Questions Persist Following Boston Metro Crash

Over the weekend, a Boston Metro trolley crashed into another trolley, injuring nearly 50 people and totaled three trolley cars. Word came out that the driver of the vehicle that crashed admitted to text messaging at the time of the accident and had a troublesome record, including multiple tickets and one accident, in which a death occurred (although none of the tickets or the accident would have precluded Quinn from obtaining the job).

Normally, that would be the end of the query, but there's much more to this story, as Jules Crittenden points out. Apparently the driver, Aiden Quinn, was transgendered and originally applied for the job under the name Georgia Quinn.

Never mind the texting, the three speeding tickets and one accident in recent years and the relative youth at 24. Should people who deny fundamental biological facts and claim to be of the opposite gender be entrusted with large public conveyances that carry dozens of commuters? Would it be discriminatory to question their judgment and stability? Should the NTSB be looking at possible medical issues, such as any effect hormone treatments for example might have on behavior, perception and judgment?

Transgender trolley driver/texting crash background at Boston Herald. Discussion of MBTA hiring criteria Boston Globe looks at the youth and driving record issues, mentions the transgender aspect but does not take it into consideration.

The NTSB will definitely examine the medical records and see if the treatment plan (including hormone therapy) may have put lives in jeopardy by causing impairment of judgment. It's in this context that the transgender question will be addressed; I don't expect it to evaluate the question of whether transgendered persons should be allowed to drive or operate mass transit vehicles.