(Newser)
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The Transport Workers Union in New York City isn't happy with MTA measures to boost safety on the tracks—and it's making its point rather graphically. Union members are distributing "Grim Reaper" MetroCards that appear to be covered in blood, CBS New York reports. After 55 people were killed by trains last year, "we as a union—my officers and I—felt we had to intervene," said a worker.
To make things safer, the MTA has pasted safety-minded posters and is looking into solutions like erecting barriers along the platforms. The union says that's not the way to deal with the issue. Instead, it suggests calling on drivers to go slower when approaching a station, readying emergency shut-off switches, and placing agents on busy platforms—and has printed those suggestions on the back of the bloodied cards. The MTA disagrees: "Slowing down trains would create crowding conditions on trains and platforms and would actually create a more dangerous condition."
