Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the findings of the National Transportation Safety Board's final report on its investigation into the fatal June 22, 2009, Metrorail crash on the Red Line near Fort Totten. This report is a call to action for Congress to pass legislation that will help prevent such tragedies on our Nation's public transit systems from ever happening again. Last week, the NTSB presented the findings of its year-long investigation into last year's Metrorail crash that killed eight passengers and the train's conductor nine total. The fatal accident also hospitalized 52 passengers with serious injuries and left approximately 30 others with minor injuries. The investigation concluded: The cause of the crash was a series of faulty track circuits that failed to detect the presence of a stopped train on the right-of-way. The severity of the accident was compounded by the poor crashworthiness of the 30-plus year-old railcars involved in the accident where most of the injuries and fatalities occurred. Lastly, NTSB determined that safety has not been a priority for WMATA. Simply put, Metro lacks a ``Culture of Safety'' throughout its entire organization. NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman aptly put it in her statement regarding the release of its findings: ``Metro was on a collision course long before this accident.…”