Evening star., 1927-10-30
Progress in Railway Safety.

at is doubtful remarks the Rail.
way Age in its current issue, "if there
Is anything an inhabitant of the United
States can do now with more safety
than ride in a passenger train, unless
it is stay in bed" Judging from the
figures given to sustain this state.
ment it would almost seem as though
the exception mentioned were need
less, for there are more fatal acci-
dents to bed-stayers than to passen-
gers on American railway trains. Dur
ing the first six months of 1927 only
two travellers by train were killed.
one Of the fatalities being due to a col
lision and the other to a derailment.
The number of passengers carried
during the period was 4l6, $50 900, and
the average distance they travelled was
thirty-ni miles. Therefore. on the
average, notes the Railway Age, only
one passenger in each 20S. S.265 900 was
killed while riding on train. That is
undeniably remarkable record. AL
together during the first half of the
year forty passengers were killed. but
nineteen Of them lost their lives while
getting on or off trains, eight by be-
ing struck by trains or cars and eleven
in miscellaneous ways. Even with
total passenger loss Of forty the aver.
age was one to 10,413,250 carried,
whereas the best previous record for
a full year was 13s, or one in 1915, 900,
in 1923.
Commenting upon these figures the
Railway Age says:
For many years the managements
and employees have been cooperating
energetically and intelligently to in
crease safety of operation, and 1t is
doubtful il any other industry in the
world has made a better record in re.
ducing accidents than our railways.
The worst record ever made was in
1913, when the total number of per-
sons of all classes killed was 10,964.
The number of passengers killed in
that year was $50, while in 1925 it was
only 176, a reduction of so per cent.
The number Of employees killed in 1913
was 3.715, and in 1926 only 1900, re-
duction Of 81 per cent.
Had 1t not been for the strongly con-
servative policy Of the railway cor.
porations of this country in the mat.
ter of the adoption of certain safety
devices undoubtedly the record to
which the Railway Age points with
such justifiable satisfaction would
have been even better. Resistance to
the adoption Of the automatic coupler
and the air brake is known to have
delayed for good many years the
equipment Of trains with these life-
saving appliances. The same has been
true Of the automatic train control
system, which has won its way into
adoption only with the greatest DIFF.
ficulty, against the resistance Of the
corporations. At last, however, 1t Is
established as a principle, and in fact
in service on some lines. and in short
period there will be reason to look for
still further reduction of the acci-
dent ratio, particularly with regard
10 railway workers, who now make
VIC AAiojoA SOhI lUutiOi 10 Tie IIlOEIdI-
tty records of American railroading.
There remains the matter of slaugh.
ter at the grade crossings, which is
shockingly frequent. For these fatal.
ties. in the present conditions. the
railroads are not blamable, although
there was time when they resisted
highway intersection Improvements
on the score Of expense. The Railway
Age says on this point:
The most difficult safety problem
with which the railways have had to
deal within recent years has been pre-
sented at highway grade crossings.
but at last there seems to be some
progress being made in dealing with
this problem, the number of persons
: killed at such crossings having shown
small reduction in the f1vet half of
this year in spite of the continued in
crease in the number of automobiles.
Educational efforts in all parts Of
the country have contributed in large
measure to this small but satisfy
ing reduction in the number Of casual
ties at the grade crossings. But 1t is
evident that until the frequented in
tersections are placed above or below
the tracks there will continue to be
a shocking and needless sacrifice of
life. That is the next great problem
of public safety remaining to be
solved.