Metrolink Train Accident Investigations Point to Poorly Visible Red Light

Investigations continuing into September’s deadly Metrolink train accident near Chatsworth are pointing to the possibility that the train engineer may have missed the red light because he wasn’t able to see it at all. The ongoing probe is now focusing on whether Robert Sanchez, the engineer at the controls of the train who has been blamed for the crash, was able to see the red light, which investigators now say was not as clearly visible as the green and yellow lights.

The reason behind Sanchez’s skipping of the red light has been a source of mystery, and there has been a lot of attention on the fact that he had exchanged a series of text messages with a rail fan on the ill fated journey. Now, investigators are considering the possibility that Sanchez could have missed the red light simply because he didn’t see it.

According to investigators, there are a number of reasons why the red light had poor visibility. For instance, there could have been problems with the circuit that could have reduced visibility to the bulb in the signal light. The probe is now focusing on a combination of both the text messaging that Sanchez was reported to have been engaging at the time, and the poor visibility of the light. Some experts say that using a cell phone over long periods of time could have caused what they call “attention blindness” in Sanchez. What this means is that Sanchez could have been looking at the light – which was already poor in visibility – and not registered it at all, causing him to miss it altogether.

This again comes down to the inefficiency of Metrolink in maintaining its rail equipment efficiently. After the tragic train crash that went down as one of the deadliest in California history, Metrolink undertook a number of short term measures to improve safety standards. These included the installation of hundreds of high quality visible light bulbs at signal lights. The signal light at the site of the train accident still remains the way it was on the day of the crash, however.

Investigators are also looking into whether engineers and conductors on the train followed proper signal calling protocol. Engineers are required to call out the signals as they see them on the radio, not only so these can be confirmed by the conductor, but also to let other trains in the area know that they intend to slow down the train. Investigations are looking at whether this rule was violated by rail staff on board the train.

From the poor standards of its equipment, to the failure of its staff to follow safety protocol, Metrolink is knee deep in safety problems, and time to fix these is running out. Barely three months after the Chatsworth train crash, we saw another train accident involving Metrolink near Rialto. That one thankfully involved no serious injuries, but Metrolink seems to have more than its share of such preventable train accidents, keeping Metrolink train accident lawyers as busy as can be.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of train accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.