RIPTA talks safety initiatives following recent accidents

March 2, 2016 6:20 pm

By: Rebecca Turco

Email: rturco@abc6.com

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Some RIPTA riders are calling safety into question, after two crashes injured eight people in a little over a month.

"I don’t feel safe anytime I get on the bus," said Edward Coulter of Providence. "I get on there at my own risk."

Recent bus crashes ranged from minor fender benders to deadly. In the span of a year and a half, starting in May 2014, three people died. One of those deaths was a nine-year-old girl.

Among recent safety initiatives, RIPTA has been phasing in newer buses with faster brakes since May. The company has also been working on re-certifying its roughly 515 drivers in safety training, but how far they have gotten the company couldn’t say.

"As far as safety goes, we’re always at the drawing board," Spokesperson Barbara Polichetti said. "We look at every single accident [and ask]: is there a pattern? Is there a pattern between this and another accident?"

Polichetti said RIPTA is also looking into the physical safety of drivers, after examining accidents where the driver crashed while suffering a medical emergency. As it stands, drivers only need to pass a medical exam when they’re first hired or come back from medical leave. So, RIPTA is considering whether to make drivers get re-examined when they renew their commercial driver’s license every other year.
"There is absolutely nothing more important to us than our safety for our passengers and our employees," Polichetti added.

RIPTA also invited the Federal Transit Administration to visit this spring to look over current safety procedures and make any recommendations.