1、CRS InsightsRail Safety Efforts Miss Leading Cause of FatalitiesJohn Frittelli, Specialist in Transportation Policy (jfrittellicrs.loc.gov, 7-7033)April 2, 2015 (IN10257)As it debates reauthorization of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA08; P.L. 110-432), Congress is focusing on steps to
2、prevent train derailments and collisions. Such incidents often receive extensive publicity and cause harm to bystanders, such as the residents of Mount Carbon, WV, who were forced to evacuate after a train carrying crude oil derailed and burned on February 16, 2015.Far less attention has been devote
3、d to trespassing, although it is a much greater cause of rail-related fatalities than derailments and collisions combined. Since 2005, nearly three-fifths of deaths in rail incidents have been pedestrian trespassers (see Figure 1; note that the trespassing deaths in the figure do not include suicide
4、s).Figure 1. Rail-Related Fatalities, 2005-2014Excluding suicidesSource: CRS presentation of FRA Safety Data; http:/safetydata.fra.dot.gov/OfficeofSafety/Default.aspx.In 2014, there were 526 trespasser deaths, 419 trespasser injuries, 213 suicides, and 40 injuries from suicide attempts on rail prope