Caitlin Williamson – Special to the Southern News
With the holiday season approaching, obvious traveling takes place all over the world through many different forms of transportation. However, with horrific accidents seeming to occur in almost all forms of locomotion, travelers are beginning to worry what is the safest way to visit loved ones, or arrive home safely this year. With the most recent crashes on Dec. 1, 2013, occurring with derailments of a Metro-North passenger train about 10 miles shy of Manhattan’s Grand Central Terminal.
Alexandra Field, Matt Smith, and Catherine E. Shoichet reported for CNN on this event, stating that the train had been traveling at far over the limit speeds at about 82 mph in a 30 mph restricted curve just along the Hudson and Harlem River intersection. Records state that four out of the 150 travelers on the train during the derailment were killed from the crash, with over sixty passengers injured.
Investigations are beginning with the train operator at the time of the accident, who insists that he applied the brakes in order to slow the train down before the curve. He states that the brakes of the train are the issue here at fault, that they were not correctly equipped which led to the deadly crash by the Hudson. Officials are stating that the brakes are not at fault, with further investigations coming into place throughout the upcoming weeks to back up their collective discoveries. There is also discussion of looking at the train operator’s cell phone to make sure there was no activity being taken place during traveling time, distracting him from his duty of ensuring safe travels for the passengers.
This is not the only derailment we have seen this year, this past summer there was a deadly train crash in Northwestern Spain. This crash killed nearly eighty people, traveling at close to 95 mph during the derailment. The trail operator of this train, however, was found guilty of using a cellphone during the traveling time: even worse, he was on the phone with railroad staff when the accident happened.
I have heard many arguments discussing the age and the wear and tear of these tracks, exactly how long have the foundation that the trains have been traveling over been there and how well are they checked and taken care of. It’s scary to think when the railroad system began, and how long trains have been traveling over them at high speeds. Clearly there is daily maintenance on these tracks, replacing older rails that were placed there years ago. So who is to blame then?
Train engineer of the fatal crash, William Rockefellar Jr., stated that he was “in a daze,” to Pete Donahue, of New York Daily News. He apparently zoned out and the next thing he knew he was applying the brakes to try to prevent the crash, however, the attempt was too late.
Investigations continue with this case, but for travelers worrying about the present moment, simply take precaution with any travels. With the holidays come unfortunate accidents with travels, especially driving. It will be interesting to see exactly how many travelers there will be this holiday season, however, with the unsettling fear of the what if’s and could happens of transportation.
