The Great Train Wreck could have been easily prevented

[BigTex]

Have they found any thermite residue on the tracks?

[Sangersteve]

The deadly Amtrak wreck has made it clear that despite the train industry’s widespread use of electronic signals, sensors and warning systems, safety still sometimes comes down to the knowledge and experience of the engineer at the controls.

Those skills would have been critical on the curve where the New York-bound train derailed, killing eight and injuring more than 200 in the deadliest U.S. train accident in nearly six years.

Instead of high-tech signals or automatic controls, engineers on that stretch of track have to rely on their familiarity with the route and a printed timetable they carry with them, not unlike engineers a century ago.

“We’re depending heavily on the human engineer to correctly obey and interpret the signals that he sees and also speed limits and other operating requirements,” said David B. Clarke, a railroad expert at the University of Tennessee.

The engineer of the train has told investigators that he does not recall the moments leading up to Tuesday night’s crash.

The conductor told the NTSB in an interview Friday that he felt comfortable with the train and was not fatigued, Sumwalt said.

In the minute before the derailment, the Amtrak train accelerated from 70 mph to more than 100 mph, even though the curve where it came off the tracks has a maximum speed of 50 mph.

Experts say the railroad’s signaling system would have slowed the train automatically if it had hit the maximum speed allowed on the line, but older cab-signal and train-control systems do not respond to localized speed restrictions.

Investigators are also conducting drug tests. Bostian’s lawyer has said he was not using drugs or alcohol.

Preliminary checks have not found any pre-existing problems with the train, the rail line or the signals.

[BigTex]

His defense should be that he was concerned about AIDS research and was in a hurry to make a contribution to the Clinton Foundation.

[John in Plano]

If this is true, it is certainly not surprising.
Didn't something similar happening in Cali a few years back ??

Texting by the engineer on the commuter and collided with a freight train iirc.

And I don't remember what happened to those engineers. Have they verified the guy really was texting? If so, I imagine he will get get to see all the penises he wants for a very long time to come. Can't imagine any way he's gonna avoid prison.

Engineer in the CA crash died, he was texting with a train enthusiast.