Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) yesterday proposed federal anti-terrorist legislation that would give Amtrak two billion tax dollars to upgrade safety. The legislation would pay for more police officers, fences and lighting to protect facilities, and TV and radio equipment to improve surveillance.
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One thing that is not included in the package is seat belts for rail passengers.
While travel on Amtrak is generally safe, it is a common occurrence for train cars to derail and roll over. It is not a frequent occurrence, but it does happen several times every year. When passenger rail cars do roll over, passengers frequently are killed or injured because they are not restrained in their seats with seat belts. The passengers go flying through the air until they crash into something really hard, often head-first.
More railroad train passengers die or are injured every year from train derailment rollovers than from terrorist attacks, so seat belts on railroad passenger cars should truly be the first safety upgrade made to trains.
I'll be contacting Senator Durbin's office, today, to urge that seat belts be added to the legislation. I'll let you know what he says.
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