Train Accidents
Railroads represent a very important part of history.
When they first came about, they were a very important form of personal transportation, and led to important legislation like the creation of time zones.
Today, railroads are just as important.
There are more tracks, more locomotives and longer trains.
This makes the use of railroads more lucrative, but also more dangerous.
In the United States there are over 600 railroads.
This includes over 200,000 miles of track.
These railroads reach coast to coast and connect the north to the south.
That's a lot of railroad across the country.
These railroads run about 1.
2 million freight cars and 20,000 locomotives.
While this is great for transportation purposes, all of these trains running across the country can make railroad crossings very dangerous places.
The National Transportation Safety Board indicates that somewhere around 80% of all public railroad crossings are not protected.
These crossings lack not only safety gates, but warning lights that let cars know that trains are approaching.
This leads to a great deal of serious injury and death.
Approximately 60% of all railroad crossing fatalities occur at these unprotected crossings.
That comes out to around 3,000 train accidents every year, causing over 1,000 deaths each year.
Those are incredibly high numbers.
Unfortunately, many of these deaths could be avoided with simple safety precautions.
However, even this would not solve all of the problems that lead to train accidents.
If 60% of all railroad crossing fatalities occur at unprotected crossings, that leaves 40% of these deaths that occur at protected crossings.
While some of these deaths are due to poor judgment on the part of motorists, this certainly does not account for all of this 40% of deaths.
Some very common causes of railroad crossing accidents involve a lack of safety precautions like safety gates, warning lights and warning signs.
However, these causes can also include poor maintenance of tracks and crossings.
Inexperience or fatigue in train conductors, as well as their failure to sound warning whistles, can also lead to train accidents.
Train accidents do not only occur at crossings.
Common forms of train accidents include collisions with other trains, collisions with passenger vehicles, and derailment.
Unfortunately, these accidents happen far more often than they should.
If you would like more information about train accidents, you can find it at www.
terryandslane.
com.
When they first came about, they were a very important form of personal transportation, and led to important legislation like the creation of time zones.
Today, railroads are just as important.
There are more tracks, more locomotives and longer trains.
This makes the use of railroads more lucrative, but also more dangerous.
In the United States there are over 600 railroads.
This includes over 200,000 miles of track.
These railroads reach coast to coast and connect the north to the south.
That's a lot of railroad across the country.
These railroads run about 1.
2 million freight cars and 20,000 locomotives.
While this is great for transportation purposes, all of these trains running across the country can make railroad crossings very dangerous places.
The National Transportation Safety Board indicates that somewhere around 80% of all public railroad crossings are not protected.
These crossings lack not only safety gates, but warning lights that let cars know that trains are approaching.
This leads to a great deal of serious injury and death.
Approximately 60% of all railroad crossing fatalities occur at these unprotected crossings.
That comes out to around 3,000 train accidents every year, causing over 1,000 deaths each year.
Those are incredibly high numbers.
Unfortunately, many of these deaths could be avoided with simple safety precautions.
However, even this would not solve all of the problems that lead to train accidents.
If 60% of all railroad crossing fatalities occur at unprotected crossings, that leaves 40% of these deaths that occur at protected crossings.
While some of these deaths are due to poor judgment on the part of motorists, this certainly does not account for all of this 40% of deaths.
Some very common causes of railroad crossing accidents involve a lack of safety precautions like safety gates, warning lights and warning signs.
However, these causes can also include poor maintenance of tracks and crossings.
Inexperience or fatigue in train conductors, as well as their failure to sound warning whistles, can also lead to train accidents.
Train accidents do not only occur at crossings.
Common forms of train accidents include collisions with other trains, collisions with passenger vehicles, and derailment.
Unfortunately, these accidents happen far more often than they should.
If you would like more information about train accidents, you can find it at www.
terryandslane.
com.