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Railroad Safety

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It can, and should, be said that the railroad industry is an industry where safety is paramount; not just for the men and women responsible for its operations, but also for the public forced to function on or near its premises each and every day. Railroads intervene and intertwine through every part of this nation’s countryside; from the largest of inner city infrastructures to the most rural of farmlands. It is part of everyday life for millions of Americans. So, one would have to ask, why, in an industry where safety is literally the difference between life or death, the Government’s lone safety oversight agency for the nation’s railroads would consider the potential for replacing and/or augmenting its primary method of operation; especially, …show more content…
No, it does not. Does a technology exist that can see a vehicle in the foul of tracks and do everything in its power; not just to see that all occupants make it to safety, but slow the train as much as possible (increasing the potential for survival) prior to making contact? No, it does not. Does a technology exist that can blow the horn to scare the two-year-old child running toward the tracks back to his mother? No, it does not. The bottom line is that the technology being considered for autonomous train operation, and/or to augment at least half of the human element in train operations, does not have the capacity or the ability to give a human being that life saving moment. That life saving moment that could literally mean the difference between life or …show more content…
The FRA has recognized and addressed that CSX, in its pursuit of a lower operating ratio, is moving away from safety as a result of the elimination of a number of its most safety oriented operating rules. [It’s] desire to implement technology in place of skilled, trained, and certified professionals is no different. It is a step away from the safest course, all in the name of the mighty dollar.

This nation’s citizens, tourists, and immigrants do not come with a price tag on their head. Each one is individually priceless. Because of that, this State Board is asking the FRA to give equal weight to the unmeasured, data-less events that save lives each and every day because of the two sets of eyes on freight locomotives rather than one or none, and because of the human

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