Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-02-07
RAILROAD ACCIDENTS.

The Editor Of the Railroad Gazette,
in recent number OF that publica-
ton, discusses railroad accidents, and
arrives at conclusions similar to those
stated in these columns. He says
railroad managers are doing more
than ever to prevent accidents, but
they cannot succeed entirely until
they Nave full control OF the employ
ment of men. He maintains that col
lisons are almost without exception
due to disobedisnce of orders He an
alyzes the situation as follows:
only 1.421 people were killed in
| train accidents. or these, 77B lost
their lives in collisions, and IL is quite
nearly true to say that every collision
is due to dis1bodience of orders "A
lack of disclpline-so that at least this
much is pure waste and can be stop
ped. OF the SIS lives lost In derail-
ments this is nearly but not quite so
true A detailed examination shows
that at least % of these lives could
not have been saved by the railroad
mans vigilance. Unusual disturbances
by the forces of nature and malicious
interference are beyond control. Also
by no means all these derailments
We're due to a lack of discipline, a
considerable proportion, fully one
fourth, were caused by defects in
equipment, preventable, but not by
the same methods"
But official reports give the number
of fatal accidents the past year as
5000. The editor of the Gazette offers
the following explanation;
THE other killings which go TO
make up the total of 5000 are S,57g
lives lost on the right-of-way and
careful examination Of these losses is
most instructive. For example, Seven
passengers lost their heads by sticking
them out of windows, and 147 pai-
sengers were killed while trying to
save time in getting on and off trains.
Due TO the same foolishness, IN ire
than 2.00D passengers were wounded
-self-inillcted injuries beyond the
control OF others In coupling and
uncoupling cars. SO2 employees lost
their lives last year. In the year
1890 q greater number. 500, we're
killed while doing that work, although
the number of freight cars In service
has considerably more than doubled
during that period and the yard and
terminal work has increased by a
much larger proportion This subject
is worth a little further study; Rail-
road accident statistics show. uncer-
tainly. that 10 are injured for each
ono killed.; but In car coupling acct
dents the ratio is % to i. In 1870,
7Si2 were injured while coupling-
less than hair aus many cars were
coupled as last year, when only 3,9iS
were injured that is TO say, more
than 10 per cent. Of those injuries
have been eliminated. We may as
sumo that this relative reduction in
! killing and wounding Is entirely due
to The use OF the automatic car coupl-
or. b In tending switches and other
similar work about trains, $40 wore
Killed this year. This, too. Is a pre-
| portlonate reduction. due To the in
| croasing use IN busy yards of "a power
| movement OF switches IN connection
| with the interlocking machines, IN
/ contacts with overhead bridges ana
| structures l42 lives were lost last
| year"
The inference rs that the number az
collisions ana derailments can be les
sened boy the vigilance Of the mon.
but that accidents from other causes
viii continue, no matter what .ail-
road managers may do