio finked out I wouldn’t need health benefits!
I’ve talked on this subject so many times I am starting to feel like a parrot.
The bus driver cell phone issue is a complete fabrication of the media. There is no threat to the general public due to bus drivers having or using cell phones.
The chance of anyone being injured or killed by a bus operator using a cell phone is so minuscule that the entire discussion is laughable. All that is proven by the whole agenda is just just how stupid and gullible the American public is!
If you are at all interested in how you will most likely die read THIS!
On a side note, I have noticed that plenty Oregonians are just ignoring the cell phone law, both for texting and for hand held speaking. Every day I see about a dozen or more.