Last June when an automated Metro train plowed into another in Takoma, the correct response was to demand more money for capital maintenance of the system. The problem was primarily technical. Metro is getting old, and unless we keep it up accidents will happen.

When a a couple of workers were hit this morning by a maintenance truck being manually operated, the only explanation is that there was a breakdown in communication between workers on the track and the driver of the truck. We’ll have to wait for the investigation to know whether that breakdown was caused by inadequate safety protocols, unfollowed ones, or something like a broken radio.

If it turns out to have been an equipment problem, that’s a clear indication that we need more money. If it turns out to have been inadequate or unfollowed protocols, that would beg the question of who isn’t taking safety seriously, and why aren’t they.