Crashes caused by distracted driving led to more than 3,000 deaths in 2020, an average of almost nine fatalities per day, according to the National Safety Council (NSC). Phone calls, texts, social media and the like are dangerous distractions while driving and they can be deadly, as the NSC statistics show. Smartphones aren’t the only […]
A federal investigation found that a fatal 2021 multivehicle crash in Phoenix, Arizona occurred because a tractor-trailer driver hauling a load of milk was too fatigued to be behind the wheel. Additionally, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reports that drivers who fall under hours-of-service exemptions, such as the milk truck driver who was in […]
The East Palestine, Ohio chemical disaster is spurring a bipartisan push for better rail safety. Ohio Senators J.D. Vance (R) and Sherrod Brown (D) are proposing tougher guidelines for trains carrying hazardous materials: Bipartisan support in Congress may be there “Right now, fines don’t make a dent in the profits of big [rail] corporations,” says […]
Federal investigators found some anomalies with the function of pressure relief devices (PRDs) from five of the vinyl chloride monomer tank cars involved in the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said that further testing is required to assess the impact of these anomalies on […]
A federal investigation revealed that a mine’s lack of hazard awareness training and failure to properly warn of overhead high-voltage power lines led to the electrocution of an 18-year-old truck driver. The truck driver, who didn’t have a commercial driver license (CDL), was electrocuted when his trailer’s tarping mechanism came in contact with an energized […]
A federal agency announced a special investigation of Norfolk Southern Railway’s organization and safety culture following the Feb. 3 East Palestine incident and a second derailment in Springfield, Ohio on March 4. The National Transportation Safety Board will be investigating the East Palestine incident, which resulted in massive toxic chemical release, along with four other […]
In the aftermath of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio that resulted in a massive release of toxic chemicals, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is calling on safety reform in the railroad industry. The Feb. 4, 2023, incident involved a train more than 100 cars long with 20 of those cars carrying hazardous […]
Changes are coming to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Safety Measurement System (SMS) to reduce and prevent crashes. The federal agency has proposed changes it says will allow it to better identify companies needing the most intervention and will help companies better understand how to use the data it collects to influence safer […]
Statistically speaking, commercial rail transport of oil, liquefied gas, chemicals and other hazardous materials is very safe. Just don’t try telling that to the residents of East Palestine, Ohio whose lives were upended by the Norfolk Southern train derailment. The results of a controlled burn of toxic chemicals in damaged rail cars and untold spillage […]
