After a fatal accident in New York City that killed four people and injured more than 60 others, commuters may wonder how safe rail travel is.
An early morning train bound for New York derailed while passing a curve in the tracks. This accident is currently under investigation. The train was traveling through the curve at 132 mph when the speed limit was 48 mph
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Despite the dramatic nature of train accidents, rail travel still compares favorably with other modes of travel, including airplanes and automobiles.
However, suicide by jumping onto trains must also be added to the statistics of train deaths. The greatest number of deaths occurs in motor vehicle travel on highways. The number of deaths here is very high. The main reason for this is human factors in the driver\’s seat. The slightest carelessness or inattention while driving can bring disaster. In trains, this is eliminated by the driver. Trains are synchronized so that no two trains collide.
However, it is difficult to compare the safety records of different modes of transportation. This analysis does not work as well as for airplanes, since accident rates for automobiles and trains are usually reported in miles, while most aircraft accidents occur during takeoff and landing, not in flight.
There are rail safety innovations that can help prevent train accidents, such as Positive Train Control (PTC), a technology that automatically stops or slows trains before train-to-train collisions or high-speed derailments, or alerts the engineer that the track is out of service for repairs or maintenance In.
This year, the system is required by the 2008 Rail Safety Act to be installed on all trains carrying passengers or certain hazardous materials. Further analysis and statistics will then show whether the installation of the system has been successful.
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