New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-11-10
Railroad Accidents
Mistaken differences Drawn F.,
Unanalyzed Statistics
To the Editor of The Tribune.

To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: An item appeared in The Tribun.
October 10, entitled Railways KIN ~
Thousand" quoting the Interstate Conn
Commission statistics as evidence a, -
killing of 10000 and the injury Of ina
persons in railroad accidents in 1915
bare statement Of these totals, VITA
analysis or explanation, is misleading :,
unjust to our railroads. Five years sso \
American Railway Association appoin,.s
special committee on accident statistic,
posed of representatives of the. Pennsylv,,,
Railroad, Central Railroad Of New J,,,.N
and Southern Pacific, to suggest change, |.
the classification and publication Of Int.
state Commerce Commission accident g,
tistics that would prevent misconstrucs,,
by making them reflect actual condit,,,
more clearly than they now do.
Only 562, or Sc per cent, of the total f,,,s
ties in 1915 were due to collisions and 4.
railments of trains, the other ga per e,,,
being due to other causes, thus:
One and seven-tenths per cent Of the to.l
were due to negligence Of passengers. "A,
2l.4 per cent TO the negligence Of emplo,,,
in falling from or getting on and of trs,,
and in walking on tracks; over II per ca.
to fatalities TO persons carried under con.
tract and others, nearly all of whom wen
killed at grade crossings, and nearly ~ D.,
cent, or almost half OF the total, due 70 Ire.
passing on trains or on tracks. Europen
roads are entirely free from this source a
tbair loupa forkfJ
severe penalties, unauthorized persons fro,
boarding trains or walking on tracks, bu
our carriers are not similarly protected
They frequently have appealed in vain |,
lawmakers to conserve life by forbiddir,
trespassing. Finally, 5.3 per cent Of d,
fatalities occurred in shops, at stations, st.
and we're in no wise due TO the operation a
trains.
Collisions and derailments caused but 4,
per cent Of the total injuries; the remanin,
96.1 per cent is made up Of 59,2s5 sccidents
or 30.1 per cent due to negligence Of pa,
sengers and employees, trespassers snt
others, while 129,74O accidents, or IS ps
cent of the total, we're in no wise connects,
with the operation Of trains, but covered %
cidents, mostly trivial, in shops, around s.s
tions, etc.
We are no more justified In charging mis-
haps to longshoremen, freight agents, ar
clerks, and those engaged in building an
repairing ships, nor to passengers an
others in embarkng and disembarkng, ,
the perils of the sea than we are in chsri
ing corresponding misadventures in an
around railroad shops and stations 10 ii
peril Of the rails.
We invite attention to these matters, II
to depreciate loss of life in operating train
or to excuse it, but in order that they ma
be correctly understood and Judged. Ever
railroad officer is constantly and earnest
seeking increased safety, but few people kno
what they accomplish. In 1915 302 compsnis
operating $4,000 miles of railroa6-eql
to the combined railroad mileage OF &c
many, France, Austria, Hungary and RI
sia--or Sc per cent Of our total, transport,
60 per cent Of all passenger and 81 per eel
of all freight traffic without killing a sing
passenger in a train accident. One Amei
can system Of over 1900 miles, employii
$4,000 men and carrying 100000 pas,e
gers in 1915, conducted its operations wi
the loss Of not one passenger and but a
employees in accidents to trains.
J. KRUTTSCHNITT,
Chairman, Special Committee on Accident
Statistics Of the American Railway As
ISOLATION.
New York, Nov. 8, 1917.