Bus driver did the right thing by following company policy
This letter is in response to the Feb. 19 article "Would-Be Help Trapped on Bus." I don't see the point of this article. The bus driver followed Port Authority policies. He was trained to keep the people on the bus, as per request of emergency personnel. He did.
He was trained to call the traffic department on his radio for help. He did. In addition, the Port Authority driver was not the person at fault for the accident. So, I must ask why his name is being printed in the paper and why he is unjustly being criticized.
The Port Authority policy, I believe, is correct. The last thing any accident scene needs are dozens of passengers who want to play doctor running around in the middle of a busy intersection. If the gentleman who wanted to help got off the bus to assist and either made the situation worse or got injured in the process, who would be to blame? Yes, you guessed it: The Port Authority operator would be at fault for not keeping his passengers on his bus per policy.
Not only could that operator possibly lose his job, he also would open himself up to lawsuits. The operator should be applauded for keeping control of a difficult situation and following policy.
Even if the gentleman had been allowed off the bus to assist, the victim unfortunately most likely would not have survived, as she had blunt force trauma injuries to the head. This is a tragic event, but please do not exploit it for a cheap "news" story. There is no story here.
MARK WILSON
West View
Turning the tables
Had Port Authority bus driver Christopher Kelly been injured ("Would-Be Help Trapped on Bus," Feb. 19) do you suppose he would have insisted that the doors of his 91A bus stay closed until Port Authority police arrived, or would he have allowed passers-by to enter the bus to help?
Riders should prepare themselves now for the next round of fare increases needed to pay for a possible lawsuit stemming from this. Gold-level service? Ask Shirley Gerstein's family!
DOUGLAS P. DIMOFF
Finleyville
The last straw
After reading the Feb. 19 article about the Port Authority bus driver who wouldn't let the passenger off the bus to help the woman who was seriously injured ("Would-Be Help Trapped on Bus"), I feel nothing but sick over the situation. This is the straw that breaks the camel's back for me.
I think Port Authority drivers are the worst drivers in the city of Pittsburgh. How many times have you been driving Downtown and you look in your mirrors only to see a Port Authority bus a half-inch off your bumper? Why are they allowed to do this without getting a ticket from the police? Isn't that called tailgating when it concerns us normal folks?
I can't even begin to count the times I have been cut off by a Port Authority driver or have been flipped off by a driver after he makes a mistake. And how many times are handicapped passengers passed up because it takes an extra three minutes to lower the ramp for them? Do these drivers have no regard for human life?
What if that woman were bus operator Christopher Kelly's mother? It is a disgrace that this operator is still out there driving buses.
ELIZABETH HOGUE
Elliott
What was the point?
The real tragedy is that the article "Would-Be Help Trapped on Bus" (Feb. 19) is headline news for the Post-Gazette.
The point of the article obviously is the questioning of the Port Authority's policy of refusing to let people off the bus at an accident scene. The attempt at depicting scandal is pretty weak.
Why not do a bit more research and find out the basis for the Port Authority's policy instead of having a local yokel stand on his soapbox and act like a hero?
Why leave us with so many unanswered questions? What does the Port Authority's policy state exactly? Who wrote it? What is the penalty for not following the policy? If a person exits the bus anyway (through the window), can that person be legally prosecuted for breaking the Port Authority policy? Is there an exception if you are a doctor or medically trained professional?
If you pick up a copy of the City Paper, there is a weekly critique of local TV news stories called "This Just In." It rates their news value of local news stories on a scale from zero (lowest value) to 10 (newsworthy).
Because of all of the unanswered questions and lack of research into the actual policy, this story gets a big fat "0" or maybe even a "minus 1" for putting Coleman Hughes' picture in the paper with his heroic quote.
DON BEYER
Ohio Township
Remember the Stark
I finished reading another protest letter regarding the possible upcoming war with Iraq and could remain silent no longer. I am amazed at the short memory of the people who live in our region.
On May 17, 1987, Saddam Hussein sent an Iraqi fighter jet on an unprovoked attack against the fast frigate the USS Stark. The jet, a French-built F1 Mirage, fired two French-built Exocet missiles, both of which struck the frigate. Thirty-seven American men were killed in this unprovoked attack.
My stepson, Rick Weaver, whom I raised from childhood, immediately went below deck to rescue survivors. He successfully pulled 12 men from below deck and died trying to rescue the 13th man. He was a true American hero. Former state Rep. David Wright was instrumental in having the General Assembly rename the Toby Bridge in Clarion County in his honor.
In the future, I would simply request that these protesters ask themselves this simple question and answer it honestly: Would I send this protest letter if my son or daughter had been murdered by this madman?
My stepdaughter and Rick's widow agree with this letter.
WILLIAM R. STRONG
New Bethlehem
Editor's note: The Iraqi government said at the time that the missiles were fired accidentally in the belief that the USS Stark was an oil tanker bound for Iran, which was at war with Iraq.
A typical Bush response
It was with great interest that I pored over the Feb. 19 article "Bush Says Protests Irrelevant: Demonstration Won't Change His Iraq Plans, He Says." In it, New York Times reporter Richard W. Stevenson quotes the current occupant of the Oval Office as saying, "Size of protest -- it's like deciding, well, I'm going to decide policy based upon a focus group."
After unweaving the by-now well-known mangled Bush-speak, I think I got Bush's point. It seems to be that our great leader is not going to let anything change his mind on Iraq -- not the international community, not the American people. No sirree, Bob, not him.
Considering how this man came to occupy the Oval Office, it's hardly surprising that he has no respect for the rule of law or the traditions of democracy.
DAVID DeANGELO
Shadyside
Put cap on lawyers' fees
There have been at least a dozen remedies recently put forth to correct the medical malpractice insurance crisis in our commonwealth.
I am convinced that only one is truly needed and the problem would be solved with no unhappy doctors or patients: There needs to be a cap on the dollar amount that a plaintiff's lawyer can receive from a settlement. Make it $50,000 or even $100,000, but lawyers would not be able to take a percentage of the plaintiff's award.
A plaintiff's lawyer expends the same effort and time in a case regardless of the verdict or award amount, so why should the lawyers take a huge cut of the award given by the jury to the suffering patient? With this simple rule in place, truly injured plaintiffs would still be able to recover large sums for pain and suffering when appropriate, but they wouldn't have to share it with their greedy lawyers.
For lawyers like Neil Rosen ("Medical Malpractice: That's the Crisis," Jan. 26 Forum), who seem to be so concerned about the ability of their clients to recover money for their injuries, this new law should be welcomed with open arms.
RONALD L. HREBINKO, M.D.
Mt. Lebanon
They should be willing to help in this quest for al-Qaida suspects
When I was a child, my grandmother participated in what was then (and may still be called) "alien registration." Once a year, she went Downtown and filled out a card. I don't recall that this distressed anyone in the family, nor did it do her any harm.
The Middle Eastern men who staged the Downtown prayer rug protest against their own registration ("30 Demonstrators Protest Tracking of Muslim Males," Feb. 22) demonstrated their willingness to shelter within their ranks those monstrous individuals who would continue the depredations of Sept. 11, 2001. For the sake of whomever may be in al-Qaida's cross hairs now, they should stop whining and start understanding what is going on here.
Failing concern for the millions they endanger, they should go home and give us a smaller haystack within which to find al-Qaida needles.
DIANE McANULTY
Plum
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