TIMEOUT FOR TECH
IDENTIFY, INVEST, INNOVATE, IMPLEMENT, IMPROVE Derailment safety in the U.S., 1975 to 2021—and goals for the future.
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By Gary T. Fry, Ph.D., P.E., Vice President, Fry Technical Services, Inc.
elcome to “Timeout for Tech.” Each month in this series, we examine a technology topic that professionals in the railway industry have asked to learn more about. This month, we focus on high-level derailment safety statistics, including the most recent complete year, 2021. Each year going forward, we will dedicate an article to 30 Railway Age // August 2022
providing a derailment safety update. I am often asked about safety in the railway industry and why it is such a conspicuous topic with railroaders. Safety is priority number one—the first objective to secure—no matter the setting. A safety briefing is the first item of business on every meeting docket in the industry. A safety briefing is the first work task on every rail jobsite. Truly, “Safety First” is a way of life for railroaders. With such an emphasis on safety, I have
been asked if a railroad is an especially unsafe environment. When asked, I explain my definition of a safe environment: a place where a responsible person can leave an active and alert toddler unattended for half an hour. There aren’t too many places like that anywhere in the world, and everywhere else is a place where safety is a concern that should be assessed and planned for. From that point of view, the railroader’s special emphasis on safety is not an indication that a railroad is railwayage.com