Author: jeff

Photo by Timmy

Just a few days after reports of the California Public Utilities Commission lodged allegations of Muni’s worn tracks and faulty equipment, the San Francisco Examiner delves further into the CPUC’s report to find “human error”-type infractions. From the Examiner’s story:

Many of the violations discovered by CPUC inspectors involve worn tracks, exposed wires, malfunctioning emergency phones and overgrown vegetation along the tracks, while a handful involve apparent human error.

On April 26, a state inspector observed an operator whose train was on automatic “closing his eyes while the train was moving.”

“The operator appeared to be asleep,” the inspection report said. “The operator had his right leg extended up on the trash can and his left arm was leaning on the left side of the control console. The operators head was resting in his left hand, while his eyes where closed and his mouth was open [sic].”

Other issues include speeding in a school zone, deboarding to buy snacks (something we’re all too familiar with here), and reading the paper while the LRV was operating under automatic control “an inspector observed a train operator whose cab had a number of newspapers in plain view. While the inspector did not see the operator reading the papers, the appearance was ‘that at some time during his shift he was being distracted by the news articles.'”

Read more at the Examiner.