Earlier this month a Metro Transit bus driver prevented certain tragedy when he alertly didn’t cross the Hiawatha Light Rail line just before a light rail train passed. In the near accident, that was captured on video, the driver held up despite all signs and signals indicating the crossing was safe.
On the afternoon of August 9th, the bus approached the tracks at the intersection of 54th Street and Minnehaha. The driver brought the bus to a complete safety stop. The crossing arm was not down and there were
no signals or bells sounding. As the bus went forward slowly, suddenly the signals and lights sounded. The Driver stopped immediately, preventing the potential impact.
Light rails accidents have been few and far between in Minnesota. But when they do happen, considering the weight of the trains verses anything they hit, the property and personal damage is always quite considerable. Past
national light rail accident reports suggest that on average, light rail trains kill three times as many people for every billion passengers miles it carries as passenger buses. When lights and signals are not timely the injury potential is
clear and oninouse.
