Should the people running the DC subway system be put on trial for criminally negligent homicide?

Who do we put on trial?

Should the taxpayers be put on trial for refusing to elect legislators who would approve a large enough budget to make those fixes?

You get what you pay for. the entire US infrastructure is crumbling because people are so anti-tax.

I expect that the damages from wrongful death suits—especially as the NTSB has as much as said that the trains were unsafe and that they should have been replaced—will be significantly higher than the cost of replacing the trains would have been in the first place.

let’s blame the inventor of the train.~

sometimes, everyone and no one is to blame at the same time. sometimes accidents happen. technology fails.

I’m not in favor of negligence or failure of appropriate maintenance, Still, I believe that one of the curses of our society is the utterly wrong-headed notion that every time something bad happens to somebody, somebody else owes them money.

How about simply addressing the known problems by making improvements?

I agree with @Marina completely. The taxpayer protestors are getting what they pay for.

@eponymoushipster This was not an insurable accident. It was certain to happen. Did you note the other things that had happened. They never fixed the problems that caused them. They should have at a minimum slowed those trains down to a crawl. It was good enough for government work. That is a saying in government circles. Somebody belongs in jail for killing all of those people. They did not even bother to warn them that the trains were unsafe. Every vehicle on the road has safety inspections and if you fail them you have to make repairs or drive illegally. Try killing someone with your car that has been found unsafe. It is certain that you would pay more than money.
I have ridden on that line. I am glad it was not me.

@Marina They could charge full price for the ride and leave the taxpayer alone. After all most taxpayers don’t even ride the thing. It is federally subsidized as well as discount priced. It is one big advertisement for the politicians. Your computer could probably have done a better job.

@walterallenhaxton well, it seems that you’re upset by this whole unfortunate situation. that’s understandable. i’m sure whatever proper authorities will take the necessary measures. unfortunately, oftentimes, it takes X number of incidents before changes happen. I think we all have that bad intersection or blind corner in our town…

The DC Metro Systems is heavily used by people from all income brackets and walks of life. It is a general asset to the community.

@walterallenhaxton – its operation is not federally subsidized, so far as I know. I don’t believe any transit system’s operation is. The feds only subsidize capital investment.

Of course, I must wonder if the tactic of charging “full price for the ride” extends to highway subsidies.