Transportation fatalities in the United States decreased by three percent in 2013 from 2012, according to preliminary figures released yesterday by the National Transportation Safety Board. Fatalities in all modes of transportation totaled 34,678 in 2013, compared with 35,796 in 2012. Deaths in marine, aviation, highway and pipeline transportation decreased, although there was a rise in rail deaths.
A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) go team is en route to the site of a fatal train accident that occurred last night north of New York City. NTSB rail investigator Michael Hiller is leading the team as investigator-in-charge.
Rail tank cars that carry crude oil, ethanol and other hazardous materials across the country must do it more safely. That's one of four new issues on the NTSB's Most Wanted List for 2015. Also new to the list of top 10 areas that need safety improvements are: Requiring that transportation operators be medically fit for duty; strengthening commercial trucking safety; and requiring pilots to strengthen procedural compliance.
The National Transportation Safety Board has issued a Safety Alert that focuses on the visibility of railroad signals. On railroads, light-emitting diode (LED) railroad signals may mask nearby incandescent signals, preventing incandescent signals from being visible to train crews.
Connecticut worker was fired, intimidated after being injured on the job
December 22, 2014
Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company's actions against an injured worker have resulted in the largest punitive damages ever in a retaliation case under the Federal Railroad Safety Act. A recent investigation by OSHA found that the worker, who was employed as a coach cleaner for the commuter rail carrier, was retaliated against after reporting the knee injury he suffered on Nov. 17, 2011.
Paul Proudlock went to bed at midnight to calibrate his sleep for a freight train he was to drive at 2 p.m. the next day. At 2:15 a.m., a Canadian Pacific dispatcher called him and asked him to take a passenger train in three hours.
Metro North Railroad comes in for some harsh criticism in a report issued this week by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) about five accidents involving the company’s trains that occurred within less than a year.
Six fatalities, 126 injuries within 11-month period
October 29, 2014
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says it identified several recurring safety issues in its investigation of recent five Metro-North accidents. Among them: inadequate and ineffective track inspection and maintenance, extensive deferred maintenance issues, inadequate safety oversight, and deficiencies in passenger car crashworthiness, roadway worker protection procedures and organizational safety culture.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has determined that the May 28, 2013 train/truck collision, 15-car derailment, and subsequent explosion in Rosedale, Md. was caused by the truck driver’s failure to ensure that the tracks were clear before traversing an un-gated highway-rail grade crossing. Contributing to the accident was the truck driver’s distraction due to a phone conversation on a hands-free device at the time of the crash.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced an extension of the comment period for proposed new alcohol and drug testing requirements for railroad maintenance workers. The regulations, which were unveiled in July, would mean an expansion of drug and alcohol testing that is already in place for conductors, engineers and dispatchers.