1. Safety Issues Associated With The Use of Personal Electronic Devices
Jeff Moller
Association of American Railroads
2009 International Railway Safety Conference - Båstad Sweden

2. Accidents Reviewed 1 Fatality, 4 Injuries, $8 Million Damages
May 28, 2002; BNSX Clarendon TX
1 Fatality, 4 Injuries, $8 Million Damages
September ; Metrolink Chatsworth, CA 25 Fatalities, 135 Injuries, $7 Million Damages
May ; MBTA Green Line Boston, MA
62 Injuries, $9 Million Damages

3. Clarendon, Texas
May 28, 2002

4. Collision of BNSF 8876 East & BNSF 4385 West
Near Clarendon Texas; 1746, 28 May 2002
Collision
280.1
West
East
Malden
304.5
Ashtola
288.6
Clarendon
275.7
Hedley
263.1
07:49 - Coal train authorized by Track Warrant 16 to the east switch at Ashtola.
08:35 - Intermodal Train departed Hedley Siding with Track Warrant 19 authorizing it to operate to Ashtola Siding and to enter
the siding at the east switch.
08:43 - Coal Train authorized by Track Warrant 22 to proceed from Ashtola to Hedley, with the stipulation that the
authorization was not in effect until after the arrival of the Intermodal Train at Ashtola Siding.
08:47 - Coal Train passed the east switch at Ashtola Siding without stopping.
08:57 - Collision occurred.
BNSF 8876
Coal Train
BNSF 4385
Intermodal Train
Locations of Cell Phone Use

5. Track Warrant Form

6. Probable Cause
“The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the May 28, 2002, collision at Clarendon, Texas, was (1) the coal train engineer's use of a cell phone during the time he should have been attending to the requirements of the track warrant his train was operating under “

7. Chatsworth, CA 12 September 2008
Watershed events
Hinton AL 1/8/ F
Chase 1/4/ F
Chatsworth 9/12/08 – 25 F / 135 I
Ladbroke Grove rail crash (also known as the Paddington train crash) October 5, Fatalities.
3-car DMU collided with a High Speed tran (diesel units at each end) 4 km west of Paddington Station – almost head on at 130 mph / 205 km.
The immediate cause of the disaster was identified as Driver Hodder passing signal SN109 when it was showing a red signal (technically known as a Signal Passed At Danger or SPAD), 563 metres before the impact point.
However, the public inquiry conducted identified many contributory factors, blaming Thames Trains' driver training procedures (Driver Hodder had only qualified two months earlier), and Railtrack's Great Western Zone (who were responsible for the maintenance of the track and signalling) who had not taken appropriate action in view of the fact that there had been eight SPADs at signal SN109 in the preceding six years (although all those trains stopped before reaching the junction), or taken sufficient action in response to complaints from train drivers about the visibility of various signals, particularly SN109.
The Health and Safety Executive's HM Railway Inspectorate was also criticised for its inspection procedures, and the Railtrack signalling centre staff at Slough were criticised for not sending a radio "emergency all stop" signal immediately when it was realised that the Thames Train had passed a signal at danger. They were expecting the train to stop shortly after the signal as had happened with the earlier SPADs at that signal, and it is not known if the radio signal eventually sent was received before the impact 33 seconds later. Finally, the system did not provide flank protection; points ahead could have been set as a default to divert an overrunning train to a parallel line instead of into a head-on collision. (Hall 2003) William Douglas Cullen, Baron Cullen of Whitekirk, PC (born 18 November 1935), is Scotlands most senior judge. ... Railtrack was a group of companies which owned the tracks, signals, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and some stations of the British railway system from its formation in April 1994 until The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), reporting to the Health and Safety Commission, is the British government body responsible for the regulation of risks to health and safety in the UK. It was created as a result of the Health and Safety at Work, etc, Act 1974, and has since... HM Railway Inspectorate (HMRI: his/her Majestys Railway Inspectorate) is the British government body responsible for overseeing safety on Britains railways, tramways, trolley bus and other guided transport systems. ... Slough (pronounced ) is a town and unitary authority (Borough of Slough) in the county of Berkshire in the south of England. ...

9. Chatsworth Siding

10. Investigative Reenactment

12. 3 Seconds to Impact

13. Engineer Sanchez’ Text Message Log 16:07 to 16:22
Engineer sent final message at 16:22.01; 22 Seconds Before Collision
Records indicate that on the day of the accident, there were 21 text messages
sent, 22 text messages received, and 4 outgoing phone calls made during the time periods that the Engineer was responsible for the operation of a train.
UP Conductor Cell phone use
Verizon Wireless records indicate that on the day of the accident, the Conductor
sent or received a total of 41 text messages while on duty, between 11:30 am and 4:20 pm.2 According to the “Conductors Report”, the Conductor was on a train underway between 12:29pm and 1:55 pm, and again from 3:13 until the time of the accident. A total of 35 text messages were sent or received during these times. Three outgoing telephone calls were made while the conductor was on duty. These calls appear to be business related; all three were to the Metrolink Track Warrants telephone number.

14. Government Center Station Boston, MA 08 May, 2009
After leaving Government Center Station, she said, the train passed two green lights and a yellow light before going through a red light. It then proceeded 80 feet past the red signal, traveling at the posted speed limit of 25 miles per hour, before striking a trolley that was stopped because of congestion on the tracks. Two other trains were stopped in front of the train that was struck.
The impact jolted the stationary train 31 feet down the tracks at 10 miles per hour, according to an "event recorder" - which is similar to an airplane's "black box" - on the train that was struck. According to an on-the-tracks reconstruction of the incident yesterday, Quinn should have been able to see the train ahead at a distance of 480 feet.

15. Some Programs in Place at The Time of Accidents
General Code of Operating Rules
April 10, 1994
1.10 Games, Reading, or Electronic Devices
Unless permitted by the railroad, employees on duty must not:
Play games
Read magazines, newspapers, or other literature not related to their duties; Or
Use electronic devices not related to their duties.
The existing MBTA rule, which the poster was developed to publicize, bars operators from using their cellphones. The new rule would bar operators from bringing the devices on board.

16. August 11, 2009
Washington, D.C. So far, 17 states and the Distinct of Columbia have banned text messaging while driving . . .
Federal Railroad Administraton EMERGNECY ORDER 26
October
To Restrict On-Duty Railroad Operating Employees’ Use of Cellular Telephones and Other Distracting Electronic and Electrical Devices
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  
November 21, 2006 SB-06-65
NTSB RECOMMENDS BAN ON CELL PHONE USE BY BUS DRIVERS
* * * The recommendations are contained in the Board's report on a non-fatal bus accident that occurred November 14, 2004, on the George Washington Parkway in Alexandria, Virginia. The motor coach was traveling from Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport to Mount Vernon, Virginia. The accident

17. Some Common Policies for Communication Devices
Prohibited Use; Not Applied to Radios, RCL, or GPS Devices When Inspecting Track
While Driving Trains / Vehicles
While Engaged Certain Tasks (e.g. Safety-related or less than 1.2 meters away from track)
Some Permitted Uses
During an Emergency
Safe Environment or with Supervisor Permission
Hands-Free Devices when Driving
Railway supplied radios are excluded if:
They are used solely for company business; and
It is safe to do so.
Hands free communication devices are excluded if:
It is safe to do so; and
If a vehicle is being operated, it is NOT on a public roadway in a state, province, or other jurisdiction where such use is in violation of any law or regulation.
Note: You are strongly discouraged from using any hands free communications device while driving, particularly in dense traffic and under poor road conditions or poor visibility.
While hands free devices are permitted, they can still be a significant distraction while driving or working and extreme caution should be exercised. When possible, pull over and stop, have another person handle the call or let the message go to voice mail for later retrieval.
Are GPS devices considered communication devices, in a vehicle or on the track?
A. Yes - GPS devices are treated the same as cell phones and other communication devices. Hand held GPS devices are prohibited while operating vehicles. This would include cell phones or Blackberry devices with GPS capability.
Note 1 – There are recent studies that indicate use of some types of GPS devices can be more of a distraction than cell phones since they also can take the drivers vision off the road. Extreme caution should exercised when using any GPS device.
Note 2 – Programming or adjusting any GPS navigation device should not be attempted while operating a moving vehicle

18. Issues Compliance Devices Turned Off / Stored, Ear Pieces Off
Legitimate Use
Enforcement
Signal Blocking
Is the cell phone in use?