RAILROAD ACCIDENT REPORT--COLLISION OF PORT AUTHORITY OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY TROLLEY CAR NO. 1790 AND BUS NO. 2413, PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, FEBRUARY 10, 1978

About 8:03 a.m., on February 10, 1978, a trolley car and a bus owned by the Port Authority of Allegheny County collided in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, when the trolley car suddenly turned into the path of the oncoming bus. Four persons were killed, 37 persons were injured, and damage was estimated to be $48,000. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the operator's inadvertent and untimely operation of an unprotected track switch, which caused the trolley car to be routed into the path of the approaching bus. Contributing to the accident was the operator's operation of the car at a speed too great to permit stopping when he detected the turning movement of the car, and the lack of protective devices to control the switch operation. Two recommendations were made to the Port Authority of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, about the means by which the track switch can be operated from the trolley car and about providing protection against the switch operating when another vehicle is in a danger zone. A recommendation was also made to the Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, urging the State to encourage communities that have emergency response facilities to establish emergency procedures for disasters.

• Corporate Authors:

  National Transportation Safety Board

  800 Independence Avenue, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20594
• Publication Date: 1978-8-17

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures;
• Pagination: 26 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Busways; Crash investigation; Crashes; Disasters and emergency operations; Fail safe systems; Fatalities; Operating rules; Protection; Safety equipment; Streetcars
• Identifier Terms: PCC Car (Streetcar)
• Uncontrolled Terms: Emergency procedures
• Geographic Terms: Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania)
• Old TRIS Terms: Protective devices; Switch point control
• Subject Areas: Public Transportation; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00188701
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Transportation Safety Board
• Report/Paper Numbers: NTSB-RAR-78-5
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Feb 27 1981 12:00AM