Hang Up and Drive. the train

was engineer texting before 25 died?

[jsinger]

"Federal investigators continued to comb the twisted wreckage of a commuter train in Los Angeles on Sunday, as fresh details emerged that a Metrolink dispatcher tried too late to warn the engineer he was about to collide with a freight train.

Investigators also were checking reports that the engineer was text messaging before the crash."

"Metrolink forbids train operators from using cell phones or other electronic devices while on duty"

"...a 15-year-old train enthusiast -- told KCBS-TV that he had been talking shop with the engineer and received a text message at 4:22 p.m., a minute before the crash."

[chicagotribune.com...]

[tonynoriega]

ridiculous... anyone operating a vehicle or what i call a "deadly weapon" while texting or talking on a cell, should be fined ... ticketed and punched in the mouth for acting stupid.

I see too many punk ass teenagers driving mammas lexus while on the phone, or trying to hold the steering wheel and texting that i just want to jump out and slap that s#!t right out of the hands...then give them a triangle choke....

if i see you on the streets.... beware.

[GaryK]

I also see this as yet one more example of how ethics, both personally and professionally, means less and less these days. If it's against company policy to even use a cellphone while on duty then what does it say about how some people feel about abiding by the rules their employer establishes. Never mind that texting while driving is dangerous. It's against company policy and yet this engineer was allegedly doing so anyway. The fact it's dangerous and may have been the causal factor in a major train crash makes it even worse.

Edit: Fixed spelling error.

[edited by: GaryK at 11:36 pm (utc) on Sep. 17, 2008]

[topr8]

well in the uk now, using a cell phone while driving is an offence.

[Essex_boy]

I stopped doing it about 12 years ago when I nearly crashed while on the phone, a really bad habit that must stop.