Six dead after bus crashes with Via train at marked crossing in Ottawa.
- Thread starter rafterman
- Start date
It's irrelevant to the discussion. I don't understand why he brought that up. I'm not questioning his knowledge of firearms. It's got nothing to do with the gun issue in the U.S. which is what we were talking about. Does HEYHEY know I have hunting long-arms?
Im simply responding to your arguments.
BTW i think i have a way to prevent future train/bus crashes.
We can prevent the number of passengers a bus can carry, therefore eliminating the potential number of victims of such an accident were to ever occur again. How does 5 people per bus sound? lol
Anyone find it odd that the train was unable to sound its horn between 8pm and noon?
Cant help but think if perhaps the train simply used a horn it would have gotten the drivers attention.
Useless law kinda contributed to this if you really think about it. So clearly the only way to prevent this from happening again is to make more laws.
I think i made my point.
Cant help but think if perhaps the train simply used a horn it would have gotten the drivers attention.
Useless law kinda contributed to this if you really think about it. So clearly the only way to prevent this from happening again is to make more laws.
I think i made my point.
Train was going 47 mph at time of impact, faster than I thought, and gates and lights were down for around 25 seconds before impact. Guy must have fell asleep or did it on purpose. Even a texter looks up frequently, and he would have heard the passengers yelling.
The municipal ban on sounding the horn is a stupid law compromising safety for the peace and quiet of the people living close to the tracks. If you don't like train noise the solution is simple: don't live in a neighbourhood that's close to the tracks! It's the same issue with the condo dwellers downtown complaining about the current and future noise of the island airport. If you're close to an airport, highway, railway tracks, factory, rendering plant, etc. prepare to be inconvenienced. It's called life in the big city; no matter where you live, there's going to be noise, vibrations, smells, lights, etc. potentially intruding on your peace and quiet. If you can't handle all that, then there is plenty of open space in this country: Saskatchewan and Yukon are quite peaceful I hear.
I don't think the speed of the train would have made any difference even if it was moving at walking speed. A city bus is no match for tens of thousands of tons of train. This may have been a case of an aggressive bus driver. I know that TTC drivers can get pretty aggressive especially when they're behind schedule or are on a straight away. I've been bounced around countless times on TTC buses when they were driving a bit too fast. The windows on those older buses tend to bounce around in the frames and the ride gets really rough. It almost feels like the bus is shaking itself loose.
The survivors are now saying that....yes there was screaming to stop...however the driver was also frantically pumping on the brakes..as if they were not working.
OC Transpo drivers in the Union argued against this bus when it cAme on line. The city brought I believe 10 on line and drivers argued it was too heavy, too unsafe, and many refused to sign up as drivers for them, feeling as well it was difficult to maneuver.
OC Transpo drivers in the Union argued against this bus when it cAme on line. The city brought I believe 10 on line and drivers argued it was too heavy, too unsafe, and many refused to sign up as drivers for them, feeling as well it was difficult to maneuver.
http://news.ca.msn.com/top-stories/ottawa-bus-crash-driver-had-diabetes-common-for-transit-job
Driver had diabetes and had not taken his prescribed medication because he felt fine.
Driver had diabetes and had not taken his prescribed medication because he felt fine.
I guess this means the operators need more training and testing on what to do in case of brake failure like applying emergency brakes. This would only work if the operator can maintain control of the vehicle and fast enough to prevent a collision. On the other hand, the job is so routine and boring that some drivers might not be able to do emergency braking fast enough when in a real emergency; he goes into a mental block. No training or technology can make the operator react fast and follow the right steps.
I wonder if the bus driver survived, could he be charged with negligence for not taking his medication as he was supposed to?
I'm asking a hypothetical question since if it's true that many bus drivers have diabetes, there's likely a lot of them that aren't taking there meds as they should. Actually, a lot of people don't take their meds as they should.
I doubt a mechanical failure since circle checking (brakes, lights, doors, etc.) would be routine. Maintenance is on a regular schedule too. Then again, public transit is chronically underfunded and can causes things like maintenance to be cut back. That's been the cause of too many airline disasters.
Buses and heavy trucks have Air Brakes. Without getting too technical the way system works is brakes are ALWAYS applied called spring brakes. Imagine your car brake, expect Disk and Calipers pressed together with spring.
You pump air to compress the springs to release the brakes. So in short, if you lost all air, brakes are applied anyways.
Bottom line is, failure is highly unlikely. There is a alarm that goes on if Psi drops below 60.
As I understand it, it is the meds that helped keep his particular diabetes in line, so to not take it because he feels okay just doesn't make sense. I know there are a few members who deal with diabetes and can clear this up.
It depends on what happens after you stop taking diabetes medication. People not taking meds because they "feel fine" is not unusual to me since that's a common excuse. Even though i had a lot to drink, I feel fine and choose to drive. If I have a minor head injury "I'm okay" only to discover later that it was a critical or even lethal.
