Similar situation to the government's handling of the Lac Megantic disaster.
Lisa Rait's reaction to that,, was to blame the weakness or shortcomings of the Dot 111 tanker fleet.
It was not the Dot 111 tankers that caused Lac Megantic disaster,, but human negligence in not securing the train properly with sufficient hand brakes on the top of the hill,, according to the rules in effect at that time.The rules in place at that time,, if lived up to,, were sufficient,, so that train should not have moved,, period.
If brand new state of the art tanker train,, loaded with the same commodity,, were allowed to roll freely down that same hill into Lac Megantic the result would,, no doubt,, be the same ,, pile up with explosion resulting in death.Simple as that.
Over 100 tons per car,, derailing at 60 MPH,, and snapping fancy new draw bars like dried spaghetti would have the same result,, piercing and crushing of the cars and explosion.
Two solutions, install derails linked to Rail traffic control to confirm they are set in derailing position when trains are left at selected "runaway" locations,,And set new "criminal charge"and dismissal,, against rail employees who do not secure the train as per rules,, if caught.
This ridiculous government response regarding weakness of dot 111 cars would be the same as double hulling the Titanic and expecting a different result piling into an iceberg. |
