4 ms·

Here in Oregon, pedestrians and bicyclists are routinely run over by cars, buses, and light rail trains. Almost invariably without consequences. At least for th

Here in Oregon, pedestrians and bicyclists are routinely run over by cars, buses, and light rail trains. Almost invariably without consequences. At least for the motorist; the bicyclist often suffers severe medical consequences. Usually it's considered an "accident". The one thing you can't do is "hit and run", you must stop. The police aggressively investigate hit-and-run accidents. There is no liability unless you are "negligent". So if you've been drinking and driving you could face both civil and criminal penalty. And certainly you can be sued by whoever you hit. And maybe your insurance company will pay the pedestrian, but that's usually because it's cheaper to pay a few medical bills than to pay lawyers to continue to litigate. Cost-benefit analysis.

Symbiote 12y ago
I'm surprised about 'routinely' for light rail trains (which I call trams). There have been three pedestrians killed by trams in the UK in the last 20 years[1]. Every accident/incident gets a 30+ page independent report (linked from [1]). Railway safety has reached the point where the greatest danger to passengers is falling down stairs, or tripping over when running. The last fatality to someone on a train was on 23 February 2007. How different things would be if a fatal road accident led to a 30-page report concluding with a set of recommendations and an expectation that they'd all be implemented. [1] https://aib-cms.co.uk/sites/raib/publications/reports_by_type_of_railway/light_rail/operations.cfm https://aib-cms.co.uk/sites/raib/publications/reports_by_typ...
- PhantomGremlin 12y ago
  Here are three deaths from Portland's MAX light rail in about the last 13 months.[1][2] And it's not a very big system. There have been 34 deaths in just one portion of the light rail, in less than 30 years. A few are classified as suicide.[3] There are some barriers and crossing gates, but MAX mostly runs alongside pedestrians and vehicles. It's up to the pedestrians to pay attention. Edit: BTW I think that what we call "light rail" may be larger than what you consider a tram and what we call a "streetcar". A MAX car is about 28 meters long, a streetcar is about 20 meters long.[4] [1] http://www.oregonlive.com/commuting/index.ssf/2014/08/max_train_deaths_family_friend.html http://www.oregonlive.com/commuting/index.ssf/2014/08/max_tr... [2] http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2013/12/man_struck_by_max_train_in_se.html http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2013/12/man_str... [3]http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2011/06/man_killed_by_max_train_at_eas.html http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2011/06/man_kil... [4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Streetcar#Compatibility_with_MAX http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Streetcar#Compatibilit...
- angersock 12y ago
  Houston put in a light rail, and for some reason decided that its drivers were competent enough (hah) to deal with that fact: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV2rdGX4JYc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV2rdGX4JYc Funny thing is, despite its relatively small size, it's one of the most heavily used rails in the country (last I checked).

Symbiote 12y ago

I'm surprised about 'routinely' for light rail trains (which I call trams). There have been three pedestrians killed by trams in the UK in the last 20 years[1]. Every accident/incident gets a 30+ page independent report (linked from [1]). Railway safety has reached the point where the greatest danger to passengers is falling down stairs, or tripping over when running. The last fatality to someone on a train was on 23 February 2007. How different things would be if a fatal road accident led to a 30-page report concluding with a set of recommendations and an expectation that they'd all be implemented. [1] https://aib-cms.co.uk/sites/raib/publications/reports_by_type_of_railway/light_rail/operations.cfm https://aib-cms.co.uk/sites/raib/publications/reports_by_typ...

PhantomGremlin 12y ago
Here are three deaths from Portland's MAX light rail in about the last 13 months.[1][2] And it's not a very big system. There have been 34 deaths in just one portion of the light rail, in less than 30 years. A few are classified as suicide.[3] There are some barriers and crossing gates, but MAX mostly runs alongside pedestrians and vehicles. It's up to the pedestrians to pay attention. Edit: BTW I think that what we call "light rail" may be larger than what you consider a tram and what we call a "streetcar". A MAX car is about 28 meters long, a streetcar is about 20 meters long.[4] [1] http://www.oregonlive.com/commuting/index.ssf/2014/08/max_train_deaths_family_friend.html http://www.oregonlive.com/commuting/index.ssf/2014/08/max_tr... [2] http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2013/12/man_struck_by_max_train_in_se.html http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2013/12/man_str... [3]http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2011/06/man_killed_by_max_train_at_eas.html http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2011/06/man_kil... [4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Streetcar#Compatibility_with_MAX http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Streetcar#Compatibilit...
angersock 12y ago
Houston put in a light rail, and for some reason decided that its drivers were competent enough (hah) to deal with that fact: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV2rdGX4JYc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV2rdGX4JYc Funny thing is, despite its relatively small size, it's one of the most heavily used rails in the country (last I checked).