L.A. train engineer may have been text messaging before crash

Three days after the worst train accident in 15 years, in which 25 people were killed when a commuter train plowed into a freight locomotive near Los Angeles, officials are now looking into reports that the engineer responsible may have been text messaging on his cell phone during the accident.

The accident was reportedly caused by the commuter train's failure to stop at a red light, and investigators have wondered why the train engineer failed to see trackside warnings that another train was approaching.

The new data about the incident comes from two teenagers (and train enthusiasts) who are said to have been frequent text messaging buddies with the engineer. According to an LA newscast, the boys received a message from the engineer one minute before the crash, which would shed some serious light on why he missed four warning lights along the track before the deadly incident.

If true (the engineer's phone has not been recovered, but it's only a matter of time before his phone records confirm or contradict the boys' report), the incident will undoubtedly bring serious attention to the issue of technology use among drivers of all sorts. California's no-cell-phones-while-driving law just went into effect a few months ago, but a law against text messaging (passed by Legislature) while driving has yet to be signed by Governor Schwarzenegger. If it is, it will go into effect on January 1.

Bus drivers in California are prohibited from using all cell phone equipment while behind the wheel, but I've been unable to locate a source on what laws apply to train engineers. There may be none: In the wake of the accident, a California Public Utilities Commission official said he would now ask for a texting ban while driving a train.

Regardless of whether the engineer really was texting before the crash, it's probably time we had laws against such activities, no? Of course the next step is that they'll have to actually be enforced...