A Year Later, NTSB Finds that MBTA Driver Skipped Signal, Was on Sleep Medication?

On June 1st last year, the National Transportation Safety Board recreated last May's green line crash in order to gain more insight into what happened that fateful day. More than a year later, the board has released its report, which indicates that the car's driver ran through a properly functioning signal en route to the crash. While driver Terrese Edmonds' train did run a working signal, the crash was caused by hitting a train stopped at a malfunctioning signal. This broken signal had been stuck on red for some time; investigators found that broken track section connections were the cause of the perpetual stop sign.

In contrast to this May's texting-caused green line crash, driver Terrese Edmonds was not on her cell phone last year. WBZ reports that Edmonds "was not impaired by drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash" (perhaps referring to illegal drugs), but the Globe says she had Doxylamine (a sleep aid and ingredient in NyQuil) in her system.

Whether Edmonds was drowsy with Doxylamine or just plain distracted, the crash clearly should not have happened. Still, it's high time for the MBTA to step up and take measures to improve its signal system. The T was right to crack down on drivers' cell phone use (although, as Universal Hub points out, the driver of the second car in last year's crash had to use her cell phone to call for help because her radio wasn't working), but the agency needs to turn a critical eye on itself as well. We've all been on trains delayed due to mysterious "signal problems"; while this is an annoyance, it's also potentially deadly. Other cities have automated crash-prevention systems in place, and it's high time the MBTA seriously considered this option. Raise fares if you have to, MBTA—but also improve your signals such that you're not putting riders at risk each time they step on a train.

The NTSB will release a statement on last year's crash tomorrow, but in the meantime, check out extensive documentation on the crash.