Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Summer Driving Tip: Don’t Run Red Lights!

Red-light running can have severe consequences, so as the summer months begin, let’s all vow to obey traffic signals. Thankfully, no one was injured Sunday when a motorist in North San Jose, CA allegedly ran red and smashed into the middle of a Valley Transportation Authority’s at-grade train. The most serious repercussion was inconvenience and delay for transit riders who had to abandon their trains and were bused around the crash site.

This safety tip is brought to you by the Honolulu rail project, with a reminder that Honolulu’s system will be elevated and completely immune to surface congestion and cross-street traffic.

2 comments:

Hannah Miyamoto said...

The middle set of wheels ("trucks" or "bogies" in US and UK nomenclature, respectively) are unpowered on most light rail vehicles. That is why the Camry derailed the railcar; it hit with enough force at its lightest part.

Anonymous said...

Since Honolulu's plan calls for elevated, this should not be a problem. The rail here should mimic the VTA in that the middle set interior is allocated with bike racks. This would encourage further integration with cyclists.