Railroad Accidents, Their Cause and Prevention

by R. C. Richards

In addition to the suggestions which I have made in discussing the different classes of accidents herein mentioned, there are several others which, in a general way, I submit.

The most necessary thing in securing good results and as few casualties as possible is to hire good, competent, careful and sober men to do the work, and when the railroads have bureaus of employment properly conducted to secure the best men and schools in which to instruct them as to the rules under which railroads are operated, what their duties are, and how to perform them, in conjunction with the physical examination of applicants for employment they will have taken the most important step to do away with accidents; and when they clear their roundhouses, repair yards, coal stations, gate houses and all other branches of the service connected with the transportation of persons and property of men with whom neither other employees nor the public can communicate because of their inability to understand or talk the English language, they will have taken the next one.

When labor organizations and employees generally do what they can to keep incompetent, careless men out of the service, not in it, and when they are discovered in some careless act, or cause some accident, and are discharged or suspended, instead of trying, through the influence and power of their organization, to have the discharge or suspension set aside, do all they can to sustain the order of suspension or discharge, we will not have the list of casualties staring us in the face that we do now, and the organizations will not have so many crippled members asking for assistance, and the proportion of employees killed and injured to the whole number won't be 36 and 80 per cent respectively.

Employees should read the newspapers, railroad as well as brotherhood, so that they will get some of the theory of the business to fit them for a better place. Familiarize yourselves with the advertisements of the company, train schedules, maps, names of the officers and where they are located, so that you can answer questions of patrons and others. Treat everybody politely and decently, as by your conduct and manners the corporation and management will be judged. Take advantage of what others have learned by the greatest of all teachers—experience.

After getting good competent men we need good track and equipment and sufficient and intelligent inspection to see that not only the track and equipment are kept in good repair, but also that the men keep in good physical and mental condition.

A method of inspection and repair by which the man who inspects will be required to have some mechanical experience, who can talk and understand English and comprehend what the result will be if he fails to discover defects and have them remedied, and who will report, not to a foreman whose duty it is to repair the defect, but to a superior whose business it is to find them. This is the sort of inspection necessary to prevent injury and loss. And when we do this the record will be different.

Then we want good rules and instructions (the fewer and simpler the better) telling how the trains shall be run and the business of the companies conducted, and if it is true that one of the worst evils from which our country is now suffering is the failure to enforce all the laws on the statute books, I am afraid the same saying will apply to the operation of railroads. Too many rules, orders and bulletins are disregarded by employees, and that disregard not discovered or is overlooked until some accident occurs. If there are any rules that are impracticable they should be cancelled, but until they are their observance by officers and employees should be insisted upon. The quickest and best way to get a bad rule or law cancelled or repealed is to enforce it.

And last but not least, we want sufficient and efficient supervision. Poor Richard, the philosopher, never said a truer thing than that "The eyes of the master will do more work than both his hands." And as the business of a railroad increases and grows more complicated every day, it requires more and better, and not less, supervision. If the number of employees and the tonnage of trains increase fivefold, so should the supervision increase, in order that the business be conducted in accordance with the rules and that safe and economical operation be secured, and there should always be enough supervision to obtain this necessary result.

After we get the men, the track, the equipment, rules and supervision, we should see that all employees know and understand the rules and their duties and how to perform them. Some day we will have a training school for this purpose, just as the government has for its soldiers and sailors, and many municipalities for their police. Employees should study and familiarize themselves with the time-tables and rules, the same as they do with their pay schedule—they all understand that. The rules were made by men who have come from the ranks, who know from actual experience what the failure to observe them means to passengers, to yourselves, and the companies, and if you don't understand them, have someone who does explain them to you until you know them by heart and exactly what they mean, and when you have done this, comply with them and things will go better; there will then be few accidents, suspensions and discharges.

Do the company's business the same as you would your own. If the time ever comes when you are unwilling to do this, quit. Think before you act, not afterwards, as then it will be too late. And remember that other lives, perhaps that some one near and dear to you, may depend upon your acting and doing immediately, and not to-morrow, the right thing and in the prescribed way.