this one is fresh.. VIA rail OCTranspo Bus accident

[lurkingknight]

Collision occurred on a segregated bus only transit road, rail line crosses it on ground level.

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/via-train-ottawa-bus-collision-causes-multiple-deaths-1.1858868

 

right in my back yard, my office is just a short walk from that train line.

[sedril]

Way too scary.  I'm not sure I'll be able to look at Fallowfield station the same way.

[Jcarlton]

Didn't the bus driver pay any attention to the flashers?

[sedril]

They haven't figured that bit out yet.  They are still looking to see if it was mechanical failure, or something else.  They say it will most likely be a year before the know for sure.

[bikkuri bahn]

They haven't figured that bit out yet.  They are still looking to see if it was mechanical failure, or something else.  They say it will most likely be a year before the know for sure.

From that It seems it takes the same amount of time as in the U.S.  Unfortunately, it is way, way beyond the attention span of mass media, so we never know what really happened, unless we access the reports ourselves.

[lurkingknight]

well the TSB has already determined that the gate and crossing were functioning as per normal, so the investigation has already shifted to the driver and the bus itself. Difficult task considering where the driver was sitting vs where the majority of the damage is. 6 dead including driver.

 

The bus was pretty much new, those double deckers were delivered in within the last year or so, barring mechanical defect from factory, it's unlikely that the bus was at fault here, but not impossible.

 

Something to keep in mind about OC transpo drivers is that their union came off a strike a few years ago in which one of the key points of contention was that senior drivers wanted to keep the ability to schedule their own overtime. This practice allows more senior drivers to make 2-3x the salary of a junior driver, but they're pulling a shift and a half or a double shift, so they could be sleep deprived or distracted. Given the fact that this driver is a 10 year veteran, it's very likely he partakes in this practice of 'voluntary' overtime.

[lurkingknight]

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/touch/story.html?id=9656269

 

interesting development... brakes were the subject of manufacturer's recall.