Notice about how often it happens in Portland – where it’s far less separated than it is here?

Building light rail prevents collisions. Yes, read it again. The accidents light rail has will be *far lower* than the no-build scenario.

You’ll get a good system too, help us push for one!

But today, cars are safe. Run them off the road, cross the centerline, whatever, the worst you’re likely to feel is a ringing in your ears from the airbags. It’s evolution going backwards.

The one thing that might help would be to put a front on the streetcar of big rusty saw blades, axe blades, and oversized barbed wire. The same person who calmly contemplates complete disaster in his airbagged car will scream like a child at the thought of the paint getting scratched.

A friend of mine replaced a front bumper with a rusty I-beam once, and he said it was just wonderful, how careful the other drivers were around him.

http://www.co.washington.or.us/sheriff/media/max_cart.htm

Tri Met Light rail vs Fire truck.

My guess would be that the light rail operator expected the light to change for them as it normally would.

Is that you?

http://www.fixexpo.org/

Of course most of us know better…

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=821302

looks like 821 accidents in 18 years is approx 45 accidents/year over 22 miles of track, is 2year/mile. If we translate that to the LINK…that’s 5 miles of ungated track on MLK, or 11 or so a year. (slightly less than 1 a month) Which is lower than the 1999 EIS forecast by more than 60%. We should be so lucky! And it’s looking like we are on par for it. (1 a month..)

“This is the third incident involving a test train in Rainier Valley, where tracks run in a median at street level. Two were crashes with cars, and in one case, a person walked into the side of a train, according to Sound Transit.

“We’ve been running 20 hours a day for over a month here.”

On another note for anyone who thinks conflicts between transit ROW and and regular traffic are unique to rail take a look at the Orange line BRT in LA. There are frequent collisions between buses and drivers who ignore the signals. Note this line should have been built as rail, the ridership is so high buses really can’t handle it, even with 80 double articulated coaches the transit agency is trying to get a waiver from Caltrans for. Unfortunately they will need to find funding to build it and change a stupid state law pushed through by a NIMBY legislator.