NYC train derailment airs queries about technology

[No Elephants]

?w=360&h=240&crop=1

Dec 3, 2:20 AM EST

NYC train derailment airs queries about technology

By JIM FITZGERALD and FRANK ELTMAN

Washington Commuter Train Crash

YONKERS, N.Y. (AP) -- The revelation that a New York City commuter train derailed while barreling into a sharp curve at nearly three times the speed limit is fueling questions about whether automated crash-avoidance technology could have prevented the carnage.

Safety authorities have championed what's known as positive train control technology for decades, but the railroad industry has sought to postpone having to install it because of the high cost and technological issues.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_NYC_TRAIN_DERAILMENT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-12-03-02-20-37

I don't know what happened. But, is there good reason to die coming home from Thanksgiving with the folks on a train 2013, assuming government and industry had made human safety their first railroad priority for the past 200+ years?

And the following didn't take long, did it?

Despite Metro-North Crash, Riding the Rails Is Safer Than Riding a Car

A fatal train crash north of New York City raises fears about the safety of rail travel. But a look at the numbers shows that trains remain much safer than cars.

<snip>

It’s not the first accident in 2013 for the Metro-North railroad, which carries over 80 million people to and from New York each year. In May, two Metro-North trains collided in Connecticut, injuring more than 70 people. And over the summer a freight train carrying trash derailed on the same curve of track where yesterday’s accident occurred, though no one was hurt.

http://science.time.com/2013/12/02/despite-metro-north-crash-riding-the-rails-is-safer-than-riding-a-car/#ixzz2mP95xQxK

Sure, because of the number of cars vs. the number of trains, the training of car drivers vs. the training of engineers, the ability to monitor the eyesight, reflexes, health and sobriety of car drivers vs. engineers, and everything else about cars and their drivers are just like trains and train engineers, who drive for a living.

So, of course, it makes a lot of sense to make that comparison. Motorcycles and bicycles and even walking, too.
All totally commparable. So, as usually, it's a no brainer, folks. Nothing to think about here. No one to blame. No need for regulation or installation of anything that costs money.

Your own lousy walking is more dangerous to you than any job creator. And don't even get me started on falling in the bathroom, you foolish klutz.

Well, I'm convinced. Think I'll hop a train to the convenience store.

[Enthusiast]

1. The GOP is proposing cuts to rail.

It is already dangerously underfunded. But better people die than increase revenue on the already ugly rich.

[No Elephants]

2. Same ole, same ole. Applies in many areas, too.

"For most employers, it was cheaper to replace a dead or injured worker than it was to introduce safety measures."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupational_Safety_and_Health_Act

And everyone likes "cheaper," don't they? :sarcasm: