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Unintended consequence of the texting trolley guy case: Bicycles on the Green Line?
By adamg on Wed, 07/22/2009 - 11:20am
Doug discusses the way Green Line driver Aiden Quinn was charged under a law dealing with railroads rather than trolleys and says that, unlike state trolley law, state railroad law requires train operators to let riders bring bicycles onboard:
... [U]ltimately if the District Attorney succeeds in sending Quinn to prison for three years (instead of to jail for 2 1/2) for crashing a railroad train (and not a trolley), then the T should get ready to welcome bicycles and their riders on that same line. Because that's the law!
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Comments
BWAHAHAHAHAHA!
Classic.
This will only work if they install proper upright rack spots for the bikes.
Bike on green line
I saw someone with a bicycle on the green line Sunday. Driver said nothing.
I've seen them on the C and
I've seen them on the C and D.
I went to look up the exact wording of the statute
being cited in Quinn's case (BTW it is MGL chapter 160, Section 231), and came across another statute (MGL chapter 265 section 30) that reads as follows:
Chapter 265: Section 30. Gross negligence; persons having care of common carrier; penalty
Section 30. Whoever, having the management or control of or over a steamboat or other public conveyance used for the common carriage of persons, is guilty of gross negligence in or relative to the management or control of such steamboat or other public conveyance, while being so used for the common carriage of persons, shall be punished by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars or by imprisonment in jail for not more than two and one half years.
Now, I'm not a lawyer (no do I play one on TV), and I'm by no means defending Quinn's lawyer's "choo choo train" tirade in court. However, IMO, had the state used this statute against Quinn instead, it seems that the whole "railroad vs trolley" issue would have been totally avoided - the operative phrase in this law being "or other public conveyance used for the common carriage of persons".
And so it is that a
And so it is that a blogger's effort trumps that of every professional reporter who covered the Government Center crash and its legal aftermath. Not one of them, Roadman, bothered to search the MGLs. A tip of the hat to you!
If this is really the law...
why is the T allowed to exclude bicycles from some subway lines and commuter trains based on time of day, and why is Amtrak allowed to exclude bicycles from almost all of its trains?
This is the exact wording of the 'bicycle tranportation' law as
taken from the "General Laws" section of the Massachusetts General Court's web page.
CHAPTER 160. RAILROADS
TRANSPORTATION OF PASSENGERS
Chapter 160: Section 196. Transportation of bicycles
Section 196. A railroad corporation which owns or operates a railroad of standard gauge shall check and transport between stations within the limits of the commonwealth, as baggage, and subject to the same charges, terms and liabilities as other baggage, one bicycle for each passenger who pays by a mileage book, by a ticket other than a season ticket, or in cash, the established fare, if it is not less than ten cents, exclusive of rebate. The weight of the bicycle shall be included in determining the total weight of the baggage to be transported for such passenger. Such corporation shall not require such bicycle to be crated, covered or otherwise protected.
Seems to me the operative phrase here is "check and transport". In other words, checked baggage, which is not the same as being able to wheel the bike onto the train.
As MBTA subways, buses, streetcars, and commuter rail trains don't have checked baggage facilities, IMO their bike restrictions wouldn't violate the provisions of this law. But, as I indicated in a previous post, I am not a lawyer, so please don't take that opinion as gospel truth.
Bicycle as checked baggage
Even with that large restriction, seems like Amtrak is still violating the state law:
- You can check bicycles as baggage on the Lake Shore Limited, but the bicycle has to be boxed
- You can take a bicycle (unboxed) onto the Downeaster baggage car, but only at North Station, not at Woburn or Haverhill
Because it is a public
Because it is a public service whose rules can change at any time. It doesn't say in the constitution that you can have a douchey bike on the train does it? The last think I want is some jackoff's trek five speed cramming up the aisle so that six people can't get on.
Here's an idea...if you have a bike... RIDE IT. Don't take it on the T genius.
Well
Here's our first nominee for UH's 2009 "Mr. Popularity" award.