What was the cause of the Metrolink accident and could it have been avoided, business & finance homework help
In response to your peers, state whether you agree or disagree with their conclusion as to whether the money spent to regulate railroad safety was spent in the most efficient way to reduce death and injuries. Critique their strategy for influencing safety regulation. Be sure to justify your response.1. What was the cause of the Metrolink accident and could it have been avoided?It is my opinion that it absolutely could have been avoided. Sanchez was functioning on too little sleep “On this day, Robert Sanchez was up before dawn. He reported at 5:30 a.m. and worked four hours, rested four hours, then returned to work in the afternoon. (Steiner & Steiner, 2012, pg 342)” Also, Sanchez was texting and disregarding the warning signals as appropriate “At 4:21:56 the train passed a red signal light ahead of the curve. It was a command to stop. Sanchez failed to radio in the signal and did not stop. (Steiner & Steiner, 2012, pg 342)” Truck drivers are limited to their drivable hours – why in the world was this man allowed to get into an engine again on such small amount of sleep?! “Drivers using the sleeper berth provision must take at least 8 consecutive hours in the sleeper berth, plus a separate 2 consecutive hours either in the sleeper berth, off duty, or any combination of the two. (FMCSA, 2011)”
Is the high cost of train control justified by the likely safety gains for passengers?This is a hard question to answer. If you were one of the people who were injured or had a family member taken from you, then I am certain they would think any amount of money was necessary to prevent future injuries or deaths. However, if the government wants to invest the money into all of the research, why don’t they just put the money towards the ECP brakes? “…order years of new research to confirm the safety benefits of ECP brakes. (Morgan, 2015)” So in my opinion, put the brakes into action if the money is going to be spent one way or the other! Save as many lives as possible.Is the money spent to regulate railroad safety being spent in the most efficient way to reduce the risks of death and injury in society?I think that the railroads, oil refiners and stockholders can most likely easier absorb the cost of installing the ECP brakes, moreover the common blue color worker having taxes increased in order to pay for years of useless research. So if the money is going to be spent on research, then no I do not think the money is being spent wisely. If you had been a lobbyist wishing to influence safety legislation after the crash, what would your strategy have been?My strategy as a lobbyist would have been to bring as many family members that have been impacted by train accidents in front of the legislatures or present written statements. This needs to be personal, not just about the how it will hurt the pocket book of these huge corporations. For goodness sakes, Warren Buffet is one of the wealthiest men in America! These people that were killed and injured on the Metrolink were most likely blue color workers, living paycheck to paycheck. It shouldn’t be all about the money, but the government and railroad corporations are making it the only issue, they need to consider lives were lost, people were crippled – emotionally, physically and mentally – no amount of money can undo what happened.
“Federal regulation of business is a tool used to achieve public goals. It has expanded over time. There have been ups and downs, but the basic direction has been up, with respect to both volume and complexity. Successive efforts of presidents over the past 40 years have not succeeded in slowing the expansion, but have produced needed discipline including centralized reviews, greater transparency, benefit–cost analysis, and deregulation of some industries. The cost of federal regulation to industry and consumers is huge but is offset by many benefits to society as a whole, individuals, companies, and industries. (Steiner & Steiner, 2012, pg 342)”ReferencesFMCSA. (2011, Dec 27). Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Retrieved from www.fmcsa.dot.gov: https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/hours-servic...Morgan, D. (2015, July 14). Reuters. (S. Y. Kim, & J. Pickering, Eds.) Retrieved July 17, 2017, from www.reuters.com: http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-train-regulatio...2. What was the cause of the Metrolink accident and could it have been avoided?It is very rare that an accident could not have been prevented and in this case, it is no different. This absolutely could have been avoided. There are two main issues that stand out in this case. The blatant disregard of safety to himself and the passengers by texting caused him to miss a warning sign and thus “Sanchez failed to radio in the signal and did not stop. (Steiner & Steiner, 2012, pg 342). The other issue was the lack of sleep Sanchez needed to stay in compliance with the FMCSA. “Robert Sanchez was up before dawn. He reported at 5:30 a.m. and worked four hours, rested four hours, then returned to work in the afternoon”. (Steiner & Steiner, 2012, pg 342). Getting the 8 hours of sleep could have made him more alert.Is the high cost of train control justified by the likely safety gains for passengers?I think if the money is going in the right places, it is justified by the safety increase for all the passengers on board. However, living in Boston I have personally experienced a massive failure in the MBTA. The City of Boston recently paid over 100 million dollars to the MBTA for rail fixtures because of the harsh winters. They money was also supposed to go toward train tune ups. So far this summer, one train has caught on fire, daily delays due to technical issues have plagued travel and the rails have still not been fixed. So where has the money gone to? So unless the cost of train control goes in the right areas, it definitely justifies the safety.Is the money spent to regulate railroad safety being spent in the most efficient way to reduce the risks of death and injury in society?This goes along with the last question. Like I said before, unless the money is going toward increasing the safety, it is not being spent wisely.If you had been a lobbyist wishing to influence safety legislation after the crash, what would your strategy have been?Sometimes, in order to cause a drastic change, people’s feet need to be held to the fire and be accountable for their failures. One way to get people’s attention is having the people affected by Metrolink, or the family members of the affected speak to the media or to a crowd of people. Seeing how others are affected could make the company act quicker. Each day, every media outlet has held an interview with an affected passenger just trying to get to work in Boston.Steiner, J., & Steiner, G. (2012). In J. Steiner, & G. Steiner, Business, Government, and Society - A Managerial Perspective (pp. 538-548). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Retrieved from https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/#/books/12597859