Current:Home > BackNTSB chair says new locomotive camera rule is flawed because it excludes freight railroads-LoTradeCoin
NTSB chair says new locomotive camera rule is flawed because it excludes freight railroads
View Date:2024-12-24 00:50:41
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Passenger railroads nationwide will now be required to install video recorders inside their locomotives, but the head of the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday the new rule is flawed because it excludes freight trains like the one that derailed and caught fire in eastern Ohio earlier this year.
The Federal Railroad Administration didn’t respond directly to the criticism of the rule requiring cameras showing both the train crew’s actions and a view from the front of passenger trains.
FRA spokesman Warren Flatau said freight railroads weren’t addressed because a 2015 law Congress passed only required regulators to establish a rule for passenger railroads. But many freight railroads, including all the biggest ones that handle a majority of shipments nationwide, have installed cameras voluntarily, starting with outward-facing cameras and later adding ones showing the crews’ actions.
The cameras are less common on smaller railroads. A spokeswoman for the American Short Line and Railroad Association said only a few short-line railroads have them and most of those are only outward-facing cameras.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said in a statement that the “FRA’s belief that the cost ‘could outweigh the safety benefits’ is an affront to every community that’s experienced a freight or freight-passenger rail disaster.”
The Norfolk Southern train that derailed in East Palestine near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border in February did have cameras, but Homendy said that because there are no federal standards for those cameras, investigators have only 20 minutes of footage from before that derailment.
“Though many in the freight rail industry have opted to install recorders voluntarily, there’s absolutely no standard for the number of hours of data they must preserve after an accident,” Homendy said. “East Palestine is a striking example: instead of having 12 hours’ worth of in cab video, as we’ve recommended, our investigators only have access to a 20-minute recording — not nearly enough to help us or the FRA identify critical safety improvements needed to prevent similar accidents from reoccurring.”
Homendy said the new rule also fails to require audio recordings inside the cabs of locomotives.
The NTSB made its recommendation to add cameras in locomotives in 2010 after it investigated the deadly 2008 collision between a Metrolink commuter train and a Union Pacific freight train in Chatsworth, California. That crash killed 25 people, including the Metrolink engineer, and injured more than 100. But the NTSB said such cameras would have been useful in dozens of other crashes because they can help determine what caused them, particularly when the train crew was killed or can’t remember key details.
Investigators determined that the Metrolink engineer was sending and receiving text messages on his cell phone before the crash, and he ran a red signal light before slamming into the Union Pacific freight train.
Congress responded to that Chatsworth collision by requiring railroads to develop and install an automatic braking system that might have prevented it — something that took more than a decade and roughly $15 billion to complete. And regulators banned cell phone use by train operators. Later, lawmakers also required regulators in the 2015 law to look at requiring locomotive video recorders for passenger trains.
Amtrak pledged in 2015 to install cameras on its trains after a crash in Philadelphia that killed eight people and injured about 200. This new rule will require cameras on all intercity commuter and passenger trains as well.
“While video recorders cannot directly prevent accidents, they help maintain a higher standard of safety,” said FRA Administrator Amit Bose. “In addition, these devices play a vital role in post-accident investigations, providing valuable evidence that helps us understand the circumstances leading to the accident and take appropriate action to prevent similar accidents in the future.”
veryGood! (1699)
Related
- Mississippi man charged with shooting 5 people after not being allowed into party
- Why Craig Conover Says It's Very Probable He and Paige DeSorbo Might Break Up
- Police find Missouri student Riley Strain’s body in Tennessee river; no foul play suspected
- Can’t Fall Asleep? This Cooling Body Pillow Is Only $28 During Amazon’s Big Spring Sale
- As US Catholic bishops meet, Trump looms over their work on abortion and immigration
- AP Week in Pictures: North America
- Police find Missouri student Riley Strain’s body in Tennessee river; no foul play suspected
- With organic fields next door, conventional farms dial up the pesticide use, study finds
- Advance Auto Parts is closing hundreds of stores in an effort to turn its business around
- Appeals court orders judge to investigate juror bias claims in Boston bomber's trial
Ranking
- Jelly Roll goes to jail (for the best reason) ahead of Indianapolis concert
- Shania Twain Responds to Lukas Gage Apologizing for Wasting Her Time With Chris Appleton Wedding
- 2024 Masters: Tigers Woods is a massive underdog as golf world closes in on Augusta
- Sara Evans, husband Jay Barker have reconciled after his 2022 arrest: 'We're so happy now'
- World War II veteran reflects on life as he turns 100
- Get 51% Off the Viral Revlon Heated Brush That Dries and Styles Hair at the Same Time
- Requiring ugly images of smoking’s harm on cigarettes won’t breach First Amendment, court says
- 'The spirits are still there': Old 'Ghostbusters' gang is back together in 'Frozen Empire'
Recommendation
-
San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had mild stroke this month, team says
-
Brandi Glanville Reveals How Tightening Her Mommy Stomach Gave Her Confidence
-
Did grocery chains take advantage of COVID shortages to raise prices? FTC says yes
-
Is Donald Trump’s Truth Social headed to Wall Street? It comes down to a Friday vote
-
Duke basketball vs Kentucky live updates: Highlights, scores, updates from Champions Classic
-
Search for missing student Riley Strain shifts to dam 40 miles from where he was last seen in Nashville
-
No. 11 Oregon stays hot and takes out South Carolina in another NCAA Tournament upset
-
Hermès Birkin accused of exploiting customers in class-action lawsuit filed in California