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A Blue Line train accident on Friday morning claimed the life of a Winthrop man who reportedly jumped in front of the train. Media outlets have reported his age as 44 or 54, and the circumstances surrounding this apparent suicide are unknown.

The man was hit and killed by a train entering Revere Beach station around 10:30am, according to a statement issued by the MBTA.

The MBTA was forced to Blue Line interrupt service for about two hours following the MBTA accident, and commuters were bused between Orient Heights and Wonderland in both directions while MBTA Transit Police and the district attorney’s office investigated the train accident. By about 12:30pm, the Blue Line was running as scheduled.

Revere Blue Line service interrupted by apparent suicide, ItemLive.com, May 8, 2009
Man killed in Blue Line train accident, Boston Globe, May 8, 2009 Continue reading

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On Friday evening, an MBTA crash injured over forty people and forced MBTA to temporarily discontinue service between Government Center and Park Street on the Green Line. Two trains collided when an MBTA driver reportedly passed a yellow light, then ran a red light while texting his girlfriend.

Authorities said the driver, Aiden Quinn, 24, of Attleboro, Massachusetts, may be fired later this week if investigators confirm that he was using a cell phone prior to the crash. He may also face criminal charges, and officials say he did not attend a meeting with MBTA supervisors on Sunday.

The MBTA has already banned trolley operators from texting while on duty in response to an earlier MBTA accident. The MBTA has already suspended several other bus and trolley drivers for using cell phones while driving. However, the more recent incident has triggered an even tougher policy that will soon go into effect: train drivers caught with a cell phone while working will be fired.

Damages from the train crash are estimated around $9.6 million, but it is still under investigation.

Green Line Trains Running, Crash Under Investigation, The Boston Channel, May 11, 2009 Continue reading

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Police say that speed may have led to the car crash that killed a Salem man and injured a Derry girl earlier this week. Police were called to Island Pond Road just after midnight when a 1994 Chevrolet Cavalier veered into the opposite lane and hit a tree. An assistant medical examiner pronounced the driver, 18-year-old Robert Stuart, dead at the scene of the car accident.

A 16-year-old girl was seriously injured and taken to Boston Medical Center for medical treatment. Her name has not been released to the public. Neither Stuart nor his passenger were wearing seat belts when the car crash occurred. He attended Timberlane Regional High School in Plaistow and the Greater Lawrence Educational Collaborative in Massachusetts and would have graduated next month.

Although police say they believe speed may have caused the car accident, they are still investigating.

Speeding may have caused fatal Atkinson crash, Eagle-Tribune, May 6, 2009 Continue reading

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A man who survived a recent Somali pirate attack was injured in a car accident in late April. First mate Shane Murphy was driving home to Seekonk with his wife the day after the pair attended a Red Sox-Yankees game in Boston when the auto accident occurred.

Murphy, 34, missed an appearance at his alma mater, the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, as a result of the car crash, but his injuries were not believed to be serious.

His wife, Serena, 34, called her father-in-law after the motor vehicle accident to let him know that the couple was in the hospital. Their two sons were not with them at the time of the crash, and the father-in-law said they are trying to figure out what to do with the children while their parents recover.

According to a spokesman from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Serena was released from the hospital a short time later and the event honoring Murphy had been postponed.

Murphys injured in car crash, CapeCodTimes.com, April 28, 2009 Continue reading

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The Registry of Motor Vehicles recently announced that Massachusetts drivers can view their driving record online and download or request a certified copy. The new web options are designed to alleviate the burden on RMV employees. Last year, the RMV received more than 57,000 requests for driver records.

Driving records are sometimes required as a condition of employment or if the driver is summoned to court for a motor vehicle violation. Drivers have the option of ordering certified or unattested copies of these documents. An unattested driving record can be viewed online and downloaded, saved, and/or printed for $6. Drivers can also request a certified copy of their record, with the Registrars signature, for $20. The certified copy is mailed to the driver’s address on record.

In addition to accessing driving records, Massachusetts drivers can also view registrations, titles, and driver education certificates, renew Massachusetts ID’s, determine when their license will expire, and register as an organ and tissue donor.

MA drivers can access RMV records online, Milford Daily News, April 14, 2009 Continue reading

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Last fall, Massachusetts’ Registry of Motor Vehicles stopped mailing reminders to people whose driver’s licenses would soon expire. According to the state Executive Officer of Transportation, the decision saved the state $857,000 per year.

However, Massachusetts drivers caught driving with an expired license can receive a citation with a fine ranging from $100 to $1,000. Since driving with an expired license is a criminal offense, police officers can arrest the driver if they choose.

To help prevent drivers from using an expired license, a Boston-based insurance company, Plymouth Rock Assurance, is offering a free email service to remind drivers when their license will expire. Beginning May 11, anyone, regardless of whether they are a Plymouth Rock policy holder or not, can sign up at www.plymouthrock.com. The company ensures approximately 180,000 drivers in Massachusetts.

Drivers offered license reminder, MassLive.com, May 4, 2009 Continue reading

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According to a press release from the Massachusetts state police, a car crash on Soldiers Field Road in Boston left two Waltham resident seriously injured on Monday. The single-vehicle crash occurred on Monday evening when a 1994 Lexus sedan veered into the left lane, spun out of control, and hit the guardrail.

The driver was taken by ambulance to Massachusetts General Hospital and was later pronounced dead. His two passengers, Francky Andrevil, 20, and Jeron Feaster, 19, suffered serious injuries and were taken by ambulance to New England Medical Center.

The traffic accident remains under investigation, and the right westbound lane of Solders Field Road was closed for about 3 hours after the car accident.

Two Waltham men seriously injured in Boston crash, Daily News Tribune, April 28, 2009 Continue reading

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A report on worker safety that was released by the Massachusetts AFL-CIO and the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Heath found that 66 Massachusetts workers died on the job or from work-related injuries last year. A ceremony yesterday on the steps of Boston’s statehouse memorialized these workers.

One of workers mentioned in the report, which is called “Dying for Work in Massachusetts: The Loss of Life and Limb in Massachusetts Workplaces,” is David Gonzalez, a 24-year-old paper manufacturing employee. Gonzalez died when his clothing got caught in a piece of machinery and the machinery pulled him in and crushed him.

Inspectors from OSHA found 12 serious safety violations at the paper manufacturing plant after the machinery accident. The company appealed the proposed fines of $29,500 and OSHA settled on nine violations and a fine of $16,125.

According to the executive director of MassCOSH, “the report demonstrates that the cost of cutting corners on safety is paid in human lives.”

Safety issues cited in worker deaths, Worcester Telegram, April 29, 2009 Continue reading

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Studies show that 45 percent of those who die in a highway accident would have lived in they had been wearing a seat belt. Massachusetts, Maine, and dozens of other states around the country already have laws requiring adults to buckle up. If a new bill headed for the state Senate passes, then New Hampshire will become the 50th state to pass seat belt legislation.

The Transportation Committee changed the original bill from a primary to a secondary offense, meaning that police officers can only issue a ticket if the officer stops for the driver for a separate traffic violation. Roughly half of the states have primary seat-belt laws. Maine is among them, and the state’s commissioner of public safety saws the law resulted in 32 fewer highway deaths.

Massachusetts’ seat-belt law makes not wearing a seat belt a secondary offense. Police officers point out that since it can be difficult to see if drivers are wearing a seat belt, the enforcement often makes it a secondary offense anyway.

NH may become 50th state with seat belt law, Eagle Tribune, April 27, 2009 Continue reading

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In response to a truck accident earlier this month involving a trucker from Massachusetts, legislators are considering a federal bill that would give a tax incentive to trucking companies that install GPS and other high-tech safety equipment. The proposed technology includes automated systems that shut down trucks with an overloaded brake system and warn drivers if their truck strays outside of their lane.

Trucking companies would be allowed to deduct up to $3,500 per truck (for a total of $350,000 per year) through 2014. They could also deduct the cost of buying systems to slow down trucks driving too fast around winding curves. The proposal is part of a larger federal transportation technology bill, which will receive a vote over the next several weeks.

According to a study conducted last year, truck accidents are responsible for nearly 5,000 deaths and over 100,000 injuries.

Federal proposal offers incentives to increase truck safety, Pasadena Star-News, April 24, 2009 Continue reading

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