The Metrolink rail accident in 2008, which resulted in serious injuries and 25 deaths, led U. S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to consider having the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) propose rules and regulations on railroad employees using Personal Electronic Devices (PEDS), while on duty. There is already a temporary restriction for cell phone use in…
The FRA defines a quiet zone as “a section of a rail line that contains one or more consecutive public crossings at which locomotive horns are not routinely sounded”. In plain English, this simply means that there are certain places where railroad tracks cross public highways or roads. However, as a result of an official…
Do not make an illegal lane change in front of a tractor trailer. That is the clear and simple message that two people in a Ford Thunderbird learned recently. The driver in the Thunderbird made a sudden lane change on Interstate 77 (I-77) near the North Carolina (NC)/South Carolina (SC) border and the result was…
In the aftermath of the railroad accident involving a Metrolink railroad worker was texting at the time the accident occurred, there has been a push for cell phone use, especially texting, to be restricted or even banned all together while operating a train. This push isn’t new. Many states have passed laws imposing fines for…
Ikea and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on June 10, 2010, announced an expanded recall of window blinds with draw strings and connecting cords that can trap, injure and kill young children. Many Ikea blinds have been recalled previously for similar safety problems. The CPSC and company have identified the following potential hazards from…