Report Reveals NYC Transit Worker’s “Casual” Relationship with Safety

In a pointed report released last week, it turns out that the deaths of Daniel Boggs, 41, and Marvin Franklin, 55 were due to clear violations of standard safety procedures.

CityRoom Says:

The reports reveal a safety system so flawed that it is easy to come away with the impression that serious accidents are almost inevitable. That impression is deepened by the description in the reports of a broken safety culture among workers and supervisors, who routinely ignore basic precautions.

You can read the official Boggs report here and the Franklin report here.

In the Boggs report, for example, the conclusion of the investigation places blame on the work gang’s supervisor who failed to stop Boggs and a fellow worker from working unsafely. The supervisor apparently observed the safety violation, but didn’t do anything about it.

NYC Transit Chief Howard Roberts, Jr. pointed out in a news conference, “The problem is not the rules as much as it is to get a situation in which people live those rules.”

So basically, NYC Transit is taking the position that the appropriate safety rules are already in place. The problem is a general attitude among the workers to ignore the rulebook whenever they see fit. At least that’s the conclusion of these reports.

In both cases, the reports point out specific safety regulations that were violated during the work in question.