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Did Metrolink Spokeswoman Do Her Job?

September 16, 2008 RSS Feed Print

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Denise Tyrrell, spokeswoman for the Southern California transit agency Metrolink, resigned after federal and Metrolink officials criticized the statement she made the day after an agency commuter train collided with a freight train in Chatworth, Calif.

Tyrrell said that the Metrolink engineer had "made the error" and had not obeyed the traffic signals. Officials have since said that the statement was premature.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

Before facing reporters the day after the catastrophic train collision in Chatsworth, Metrolink spokeswoman Denise Tyrrell called the agency's chief executive to make an unusual request.

"I asked him to allow me to make a statement to rebuild public trust," she recalled, "and I told him we had to be honest and upfront about what happened."

Tyrrell's open emotion was widely noted in media accounts over the weekend. I'm wondering if readers believe she did her job by being "honest and upfront," or should she have held the details a bit closer to the vest?

Here's a take from the MetroRiderLA blog:

The Public Relations Society of America's Code of Ethics stresses the need to advocate informed debate, to be honest with the public, and to be loyal to the CEO, David Solow, to whom she works for. Unfortunately, many public relations professionals don't care about "free flow of information," "disclosure of information," or "enhancing the profession." But Ms. Tyrrell did, and for that, I, and many other Southern Californians who ride the rails, are grateful for it.

And another from Michael Cherenson, chair-elect of the PR society and a PR executive:

Public Relations Professionals are expected, "adhere to the highest standards of accuracy and truth in advancing the interests of those we represent and in communicating with the public." and it would seem, based on available information, that former Metrolink spokeswoman Denise Tyrrell did just that and had the authority to do it.

If you're a critic, bear in mind that crisis management is easiest in hindsight.

Tags:: transportation,; careers

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".....see the article by Najmedin Meshkati and James Osborn, "Rail safety's human error excuse" at http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-meshkati17-2008sep17,0,5267226.story)." - LEL of CA
The article says -
"........Rather than being the main instigators of an accident, operators tend to be the inheritors of system defects created by poor design, incorrect installation, faulty maintenance and bad management decisions. Their part is usually that of adding the final garnish to a lethal brew whose ingredients have already been long in the cooking."
At USC, 25 years of research into the safety of technological systems bears this out. It has shown that on many occasions, the error and its consequences are the result of a multitude of factors, including poor workstation and workplace designs, complicated operational processes, unreasonable mental and/or physical workloads and inadequate staffing, faulty maintenance, ineffective training, nonresponsive managerial systems, dysfunctional organizational structures and haphazard response systems.........."
"...Tyrrell said the Metrolink engineer "made the error" of passing a red light without stopping, her full statement makes it clear she was not trying to disavow Metrolink's responsibility by "blaming" the engineer. It is understandable that some people heard it that way...." - Fact checker of NJ
People heard it that way, because that's precisely the way it was intended to be interpreted. It establishes the company's favored and most optimal base line at the outset. Everything after that is background noise. Everything after that is of lesser, even insignificant consequence.
Somebody made a mistake, that's clear.
The outcome is tragic, no argument.
But how can a single mistake, within a supposedly safe system, have such shocking consequences?
The multiple causes which allow such a thing to happen need to be identified and fixed.
I have vastly more confidence in the investigation by the NTSB to determine the causes of this terrible accident, than I do in the institutional blame-shifting and finger pointing by Tyrell and Metrolink.
The question is, will Metrolink fix the systemic failures - THEIR systemic failures - or will they just keep on pretending that there aren't any?
What Tyrell did was unwise. And it was wrong.
Unwise because she allowed herself to be put in a position where Metrolink could cut her loose, and wrong because it flies in the face of the principles of natural justice.
She should have resigned in protest, rather than make such a statement.

casey of CA 8:56PM September 17, 2008

Well, to be fair, the Metrolink spokeswoman didn't make her comment until after "Higgins (Kitty Higgins, an NTSB board member) said tests at the crash site showed the signals are working properly and there were no obstructions that may have prevented the engineer from seeing the red light."

Walt of PA 7:42PM September 17, 2008

I was surprised at Tyrrell's statement and thought at the time "Wow, Metrolink is showing some backbone!" I heard her statement as one of compassion and acceptance of responsibility. I did not hear or take it to mean blame. I heard it as an admission that a mistake was made by one of our employees, we accept that responsibility.
I am a routine Metrolink rider and have been a Metrolink supporter, and I take this train just not as far as Chatsworth. It is clear to me that Metrolink is strategizing to avoid the legal issues involved with the federal law which limits total payout for any one accident to $200 million. With 26 dead and 130 injured, more than 80 of whom have serious or critical injuries, you can bet Metrolink is focused on this issue but they should be showing more concern for their customers, their relationships and their public.
Treating people with compassion and fairness is all most of us want. We are humand and we all know accidents happen. Tyrrell stepped up to the plate and did her job. Metrolink reaffirmed their behavior towards their public with their treatment of Tyrrell. You can bet Metrolink will want fix the blame elsewhere. They have started with Tyrrell and in the end it will be Metrolink who will affix the blame to the engineer. This is really a much larger failure on behalf of Metrolink. Metrolink is responsible (see the article by Najmedin Meshkati and James Osborn, "Rail safety's human error excuse" at http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-meshkati17-2008sep17,0,5267226.story).
Now, I have a decision to make. Do I continue to support Metrolink and take their trains or do I go back to driving to work, expending time, money and contributing greenhouse gases to the environment? I wouldn't be asking the question if Metrolink wasn't behaving so badly.

LEL of CA 1:49PM September 17, 2008

Did Metrolink Spokeswoman Do Her Job?

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