Railroad Accidents, Their Cause and Prevention — John Shaqi
Railroad Accidents, Their Cause and PreventionRichards, R. C. (Ralph Coffin)
History
Railroad Accidents, Their Cause and Prevention
Richards, R. C. (Ralph Coffin)
Railroad accidents
And lastly I will refer to a few cases of injuries which cannot well
be classified, so we will say from other causes. They are a
miscellaneous lot, none of which ought to have happened, or indeed
would have happened if the first rule of nature, self-preservation,
had been observed. But I will give you several examples:
A F. Ford, brakeman, injured at Lenopa, Sept. 3; hanging on side
of stock car instead of ladder, cow kicked him and broke his
wrist.
B. L. Pomeroy, brakeman, fatally injured at Schuyler, Oct 29; in
attempting to oil a hot box while train was running, he fell under
the wheels.
John Leveridge, fireman, injured at Worthington, May 8; passing
through town, waved hand at trainmen standing on side track,
struck mail crane, and injured his arm.
Richard Manville, switchman, injured at Poulsville, June 17; stood
on top of car giving signals and when slack ran out fell off of
car; left leg broken.
K. T. Morrison, brakeman, Homerton, April 26; went back along the
track, to flag his train, went to sleep on track, was struck and
killed by another train.
Prevention
SUGGESTIONS
And so I might go on detailing the various accidents that have
occurred from the carelessness of employees, but I believe I have
enumerated enough of them to illustrate the point I wish to make; that
is, the employee is too careless, thoughtless and negligent; and I
hope also to demonstrate that the larger part of them could be avoided
and that a united effort should be made by all to prevent them in the
future. It does not require any argument to prove that the many
accidents occurring every day, and the resulting injuries and
destruction of property, ought to be reduced, and that, if the rules
were complied with and proper care and supervision exercised in
transacting the business of the companies, their number and consequent
money loss would be materially reduced; and it is up to the employees
to do their share to bring about this necessary result. Railroads that
advertise that they have the best of everything--including men--that
have spent not thousands but millions for safety devices and
appliances, as many of the lines have, ought to be able to make a
better record; and I believe when the employees really understand the
matter such roads will be where they belong--at the head of the
procession, not only so far as freedom from accident is concerned, but
in everything else.
Blackstone, in his Commentaries on the Common Law of England, said
that the great beauty of the common law was that under it "there was
no wrong without a remedy," and so I say that there must be some
remedy which, if properly applied, would prevent the happening of a
large proportion of these casualties; and I suppose that the man who
says there is a wrong or criticises results ought to be able to
suggest some remedy which will sound plausible, even if it is not
practicable.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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