: News

Filed Under:

Report Highlights Serious Safety Problems Within Metro

March 12, 2010
Play associated audio
comments
A new reports highlights some of Metro's internal problems.
www.flickr.com/laffy4k
A new reports highlights some of Metro's internal problems.

By David Schultz

Metro commissioned David Gunn to do a comprehensive audit of the system after a string of accidents and safety lapses. Gunn is a veteran of the transit industry who served as Metro's General Manager in the early 1990s.

Peter Benjamin, chairman of Metro's Board of directors, describes Gunn's report as "sobering."

According to a summary released by Metro, the report criticizes a mindset there that Gunn describes as "kill the messenger." Gunn says Metro workers are fearful of alerting their superiors to safety problems.

Benjamin says this report shows Metro's problems run deep.

"Our problem is not just technological, it's not just training. It is, in fact, much broader than that," says Benjamin. "It reaches to the culture, and the fact that all of us need to live safely. And we have to be accepting of people bringing safety issues up and saying 'I'm concerned about something.'"

The Gunn report comes on the heels of a Metro audit by the Federal Transit Administration. It said Metro's safety office had been marginalized and didn't have access to crucial data about subway operations.

Arts & Culture

NPR

Fictional 'Mothers' Reveal Facts Of A Painful Adoption Process

After years trying to conceive, novelist Jennifer Gilmore and her husband decided to adopt. What they thought would be a relatively simple process was instead a long and painful one. In her latest novel, Gilmore channels these autobiographical experiences into fiction.

Food

NPR

In Raw Milk Case, Activists See Food Freedom On Trial

Activists say the case against Wisconsin dairy farmer Vernon Hershberger is about raw milk — and much more. His supporters have turned the case into a rallying cry for personal food freedom and the rights of farmers and consumers to enter into private contracts without government intervention.

Politics

NPR

Lois Lerner's Brief And Awful Day On Capitol Hill

The IRS bureaucrat showed up long enough at a House hearing into the scandal engulfing her agency to declare her innocence and her constitutional right to say no more.

Technology

NPR

How That 'Nigerian Email Scam' Got Started

You've probably seen it in your inbox before: Someone who claims to have come into a fortune needs your help. You can share in the profits — if you send along a deposit or your bank account number. Boston Globe correspondent Finn Brunton talks about the history of the "Nigerian prince" or "419" scam, which actually got its start long before email.

Leave a Comment

Help keep the conversation civil. Please refer to our Terms of Use and Code of Conduct before posting your comments.