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Texting and Driving, Amtrak Derailment Investigation, Nutter Tax Hike Alternatives Sought

by: Rebel - Havertown, PA
started: 05/22/15 9:11 am | updated: 05/22/15 9:11 am

A new study shows drivers not only continue to text and drive, but also admit to doing all sorts of other smartphone activities while driving. The new survey from AT&T found motorists are checking social media, surfing the web and video chatting while behind the wheel. Nearly four in ten of those surveyed say they go on social media while driving. Twenty-seven-percent check Facebook, 14-percent go on Twitter and Instagram and one-third of those surveyed say they tweet and drive all the time. According to The Center for Disease Control, each day in the United States, more than nine people are killed and more than 1,000 people are injured in crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver.

What caused last weekâ€™s deadly Amtrak derailment is a question that remains unanswered. The National Transportation Safety Boardâ€™s investigation is still underway. The NTSBâ€™s full report is expected to explain why engineer, Brandon Bostian was traveling at speeds twice the speed limit. The full report could take as long as 12 months to complete. Meanwhile, an advocacy group of freight and passenger rail workers, Railroad Workers United said Wednesday that Bostianâ€™s shift on May 12 had been â€œgruelingâ€ and his rest break was shortened by equipment-related delays on his earlier train to Washington. The train arrived 26 minutes late, leaving Bostian about an hour to rest and eat before his trip back to New York on the train that eventually derailed. For decades, engineers had 90 minute breaks between trips but recently, Amtrak cut those break times to 60 minutes. The groupâ€™s co-chair says quick turnarounds are a safety concern especially for engineers traveling the Northeast Corridor. The schedule change came six weeks before the crash and was condemned by rail unions as â€œa disaster in the making.â€ But critics say Congress didnâ€™t listen. Federal regulations limit an engineer to a 12-hour work day but an internal audit of Amtrak obtained by the I-Team shows employees are reporting exceeding that 12 hour limit. According to Amtrakâ€™s report, in 2013 employees reported 116,892 instances of working 16 hours or more. 83 percent of those reports came from transportation employees which includes train engineers and conductors.
In a statement, Amtrak responded to the reduced break times saying 60 minutes still meets federal safety regulations. The company said the change is part of an overall new schedule that is superior to the old one because it addresses quality-of-life issues for the companyâ€™s crew.

Mayor Nutterâ€™s plan to hike property taxes 9% for more school funding continues to draw skepticism from City Council members. And the lawmakers made clear at a hearing Thursday that they are still hoping for better options. In the hotseat was the Mayorâ€™s Finance Director, Rob Dubow, who said the only way to get the School District the extra $105-million is to raise the property tax 9.3%. Councilman Bill Greenlee suggested raising the Use-and-Occupancy tax, or UNO, but Dubow told him that wonâ€™t work. Council members then find themselves between this rock and a hard place â€” choosing between homeowners and schoolkids â€” and they must pass a budget before the end of June.

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