Chronicle: King street train crash finds driver at fault
Last summer’s King Street train collision was the result of a fatigued driver that was using his cell phone for phone conversations and to download from the Internet. The 45 year old driver had a record of two other at-fault accidents, and according to a Muni spokesman, the driver is no longer on the Muni payroll.
MTA really needs to look again at this intersection. There’s no excuse for rear-ending another streetcar, but any intersection where the speed limit is 3 MPH and cars have the priority makes no sense. There has to be a better way to get streetcars through this area quickly.
The signals are there, but I don’t think they are timed or programmed correctly. I think this is an MTA issue, though I also think that crossing guards near 4th and King would help a lot.