Committee Serial No. 91-32. Considers S. 1933 and similar S. 2915 and S. 3061, to authorize DOT inspection and regulation of railroad cars and equipment to ensure railroad safety. July 14 hearing was held in Indianapolis, Ind., to conduct an investigation into several Indiana railroad accidents.
The American public has a fascination with railroad wrecks that goes back a long way. One hundred years ago, staged railroad accidents were popular events. At the Iowa State fair in 1896, 89,000 people paid $20 each, at current prices, to see two trains, throttles wide open, collide with each other. "Head-on Joe" Connolly made a business out of "cornfield meets" holding seventy-three events in thirty-six years. Picture books of train wrecks do good business presumably because a train wreck can guarantee a spectacular destruction of property without the messy loss of life associated with aircraft accidents. A "train wreck" has also entered the popular vocabulary in a most unusual way. When political manoeuvering leads to failure to pass the federal budget, and a shutdown is likely of government services, this is widely called a "train wreck. " In business and team sports, bumbling and lack of coordination leading to a spectacular and public failure to perform is also called "causing a train wreck. " A person or organization who is disorganized may be labelled a "train wreck. " It is therefore not surprising that the public perception of the safety of railroads centers on images of twisted metal and burning tank cars, and a general feeling that these events occur quite often. After a series of railroad accidents, such as occurred in the winter of 1996 or the summer of 1997, there are inevitable calls that government "should do something.
Hours of Service of Railroad Employees - Amended Recordkeeping and Reporting Regulations (US Federal Railroad Administration Regulation) (FRA) (2018 Edition) The Law Library presents the complete text of the Hours of Service of Railroad Employees - Amended Recordkeeping and Reporting Regulations (US Federal Railroad Administration Regulation) (FRA) (2018 Edition). Updated as of May 29, 2018 FRA is amending its hours of service recordkeeping and reporting regulations to ensure the creation of records that support compliance with the hours of service laws as amended by the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA of 2008). This regulation will also provide for electronic recordkeeping and reporting, and will require training of employees and supervisors of those employees, who are required to complete hours of service records, or are responsible for making determinations as to excess service and the reporting of excess service to FRA as required by the regulation. This regulation is required by Section 108(f) of the RSIA of 2008. This book contains: - The complete text of the Hours of Service of Railroad Employees - Amended Recordkeeping and Reporting Regulations (US Federal Railroad Administration Regulation) (FRA) (2018 Edition) - A table of contents with the page number of each section
