We have all seen examples of distracted driving and some of us are guilty of it ourselves. This weeks train accident in Washington State has Federal investigators looking into this as a potential cause of the fatal train accident. An un-named investigator not authorized to discuss the accident says the investigators want to know if the engineer lost “situational awareness” because of a second person in the cab drawing his attention away from the task at hand.
The train entered a 30 mph area zone at speeds in excess of 80 mph and ran off a curve sending some of its cars onto the highway below. It’s still not known exactly what caused the train to derail and it’s too early to say why it was going so fast. Previous wrecks have looked at whether the engineer was distracted or incapacitated. It’s standard practice to test an engineer for alcohol or drugs and to check if the engineer was using a cell phone which is prohibited while the train is running.
A safety feature called Positive Train Control (something Congress mandated in 2015 and has been delayed by the railroads) which can slow or stop a speeding train wasn’t in use on that stretch of track even though that track was new and had been upgraded at a cost to the taxpayer of $181 million dollars. Track sensors and other PTC controls have been installed but the system isn’t expected to be completed until spring 2018. Many industry experts agree the PTC could have prevented this tragedy. Installing and activating the Positive Train Control today is too late for the victims on this crash and brings up the question about the next crash.
We represent people who are injured because of the careless and reckless acts of others. At the end of the day your case can only be settled one time and you need to know all of the facts beforehand. The reason that insurance companies have paid our clients in excess of $130,000,000.00 is that we get the facts and are not intimidated at the prospect of going to trial when they refuse to follow the law. We help with serious issues that require serious representation. We are the Law Offices of Guenard & Bozarth. We have over 80 years of experience in our plaintiff’s only law firm. Call GB Legal 24/7/365 at 888-809-1075 or visit www.gblegal.com We Can Help!
