Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 209, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 August 1916 — GREAT RECORD OF SAFETY [ARTICLE]

GREAT RECORD OF SAFETY

Railroad Has Right to Be Proud of the Achievement of lt» Highly Efficient Employee*. In 1915, the third successive year in which no passenger was killed in a train accident on the Pennsylvania railroad lines east of Pittsburgh and Erie, 4,364,519 tests and observations were made to determine how well the train operating rules and signals were being obeyed. These tests covered the work of both officers aud employees. The results, which have just been complied, show th&t only one error occurred in every 1,110 trials, giving a record of 99.9 per cent of absolute perfection. In four classes of tests, including obedience to various “stop” signals, not a single failure on the part of any employee occurred throughout the year. An exceptionally high record was made in the observance of rules intended especially for the protection of the employees. These included such matters as precautions in the shifting of trains and also the safety regulations governing men engaged (a track wprk. In the shifting of trains, 68,941 observations were mude and 17 errors recorded. There were 342,991 tests for obedience to the safety rules for track workmen and in 'only 78 cases were these rules disregarded in any way. That meant one error In every 4,690 trials. Last year, accidents to employees were reduced 11 per cent. Only eight failures to follow strictly the rules governing watchmen stationed at grade crossings occurred in the 62,934 instances which were observed last year.