Cell Phone Ban May Follow Mass. Trolley Crash

By the Associated Press

Posted May 9, 2009 5:28 PM CDT

(AP) – The head of the Boston-area transit authority said today he'll ban all train and bus operators from even carrying cell phones on board after a trolley driver told police he was texting his girlfriend before a collision yesterday. About 50 people were hurt in the underground crash in downtown Boston, though none of the injuries was life-threatening.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority already bans operators from using cell phones, but general manager Daniel Grabauskas said today the temptation obviously was too great for some. "I want to remove any temptation by one or two people stupid enough to think a moment of convenience is worth the lives of the people they're transporting," he said.

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

Passengers wait on benches following the evacuation of Government Center MBTA station in Boston, Friday, May 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

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I'm not going to wait for someone to die to institute a policy whose time I think
has come. - Daniel Grabauskas, Massachusetts Transportation Authority general manager

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