[UPDATE 2] Tragic Train Blogging: Santiago train derailment | 50 comments (50 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: [UPDATED] Tragic Train Blogging (4.00 / 6)

Judging by the update, you have to say that this was an accident waiting to happen.

In this case I am sure that "human error" will be the scapegoat, but it seems to me that if you have a human driving that particular stretch enough times, then eventually they will miss the braking point.

One wonders for instance, how blame would be placed if he had had a seizure rather than apparently making a mistake? There seems to have been little in the way of backup safeguards.

My own experience of driving at 200km/h on the road suggests to me that things happen pretty quickly at that speed - you can miss a lot in a small amount of distraction.

by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Tue Jul 30th, 2013 at 04:52:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: [UPDATED] Tragic Train Blogging (none / 0)

if you have a human driving that particular stretch enough times, then eventually they will miss the braking point.

This was reportedly the 60th time this driver drove on that line.

Finance is the brain [tumour] of the economy

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Jul 30th, 2013 at 06:27:59 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: [UPDATED] Tragic Train Blogging (4.00 / 2)

And could well be the first that he answered a phone call from control at that point in the route.

I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.

by BruceMcF (agila61 at netscape dot net) on Tue Jul 30th, 2013 at 05:48:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: [UPDATED] Tragic Train Blogging (none / 0)

200km/h = 56m/s, of course things happen quickly at that speed.

Finance is the brain [tumour] of the economy

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Jul 30th, 2013 at 06:33:03 AM EST
[ Parent ]

[UPDATE 2] Tragic Train Blogging: Santiago train derailment | 50 comments (50 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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