Transportation Safety

RSS

The engineer who was in control of an Amtrak passenger train that derailed Dec. 18 in DuPont, Washington as it sped into a speed-restricted curve told investigators he didn’t see the speed limit sign that was posted two miles ahead of the curve. Three passengers were killed and 62 injured in the derailment.

Amid a resurgence in U.S. traffic fatalities now taking roughly 100 lives a day, an advocacy group today issued a report card identifying states that do the most, and least, to improve highway safety. The ratings by Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety credited six states — California, Oregon, Washington, Louisiana, Delaware and Rhode Island—with having the most protective road safety laws.

Indecision and communication issues during an emergency on board an American Airlines flight put the lives of 161 passengers and nine crew members in jeopardy, but fortunately, there were no fatalities during the Oct. 28, 2017 episode. That was one of the conclusions about the incident at Chicago O’Hare International Airport that was already released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Two unrelated railroad accidents – one of them fatal - have resulted in four new safety recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). In its investigation of a railroad employee fatality in Kansas City, Kansas that occurred on Sept. 29, 2015, the NTSB determined the probable cause of the accident was a foreman being in the gage of the track, for unknown reasons, while a train switching movement was being performed by another crew.

Posted with permission from Confined Space, a newsletter of workplace safety and labor issues. After a 3 month-long trial, jurors are finally deliberating on the fate of three rail workers accused of criminal neglegence when a “bomb train” carrying 73 cars of highly combustible crude oil derailed in the small Quebec town of Lac-Mégantic in 2013, killing 47 people.

“Safety should not be a competitive advantage.” That’s the message I keep in mind every time I visit groups that represent employers, like the Network of Employers for Transportation Safety (NETS) which focuses on highway safety, or when I meet with the executives at individual companies, who may use many different modes of transportation for their businesses.

It wasn’t distracted driving that caused last month’s fatal Amtrak derailment in Washington State, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which has released preliminary details in what is expected to be a lengthy investigation. Exactly what did cause the accident has yet to be determined.

Federal state and local officials gathered last week in Point Pleasant, West Virginia to commemorate a tragedy. Fifty years ago, during rush hour on Dec. 15, 1967, the Silver Bridge connecting Ohio and West Virginia collapsed into the Ohio River, sending 46 people to their death. Investigators later determined that the collapse was caused by a crack in an eyebar in the bridge’s suspension chain.