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News Wire: Canada recommends mandatory inward-facing cameras on locomotives

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  • Member since
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Posted by coborn35 on Thursday, May 18, 2017 10:26 AM

Ulrich

The camera can also exonerate the crew of any wrongdoing. It cuts both ways.. Nobody is actually going to watch this intensely boring footage unless something goes wrong and there's an accident. In such case the camera may become your best friend. 

 

 

This is the funniest thing I have seen all week.

Mechanical Department  "No no that's fine shove that 20 pound set all around the yard... those shoes aren't hell and a half to change..."

The Missabe Road: Safety First

 

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Posted by Ulrich on Thursday, May 18, 2017 9:56 AM

The camera can also exonerate the crew of any wrongdoing. It cuts both ways.. Nobody is actually going to watch this intensely boring footage unless something goes wrong and there's an accident. In such case the camera may become your best friend. 

RME
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Posted by RME on Thursday, May 18, 2017 8:31 AM

Paul_D_North_Jr
The technology is also being used successfully by others in the U.S., with studies showing a 40-percent reduction in collisions per million miles travelled."

Lord, I hate the 'studies have shown' business. 

Anone know the actual references or papers involved here?   I'd be highly interested to see the causal mechanism producing a 40% reduction in collisions through the use of inward-facing cameras.

I repeat that the only form of inward-facing camera that is 'fair' is one that is administered the same as the time rules: the employee is responsible for his or her own camera, needs to demonstrate periodically (e.g. weekly) that it is in good order and working properly, and can't tamper with its inner workings.  Only when required by law can the data recorded by the device be accessed, and then only with strict permissions - no fishing expeditions, no looking for patterns, no clever extraction for 'statistics' that allows tracing of the data to particular sources.

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Posted by Shadow the Cats owner on Wednesday, May 17, 2017 3:48 PM

There is a trend in the OTR industry for these also.  Where I work we refuse to mount them and our drivers love that we respect them as human beings.  There is another carrier that had a sizeable presence in my town at one point that runs Red Trucks out of WI and they have inward mounted cameras on their fleet.  We started getting their drivers based out of our area when the cameras were installed.  Why well it seemed their saftey Manger was not only watching their driving but critizing them on their paychecks and fining them on what they did.  

 

By having inward facing cameras on Locomotives the railroads are opening up another line of evidence that some lawyer can use against them in a case.  Why because they can and will supenoa that stuff faster than you can blink.  If that camera loop shows the engineer or conductor was distracted when his or her client was hit the jury is going to side with the lawyer and his client not the railroad at all.  Regardless of what happened all a jury is going to see is a crew not paying attention to what happened.  

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Posted by petitnj on Wednesday, May 17, 2017 3:26 PM

The largest fraction of train accidents/deaths are due to tresspassers about which the engineer can do nothing. This is attempting to solve a very small fraction of the accidents with technology that will tell them nothing more than -- yes the crew fell asleep. Won't affect the accident rate significantly.

 

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Posted by Paul_D_North_Jr on Wednesday, May 17, 2017 3:21 PM

From the linked article: 

"Railroads also could randomly sample the data to identify safety issues, to determine the cause of non-reportable accidents, and to address safety threats. 

"Earlier this year, CP launched an awareness campaign that highlights the safety benefits of the proactive use of inward-facing cameras. CP uses inward-facing cameras in 50 of its locomotives in the U.S. The technology is also being used successfully by others in the U.S., with studies showing a 40-percent reduction in collisions per million miles travelled."

- PDN. 

"This Fascinating Railroad Business" (title of 1943 book by Robert Selph Henry of the AAR)
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Posted by BaltACD on Wednesday, May 17, 2017 3:20 PM

Ulrich
According to the article only DOT people may view the recordings. No company managers.

and I have a bridge for sale

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by Ulrich on Wednesday, May 17, 2017 2:53 PM

According to the article only DOT people may view the recordings. No company managers. 

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Posted by Norm48327 on Wednesday, May 17, 2017 2:39 PM

Nothing more than rope used to hang those who are deemed guilty by management.

Norm


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Posted by Brian Schmidt on Wednesday, May 17, 2017 2:04 PM

Transport minister files amendment to Railway Safety Act

http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2017/05/17-canada-inward-camera

Brian Schmidt, Editor, Classic Trains magazine

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