Muni hires new safety chief
By: Mike Aldax
March 4, 2009
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| Muni has hired 24-year transit-safety veteran James Dougherty as chief safety officer and director of transportation safety. Dougherty — the former general manager of safety and security of Charlotte, N.C.’s principal transit agency — will report directly to Muni Chief Executive Nathaniel Ford. (Courtesy Art) |
SAN FRANCISCO — Muni drivers have a new friend — and possibly a foe.
The hiring of a new chief safety officer comes four months after an agency report showed accidents between Muni vehicles and pedestrians nearly doubled from the end of fiscal year 2006 to the same period in 2008.
Since the report, Municipal Transportation Agency Chief Executive Nathaniel Ford has been on a crusade to improve safety, which included a national search.
On Tuesday, the transit agency announced the hiring of 24-year transit-safety veteran James Dougherty as the chief safety officer and director of transportation safety.
Dougherty — the former general manager of safety and security of Charlotte, N.C.’s principal transit agency — is tasked with making sure bus and streetcar drivers follow the rules of the road and are properly disciplined when they cause accidents or drive unsafely.
The transit agency is also searching for an outside safety consultant to help quell accidents. It has also launched an extensive television and advertising campaign warning distracted pedestrians — including those listening to an iPod or chatting on a cell phone — to pay attention to traffic.
Dougherty will oversee such matters, and will also proctor safety in other agencies, including the welfare of parking and traffic officers and maintenance workers.
He will also report directly to Ford about Muni’s progress in quelling accidents and other hazards, transit agency spokesman Judson True said.
“Having our CSO report directly to [Ford] is a further indication that safety is a top priority at the agency,” he said.
Muni’s recent push to improve its safety record has already produced results. On Tuesday, the transit agency reported reductions in bus and rail collisions since last year. Dougherty said he plans to continue that trend.
“Basically, no accident is acceptable,” he said, adding that the transit agency is much larger than Charlotte’s and presents a welcome challenge. “If you came in with 10 fingers, I want you to go home with 10 fingers.”
