The math is off, is this a attack on the entire network?
No, it doesn't. We live in a world of facts and statistics. Do you have any statistics comparing bus safety to train safety?
This sounds like numbers for the LD network as a whole.
Senator Feinstein said:
So you think “trains will continue to run” has a plausible interpretation that they will run as buses? OK. [emoji57]
Well, let's be clear here. The LD trains and ESPECIALLY the Chief are not out of the woods yet but I still regard this new development as a major "back pedaling". I mean, Anderson has repeatedly stated in no uncertain terms that he will NOT operate trains on tracks without PTC after December 31st. This announcement is clearly a retreat from that. So, is the Chief safe for now? NO. But I still feel better about this than I did yesterday.
Well, for me personally, and speaking only for myself, I no longer feel as safe as I once did traveling by Interstate highways. Period. Statistics are not going to reassure me even if they prove that my perception is unwarranted. Irrational? Maybe. But surely there are more people who feel the way I do. Would a bus bridge really be more dangerous than the train? Perhaps not but I still feel like the rail option should remain open and there are plenty others who agree with. Just look at the overwhelming response we've gotten in opposition to this truncation. I really don't feel I have anything else to say about this.
Seriously? You're admitting that what you're saying has no factual basis and is "maybe" irrational, yet you still claim that it's a sound argument? And the fact that there has been overwhelming opposing to this truncation doesn't tell you anything about how many people are afraid of taking a bus over a train.
This bridge carried 140,000 vehicles a day and lasted 40 years...before it collapsed due to a design flaw. So you're telling us that, statistically, it was safe?
I honestly have no clue what point you're trying to make. The bridge was deemed structurally deficient, but thanks to a GOP governor who made his lieutenant governor the head of MnDOT (and thus, to try and keep taxes low and score political points, wouldn't properly advocate for needed infrastructure repairs,) the funding for a replacement bridge was kicked far enough down the road that the bridge collapsed from that failure instead of being properly repaired/replaced.
I agree with you, but especially in questions of "safety" (which is often, frankly, a matter of blind luck) you need to be sure you are comparing apples to apples. There are just too many variables involved to say, "Trains are safer than buses" or, "Buses are safer than trains." All it takes is one bad break to make the "statistics" meaningless for everyone who actually is involved.
Simply because there's a lot of variables in what makes something safe doesn't mean that you can't state that x is safer than y, at least if there's some generally accepted idea of what's "safer." Having a catastrophic incident generally doesn't change the overall calculus significantly unless those catastrophic events keep happening. For example, it's very likely that the 8 killed on board Amtrak 188 when it crashed in 2015 would have lived had they driven themselves instead of taking the train. That doesn't mean that driving yourself suddenly becomes safer than taking the train, or that it's now disputable whether the train or driving yourself is safer. What it means is that, despite choosing the safer mode of transport, no mode of transport is 100% safe and sometimes fatal incidents will happen no matter which mode you choose.
Someone is lying to Mr. Anderson, and I think it's whoever's preparing the "allocated" numbers.
I've been in buses which have collided with other vehicles; the standards for bus drivers in this country are *negligible*. In Europe, we *know* buses are less safe than trains, and in the US, the statistical collection is non-comparable, so I'm willing to go out on a limb and say that buses are in fact somewhat less safe than trains. That said, I think it does depend substantially on the bus companies; some have higher standards for drivers than others.
So Southwest Chief is safe through FY2019 pending direction from the Congress.
