Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
I think that anyone who wants to really understand what happened should read the transcript of the text messages.  They are rather hard to read because they are cryptic and somewhat redacted.  But there are a lot of them, and together, they produce a larger overall picture of what was going on.  Maybe it’s just me, but I get a kind of creepy feeling from reading them.   <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p> The popular premise put forth as the cause of this wreck has been the general distraction of text messaging.  We all know that text messaging can be distracting to another task.  But like cell phone use, the distraction of text messaging is twofold.  One aspect is the physical manipulation of the device, and the other is the engaging nature of the message.  The latter can be a distraction even with a direct conversation with another person in your vehicle.  Knowing this, and upon hearing of the incredible number of text messages sent and received by Sanchez, I wondered what the messages were about.  How engaging they were they?   <o:p></o:p> Sanchez was planning to let a railfan run the locomotive, and the two had exchanged many text messages planning the event, expressing unusual excitement about the illegal trip and apprehension about their fear of getting caught.  This texting had continued over several days, and it is clear that the communication was highly emotional with suspense building as the day planned for the illegal act drew near. <o:p></o:p> At the moment of the 4:22 PM crash, this railfan-locomotive-running event was to occur only about 3 hours later.  Suspense and apprehension were peaking.  Sanchez and the railfan were exchanging text messages about it right up until 22 seconds before impact with the UP freight. <o:p></o:p> Here is the transcript.  All of the text messages are shown in pages 18-63, and they cover the dates of 9/5-9/12/2008.   <o:p></o:p> <A href="http://www.ntsb.gov/Dockets/Railroad/DCA08MR009/414046.pdf" mce_href="http://www.ntsb.gov/Dockets/Railroad/DCA08MR009/414046.pdf">http://www.ntsb.gov/Dockets/Railroad/DCA08MR009/414046.pdf</A> <o:p></o:p> From the link:  A review of all of the text messages over the previous 7 days (including those<o:p></o:p>during and outside “train operation times”) indicate that the Engineer and “Person A” had been coordinating to allow “Person A” to operate a train on the evening of the accident, starting at about 7:45pm10. The intent was for “Person A” to operate the train from Moorpark to Montalvo. A portion of one exchange on September 8 reads:<o:p></o:p>     [Engineer to Person A ]: “yea....but I’m REALLY looking forward to getting you in the cab and showing you how to run a locomotive. “<o:p></o:p>   [Person A to Engineer]: “ Omg dude me too. Running a locomotive. Having all of that in the palms of my hands. Its a great feeling. And ill do it so good<o:p></o:p>from all my practice on the simulator.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p>     [Engineer to person A]: “I’m gonna do all the radio talkin’...ur gonna run the locomotive & I’m gonna tell u how to do it. “
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag