This photo was taken during our trip last spring, somewhere west of Albany, NY. I'm not sure when this wreck took place but it appears to be relatively new. Further down the tracks were several more cars and piles of wheel sets. I'm assuming it wasn't a big wreck regarding fatalities as I thought I would have heard about it in the news; not like the one recently in California where the engineer was, as confirmed today, text messaging while at the throttle. This is not only a terrifying idea, it's a tragic reality for the twenty five people who were killed and their families and friends. Firstly it's absurd to me that technology in 2008 could not have prevented this accident on one of our oldest inventions, the railroad. Even more perverse, is that modern technology, the ability to text message took part in the collision. Of course the cause itself is not the technology, but the person at the controls.This is not the first time this has happened. Quite recently in the Boston area a few months ago, a commuter train collided with another; the engineer on her cell phone at the time. She did not survive.
So fine, people make mistakes and technology can't save us from everything. But what I'm also concerned with is the lack of outrage. Twenty five people lost their lives because someone was texting. No doubt it was trivial; "Hey what's up?" or "Do you want me to pick up some milk on the way home?" Whatever it was it could have waited. Nothing at that moment was more important than the job at hand; operating a train safely. I know we're all preoccupied with the economy, the election and so much more, but shouldn't this be a major concern?
It's bad enough NASA astronauts are flying the space shuttle drunk, but I don't drive a space shuttle, I drive a car. Every week there are a few occasions where I have to honk my horn to get the attention of someone not looking straight ahead, while they dial their cell phone. Recently in New York City, within the span of one week, there were three incidents where drivers drove up onto the sidewalks, mowing a few people down while talking on the phone. What's it going to take for something to be done? More enforcement? Public service announcements?
I'm sure there are many things that could be done, like mentioning it in this blog. The best thing an individual can do, is not dial and drive. It's possible this rant sounds like a lecture, preachy. Maybe. But I don't think so; if you were on a train, reading the newspaper after a long hard day at work and suddenly a freight train plowed into the car you were sitting in you'd think otherwise. If you were lucky enough to survive and witnessed, what I can only imagine as an absolute crushing horror, I think you would re-examine your driving habits if you found out that all of those people whom you chatted with on the train, sat next to; were maimed and killed because someone was texting a trivial message.
