March 27, 2015: Chicago Transit Authority Literally Dead Wrong About Double Shift Safety

Because the same stupidity that denies proper sleep to doctors
and CTA workers works to everyone's detriment. Humans
require between 6 and 9 hours of sleep almost every night
to function cogently, optimally, etc. Consult every recognized
reputable medical and psycho/social organization to verify this.

Medical students and residents that work 36 hours straight
are professionals I'd avoid...CTA train and bus operators,
double-shifted? I'd want to stay off their equipment--which
I'm fortunate to have done when that Blue Line jumped
off its tracks and obliterated an escalator at the O'Hare
Station in 2014.  Thirty passengers were hurt; nine million
dollars were racked up in damages. It's 2015, and that
escalator hasn't been replaced, although the "up" escalator
wasn't wrecked, thankfully.

After reading the Red Eye, March 27th, yesterday, I'm
irate at the CTA official position stated there that double-
shifting and assigning erratic work schedules shouldn't
have impaired Ms. Haywood, the CTA operator who
dozed off as her train entered and crashed at the O'Hare
station. I agree that she was fired justifiably, but that
might not have been necessary had the CTA changed
its scheduling practices BEFORE this accident. Ah,
methinks the powers that be over there speaketh
out of both sides of their respective mouths, eh?
If the scheduling had no bearing, why change it?
--Balderdash.

The CTA was/is literally dead wrong about
operator double shift safety. Let's hope this
is one of the areas they've now altered-
always safety first!