Amtrak said Tuesday it will install video cameras inside locomotive cabs to record the actions of train engineers, a move that follows a deadly derailment earlier this month in which investigators are searching for clues to the train engineer’s actions before the crash. The Amtrak engineer, Brandon Bostian, suffered a head injury in the accident […]
Amtrak to Install Long-Sought Cameras in Locomotives
Amtrak said Tuesday it will install video cameras inside locomotive cabs to record the actions of train engineers, a move that follows a deadly derailment earlier this month in which investigators are searching for clues to the train engineer’s actions before the crash. The Amtrak engineer, Brandon Bostian, suffered a head injury in the accident […]
Safety Tech Might Have Prevented Deadly Amtrak Crash
The deadly Amtrak derailment near Philadelphia appears to be yet another accident that didn’t have to happen. It could have been avoided if a long-sought safety technology had been installed on its tracks and trains, according to information gathered by accident investigators. Seven years ago, Congress gave Amtrak and freight and commuter railroads until the […]
Spate of Oil Train Derailments Raises Safety Concerns
Four trains hauling crude oil have derailed in the U.S. and Canada since mid-February, rupturing tank cars, spilling their contents, polluting waterways and igniting spectacular fires that burned for days. The derailments have deepened safety concerns that if an oil-train accident were to occur in a populated area, the results could be disastrous. View: Photos […]
Carmakers Unite to Protect Consumer Privacy
Nineteen automakers accounting for most of the passenger cars and trucks sold in the U.S. have signed onto a set of principles they say will protect motorists’ privacy in an era when computerized cars pass along more information about their drivers than many motorists realize. The principles were delivered in a letter Wednesday to the […]
New Studies Point out Dangers of ‘Talking’ to Car
Washington (AP) — Just because you can talk to your car doesn’t mean you should. Two new studies have found that voice-activated smartphones and dashboard infotainment systems may be making the distracted-driving problem worse instead of better. The systems let drivers do things like tune the radio, send a text message or make a phone […]
Hyundai Fined $17.35M for Brake Defect
Hyundai has agreed to pay a $17.35 million fine for delayed reporting of a brake defect affecting Genesis luxury cars, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday. The defect involves corrosion in critical brake system components that can reduce braking effectiveness and increase the risk of a crash, NHTSA said. Hyundai was aware in […]
Railroad Crashes Prompt New U.S. Safety Rules
A string of fiery train derailments across North America has triggered a high-stakes but behind-the-scenes campaign to shape how the U.S. government responds to calls for tighter safety rules. Since 2008, 10 significant derailments have occurred in the U.S. and Canada in which crude oil has spilled from ruptured tank cars, often resulting in huge […]
Rail Safety Effort Marred By Squabbling
Spurred by a series of fiery train crashes, a push by U.S. government and industry to make safer tank cars used for shipping crude oil and ethanol has bogged down in squabbling and finger-pointing over whether they’re needed and if so, who should pay. The Department of Transportation, worried about the potential for catastrophic accidents […]
Freight Train Industry to Miss Safety Deadline
Only one-fifth of its track will be equipped with mandatory safety technology to prevent the most catastrophic kinds of collisions and derailments by the deadline set by Congress, the freight railroad industry said Wednesday. The Association of American Railroads said in a report that about 20 percent of the approximately 60,000 miles of track being […]