Remember Aiden Quinn, the MBTA subway driver who crashed a green line train while allegedly texting? He pled guilty today to a misdemeanor charge of “gross negligence by a person in control of a common conveyance,” according to the Suffolk County D.A.’s office. He was sentenced to 2 years of probation and 100 hours of community service, although prosecutors had argued for six months in prison.
D.A. Dan Conley criticized the judge’s decision, saying,
“What kind of message does this send to others? This defendant caused $10 million in damages, sent 64 people to the hospital, and shut down the Green Line on a busy spring evening. Why? Because he was trying to send a text message while pulling 80 tons of steel and glass and human lives. The riders on the train trusted him with their safety. This wasn’t an accident. It was the foreseeable consequence of his actions and he should have been punished accordingly.”
I think that probation is a reasonable punishment for Quinn…but shortly after the crash, the MBTA decided to punish all train operators by banning them from even carrying cell phones while on the job, a policy that I think is excessive.
More from the Globe, Herald, and NECN.
The MBTA Transit Police are searching for a man who is accused of taking pictures of a woman’s cleavage as she leaned over to pick up her bag. The title of this post may sound silly, but it raises an interesting legal and philosophical question: Is it a crime (or does it violate anyone’s rights) to take pictures of someone’s cleavage on the T?
It is unclear exactly what crime this guy would be charged with if he was arrested. Although his actions were undoubtedly creepy, I am inclined to say that they do not constitute a crime.
Taking pictures up someone’s skirt violates their privacy rights because people who wear skirts aren’t intending to reveal whatever they’re wearing under their skirt – they have a reasonable expectation that anything covered by clothing is private. Putting video cameras in bathrooms or changing rooms definitely violates people’s rights, because people justifiably expect those rooms to be private. But if you decide to wear a low-cut top on the subway, you are intentionally making your cleavage publicly visible. It’s creepy to take a picture of just someone’s bust, but if something is publicly visible, people have a right to take pictures of it.
Speaking of inappropriate pictures, if you think it’s a violation of privacy rights to take pictures of someone’s publicly visible cleavage, you should definitely think it’s a violation of privacy rights to create and store images of people’s naked bodies when they are fully clothed, like the TSA does in airports.
Because of Deval Patrick’s budget cuts, the Franklin Park Zoo may have to close, and some of the animals there may have to be killed.
I find it outrageous that the Massachusetts government is spending large amounts of money on things like free stuff for people who aren’t even citizens, STD prevention, and teen pregnancy prevention, but they are going to just let animals die. And the T has to raise its fares because the government decided that free things that only poor people or people with babies are allowed to have are more important than public transportation, which benefits everyone.
Things like zoos, public transportation, museums, and libraries should be made financially self-sustaining through fares, admissions, and membership fees if at all possible, but it is much more justifiable to spend tax money on these things than on wealth redistribution programs. This is because welfare programs are discriminatory in that they only help people whom the government has decided are eligible, usually those whose incomes are below certain levels. Zoos and public transportation benefit everyone who chooses to use them.
The state government should cut $14 billion, mostly in welfare programs, as I outlined here: The Massachusetts budget. It’s completely wrong that they are raising the sales tax, cutting from zoos, and forcing T fares to go up, while barely touching $14 billion worth of unnecessary, unjust welfare programs. If they made all the cuts they should, the state could lower taxes (not just avoid raising them) and still have enough money for zoos and $8 billion to give to the T in order to get rid of its debt and hopefully enable it to not need tax revenue in the future.
Governor Patrick and the state legislature really need to get their priorities straight.
As a result of the recent green line crash, the MBTA is planning to ban train operators from even carrying cell phones while on the job. As you probably know, trolley driver Aiden Quinn admitted that he was texting his girlfriend when he went through a yellow light and a red light, slamming into a stopped train in front of him and causing dozens of injuries and $9.6 worth of damage to the trains.
This is not a popular position to take, but I think that such a strict cell phone ban is excessive. People are responsible for their own actions, and it is paternalistic and insulting to T operators to send them the message that they cannot be trusted to carry cell phones. The job of a T operator is to drive the train safely and efficiently, and it is each operator’s responsibility to decide what they need to do in order to accomplish this. Carrying cell phones does not, in and of itself, impede a person’s ability to drive a train, and it does not hurt anyone. Yes, Quinn made a bad decision to text while driving a train, but it is unfair for all T drivers to be punished as a result.
I also think that it’s stupid that people are saying Quinn, 24, was too young to be operating a train. I’m glad that the T does not have any immediate plans to change its policy of allowing people 18 and up to drive vehicles. “I’m not compelled by the argument that age is a factor here,” said MBTA General Manager Dan Grabauskas. I agree. I’m opposed to policies that make generalizations about people based on their age, gender, or other characteristics. An 18-year-old can be just as good or better at driving than a 45-year-old.
All this talk about texting has spilled over into automobiles as well as trains. People are also calling for bans on texting (and even talking on the phone) while driving a car. I’m opposed to such laws, and I think this is just another example of government paternalism. Drivers are obligated to drive well and avoid hitting anyone. If they can do that while talking on the phone or texting, than they are not doing anything wrong. Drivers should be punished for driving badly and hurting people, not for using their cell phones. It is people’s own responsibility, not the government’s, to decide what they need to do in order to drive safely.
It seems like the world (or at least Boston) is going in a bad direction right now. The Boston Globe, an integral part of many people’s daily routines and an invaluable source of news, is in danger of closing, and now another venerable Boston institution, the MBTA, might have to drastically cut its service and raise fares. In other depressing news, the iconic Zakim Bridge will no longer be lit up at night to save money for the Turnpike Authority.
If the state does not raise its gas tax by 19 cents a gallon, the T might have to raise fares by 25-30%, eliminate commuter rail service on nights and weekends, eliminate bus routes and subway stops, and reduce the frequency of trains and buses by 50% during midday, nights, and weekends. These are just a few of the cutbacks – check out the Globe for a more extensive list.
I am vehemently against raising the gas tax. Massachusetts has WAY too many taxes already, and more taxes are the last thing the state needs. I’d rather have $7 tolls than a higher gas tax, and I’d rather have the T cut services and raise fares than have any kind of tax increase.
However, there are a plethora of things in the bloated state budget that should be cut before the T. Just take a look at this game, which was created by the Globe to show how hard it would be to balance the budget if Question 1 passed (which it very unfortunately didn’t). I was able to fairly easily cut more than I needed to by eliminating government spending on health care ($13 billion) and human services ($3.59 billion), and a couple more billion in various other categories. A lot of people would disagree with me on this, but I don’t think it’s the government’s role to pay for people’s medical services or social programs. Cuts in these areas could be used to give the T and Turnpike the funding they need to balance their budgets. I love the T, and the Zakim Bridge is a beautiful icon of Boston. While I am really supportive of the state government cutting its budget, these are the last things that should be cut.
