The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has ruled that the catastrophic Chatsworth Metrolink train accident, of September 2008 was caused by a train engineer who missed a red signal because he was texting and because of the lack of an automatic braking system. According to a news report in the Los Angeles Times, the ruling comes more than a year after the Metrolink crash, which killed 25 people and seriously injured more than 100 commuters. Safety officials said definitively that the Metrolink engineer "compromised his ability to observe and appropriately respond" to the red signal because he was texting while operating the train.

Deterring Inappropriate Use of Wireless Devices

Federal officials have also pointed out that, eyewitness accounts, which say the light was green when the commuter train crashed into a freight train, are not reliable. The board hearing emphasized the fact that Metrolink did not conduct sufficient or effective field testing to detect and deter improper use of cell phones and other wireless devices in train control cabs. The board recommended installing video cameras in cabs to deter and detect this type of behavior.

Installing Automatic Braking Systems

Federal investigators also brought up the lack of Positive Train Control (PTC) systems, which is an automatic braking system. PTC uses Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) technology to spot two trains on a collision course and automatically apply brakes on both trains to effectively prevent such a catastrophic crash. Such a braking system would also slow trains that go past a yellow signal and stop them before they go past a red signal. If Metrolink officials, who knew about the availability of this technology, had installed the high-tech PTC system in their trains, this horrific crash may have been prevented.

Claims for Compensation Still Pending

These official findings and recommendations have already been talked about time and time again although they have not been formally presented until this week. Metrolink has know for years about automatic braking systems and yet failed to install them because they were too costly. Now, Metrolink is facing costly lawsuits filed by these victims who have suffered serious personal injuries, and families who have lost their loved ones in the tragedy. It would have cost less to install the PTC system than what it is going to cost Metrolink to settle the 100 plus claims for compensation.

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