RAILWAY ACCIDENTS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 16, 14 October 1907, Page 4

RAILWAY ACCIDENTS.

, STATISTICS FOR 1906. , The general report to tho British Board of Trade upon the accidents which have occurred oil tho railways of the United Kingdom during 1906 has been issued aG a Bluebook. Tho report, states that during the year 1169 persons were killed aud ! 7212 were injured by accidents duo to tho running of trains'or' tho movement of railway vehicles. Tho average iigures for the previous , tea years were 1144 and 6631 respectively.' The year was: remurkablo for tho . number- of ■doaths of passongors in train accidents;,more, indeed, wore killed in this way than in any year sinco 1889, but 56 out of a total of 59 deaths of passengers wore attributable to 3 accidents, viz. j 1 collision and 2 derailments ol trains, in the class' of .accidents caused- by the movement of trains and railway vehicles, exclusive of train accidents, 108/ passengers tfore killed, and 1949 injured in. 1906.' The corresponding averages for tho previous ten years were -119 and 1627 respectively. The casualties to passengers in this class were inore more numerous than those .causod by. train accidents', but they .differed.from./the...latter in this respect, that they mostly arose'.from tho carelessness of. tho passengers themselves. Accidents to Railway Men. v ' ,: <-■"■•'■ Tho numbers of fatal and non-fatal a'cci* dents to railway men showed, an increase: but this.was largely duo to tho f exceptional activity.in goods ,traffic, and the ."consequent high prossuro at which, all'railway work had to be conducted during 1906. Analysis,of the casualties, to railway servants from,!shunting showed that ■ out of every,' hundred. 67 .were due to. misadventure, 32 to want, of' caution or to misconduct on tlio.:part'of the, injured persons, and 6 to.want of:caution or breach of rules.on the part of other servant's,;leaving 5 attributable to proventable causes. r ln . 1906 the proportion of ; ' casualties' to the .totalnumber of men .exposed, to'danger was'l/in 71,. which, though slightly--,better! than',l.ia 70, tho average, of tho; ten'.'years; ended'Ay;th 1905 was much, worse than' i ;iii .81,; the" pro- ; portion for 1905. ' ',; .i: ,V-.,-'j!,',• ' :'*'.7,J Serious. Disasters.- , :, ■.;■' ;, " - : --■'<"■«. • ■;■■■;■" Of tho 58 passengers. who_ met with:fatal accidents in train accidents.in'l9o6, 24.were killed by the accident, which, occurred ~at Salisburj , , on the London and South-Western Railway, 11 were killed-in the ,Grantham accident on the Great Northern Railway, and 21 by the accident atEUiot Junction, on tn'o Dundee and Arbroath' 'Railway.•■•'ln.v.the 30 years ended with 1905 I.passenger was killed on' the.'average 'in' .every 40,488,487 journeys,. and,. 1 injured m 'every'.1,224,545, as , compared with 1 in 21,385,296 '. and F in '1,965,685. respectively' iuM9O6. !: Twenty-five .passengers were'.killod in' 1906;'fronl 'between -trains' and, platforms.; -13; from r_fall!ing off being'struck.'or'run ■ oVer by trains | 20 while crossing '.the, lines' at 1 stations;'; 25'"!frbm , ; falling '' out ;• of. oa'rriagea during the running'of train's.. 1 ' ' 1 ';"' '";'; : "'-The total numbers "of'the'railway servahte killed and injured durijie; 1906,, were -.resjwe- ■ tively 43S and 4365; "425 men "were killed and N 4225 < were ■■' injured :' during ■■ shunting operations, , and 13 were 'killed and 1140/in-jurqd.ihlaccidents't-p -.;^.:^ Other Accidents.■ , >•■:. :■'.:!■ \-\i-\-j-v ■ In 'accidents on! railway; premises, ; not, dut .to train', 1 accidents ' 0r..t0. .the;, movement'^ of • trains, "B', passengers, wero .killed'.au'd 791"in-. jurfed; of railway; 'servants,' 45",.TVere; killed and'lljMl wero'.injured. , The. report' driiws attention to the fact that.thp'.proportioti'of serious ' accidents to railway, servaut s upder'' this .liead is smaller; than' it" is ".in'.the jeaso of railway accidents proper, arid.that] the proportion of 'killed to mjured is,relatively low.' ; ■''. '"". ' \ ■,"';.,. ; "t.'! , , ~.'S' "" Two Hundred, and' seventy four persons' Wero killed while trespassing on railway lines; 'ajid 181 persons committed suicide,''-),-').'..'.!-,'.,;-' 1 Reportable Casualties. „.-.., ; ; ' As to thoieffect upon, the ; returns',; of in« .creased vigilance -"on the' part'.of .the railr 1 way-'iCpnipanios in regard 1 to! reportable ac-' ' cidentiV'.tno" report says:—-,', ■■;' ','-'_' '■ ' The : analysis/of tho' returns made : 'iri'the last three , 'years showod'that the' proportion' of injured;'tO:killed'!raried widely'iri'tne'ease'. of different railway'companies.'-./Inasmuch as fatal accideiits. carinot'escape; observation, and' the conditions under' wnich accidents occur are common to all railways, the.Varia:'tion''in •the , : proportion'of injured 'to killed 'seemed•;to point to somo difference 'in' the practice :: of individual companies in tho method •of collecting : information : . and" 'reporting ,noii-fatal accidents. After some'eorrospond"once with' the 'railway, companies, , tho .Board • addressed to them a circular.letter. ..' > ' ,1 .-' ~ and theVeis reason tobolieve , that accidents are such\as:'might have escaiied :provibusto the issuo'of'the^circular.'-This may-have ,hid' the effect of swellirig the number of reported'injuries,"though to what extent it is'impqssib)e ( .to. say, and.tho,com« parison of'thb'liguros'with'those of previous , years .may;, consequently- .■ somewhat" impaired, -...,., o',- )■■ i .m:'.,;'-i.j:'>. : .". , .-*.' ;: '" ;■'■ .