Watch Out in Minnesota

If you are a critic of light rail, it would probably be a good idea to avoid the Minneapolis-St. Paul area for awhile. It turns out that light-rail operators in Minnesota can commit manslaughter with impunity.

Last July, a Metro Transit light-rail operator ran a red light in St. Paul and killed a 29-year-old man. Metro Transit tried to fire the operator, but the unions forced the agency to keep him on the payroll. If an auto driver killed someone after running a red light, they could be charged with vehicular manslaughter, but when the St. Paul city attorney contemplated charging the light-rail operator, she learned that trains are exempt from traffic codes unless “gross negligence” is involved.
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This exemption must have been passed by the state legislature when it was controlled by the Democratic Party (or, as they call it in Minnesota, the Democrat-Farm-Labor Party). At the present time, Republicans control the legislature, and one, Representative Linda Runbeck, has vowed to “close this loophole” as soon as possible. Until the legislature does so, be extra careful crossing a light-rail line if you are in the Twin Cities.

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About The Antiplanner

The Antiplanner is a forester and economist with more than fifty years of experience critiquing government land-use and transportation plans.

5 Responses to Watch Out in Minnesota

  1. LazyReader says:

    I’m sure transit workers killing with impunity will run rampant. Or better yet lets focus on the group that kills the most people with impunity, criminals. Minneapolis has one of the highest violent crime rates in the nation. With 24 homicides per 100,000

  2. prk166 says:

    It would be more useful to look at homicides by zip code rather than city. Minneapolis has a lot of nice to posh neighborhoods that mask how extremely violent a few of neighborhoods are these days.

  3. JOHN1000 says:

    With reference to the above comments, maybe the transit worker ran the red light because he was in a high-crime neighborhood and was afraid to stop.

  4. CapitalistRoader says:

    Minneapolis has an average homicide rate out of the 50 biggest US cities. St. Louis, Baltimore, and New Orleans have murder rates more than double Minneapolis’.

  5. LazyReader says:

    Baltimore Sun just released a story “LIght Rail fails Baltimore” where apparently
    White Liberal Guilt Syndrome reigns supreme.
    Quote: “Why am I writing this? Because I was the only white person on that train that Friday night, and presumably one of few people who didn’t really need the train. Because my “opportunity” to support public transportation has given me a front-row seat to MTA’s disrespect for Baltimore residents — most of them black — who have no choice in the way they get around. The light rail fails them daily, in such an obviously racist manner that one can’t help but notice.”

    I laughed til I peed.

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