Black Box: Dr Warren’s Safety Passion for Humanity.
*1944-1946:- Teacher of Mathematics and Chemistry, Geelong Grammar School,
Victoria.
1947-1948:- Lecturer in Chemistry, University of Sydney.
*1948-1951:- Scientific Officer, Woomera Rocket Range and Imperial College,
London.
1952-1983:- Principal Research Scientist, Aeronautical Research Laboratories,
Melbourne, (now part of the Defence Science and Technology Organisation).
1981-1982:- Scientific Adviser (Energy) to the Victorian State Parliament.
However, when David Warren was still working in Defence Science and Technology Organisation’s Aeronautic Research Laboratories in Melbourne, he rose to the post of Principal Research Scientist. However, as a Principal Research Scientist in Aeronautical Research Laboratory (ARL), a reputable organization, he was called upon to investigate the plane crash of the first commercial jet-powered airliner in the world, the Comet.
Dr Warren: A Thoughtful Friend of Humanity
While still investigating, he had an idea, he had a deep thought within himself, that it would be good and far better, if there would be an object or device that would record all that would happen in a plane immediately before the crash. He, however, supported his idea first with a miniature recorder he had seen in a trade fair.
He further thought that if such a recorder could be installed in a plane to record details and be able to get it back from the wreckage. It would go a long way to determine the cause of a plane crash and to prevent it from re-occurrence. His thought showed concern for the needs and feelings for all people. What a good thought for humanity!
A Dogged Persistence in Pursuing a Vision and a Mission for Humanity
He had a vision and a mission; his vision is to invent a device that would make air transport safe for all and his mission is to do everything possible to bring his vision
to reality. It is interesting to know that Dr David’s vision was not welcome in his home country in the first place. So, he made it known by writing to air transport
authorities in other countries in the world, yet no country showed interest.
However, in a bid to make his vision acceptable, he took time off to build a
cockpit voice recorder and a flight data recorder with capacity to store up to 4
hours before any crash. All of these efforts were parts of his mission to make his
vision successful. So, the first black box was made. Hence, the saying, ‘seeing is
believing’.
A successful Vision
However, Dr David’s efforts eventually paid off in 1958 when the former British
air Vice-Marshal, Sir Robert Hardingham visited Aeronautical Research Laboratory
(ARL). During his lunch hour, Dr Warren was asked to showcase his project; it was
then he was able to prove the importance of the black box. Sir Robert saw it as a good project; therefore, he was invited to England to exhibit his project and it was
a successful exhibition as the Ministry of Aviation announced that the installation
of the black box would soon be made mandatory in England. The exhibition was
also made in Canada and America through Australian Embassy.
Dr Warren’s project used magnetic recording media which accepted easy erasing
and re-recording and which made it useful for commercial airliners. Despite this
qualities, Warren’s project lacked Australian support at first, yet Dr Warren was
never discouraged until the project was accepted in other countries, wherefore,
in his home country better plans for the project were made for better development and production.
This project, however, without doubt, has proved immensely useful for plane
crash investigations. There were incidents where CVR provided important
information to the accident cause. For instance, as fate would have it for Dr
Warren, in 1960, after the crash of a Fokker Friendship at Mackay (Queensland), it
was strongly recommended that the black box flight recorders be installed in all
aircraft. Why? It is because data recorded through the black-box were good
evidence to be used in plane crash investigations and more importantly, the box
can provide data or information that may be difficult if not impossible to obtain
by other means. As a result of this, Australia was the first country to make the
black box mandatory. Hence the saying, ‘persistence may be a bitter plant at first
but it has a sweet fruit’.
The Qualities of a Black Box
With the modern technology, the black box is the most survivable object of a
plane crash. The box is made and protected with an Under-water Locator Beacon
(ULB); the ULB is to provide protection for the black box if it falls in water or river, and if this happens, the device known as “Pinger” is set off or turn on, and from
the depth of 14,000 feet, it sends auditory wave on 37.5 KHz to a unique receiver.
However, once the black box is found from a crash, a special unique computer
and audio equipment can be used to get the information stored in the recorder
and to inter-print it into a comprehensive manner that will help the transport
investigator to determine the cause of the crash and to prevent the re-occurrence.
Honor to Who Honor is Due
Dr Warren’s passion for humanity has been honored by several organizations for
his dogged commitment to air safety for all. However, the following are the honors and awards credited to Dr Warren:
*FAIE-Fellow of the Australian Institute of Energy
*The Australian Institute of Energy Medal (1999)
*Hartnett Medal of the Royal Society of the Arts (2000)
*Centenary Medal (2001)
*Lawrence Hargrave Award of the Royal Aeronautical Society (2001)
*Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) (2002)
*ICAO Edward Warner Award (2016)
Recognition
*In November 2008, Qantas named one of their Planes A380s after Warren in
honor of his commitment to aviation industry.
*Dr Warren’s casket had an inscription that read “Flight Recorder Inventor, Do
Not Open.” However, he died on July 19, 2010, when he was 85 years old.
*The ACT Government named a road after his name, in the suburb of Hume, in
June 2012.
*In November 16, 2013, his name was instated into the Australian Aviation Hall of
Fame
*The Defence Science and Technology Organisation, on 25 th of March 2014,
named their Canberra Headquarters after his name.
Beyond Air Transport
Having considered the great importance of the black box in air transport safety, the Federal Railway Administrations (FRA) US has also made it mandatory for the US; Canadian and Mexican trains operating above 30 miles per hour on the US rail net work must install event recorders. This is (FRA) ‘final rule 49 CFR part 229’ that was revised on June 30, 2005.
The Black box in rail transport is also an object that records data about the train
operations. The Modern Train Event Recorder is used to record so many things in
train operations such as time, distance, speed, horn signal, brake pipe pressure,
throttle position, emergency brake system, independent brake cylinder pressure
and speedometers.
U.S. Specification for Modern Train Event Recorders
The Modern Train Event Recorder is expected to follow the International or
National Standards like IEEE Std.1482-1999; FRA Final Rule 49 CFR Part 229; IEC
62625-1; among others,. However, here are the specifications in terms of hardness to test the crash worthiness:
*It must be able to resist fire temperature of 750 at least for one hour e.g.
temperature of burning fuel.
*It should be able to accommodate impact shock of 55g.
*Static crush of 110 KN for five minutes: this is to test when there is locomotive
derailment with blunt object impact
*It must be able to withstand fluid immersion at least for two days in diesel,
water, salt water, and lube oil.
*Hydrostatic pressure equivalent to immersion to a depth of 15 m in water for
two days.
*It must be able to store the last 48 hours of safety-critical train data.
UK and Ireland Specifications of the Modern Train Event Recorder
The Modern Train Event Recorder is expected to follow GM/RT 2472 standard;
wherefore, all trains operating in UK and Ireland are to install the black box that
has the following specifications:
*It must be able to resist fire of 700 C for 5 minutes
*It must be able to accommodate impact shock of 100g, 3 times on each of its 6
sides.
*Static crush of 20 KN for 1 minute, to all edges and faces.
*It must be able to withstand fluid immersion in water, AFFF or R134A for 1 hour
Black Box in Road Transport
Dr Warren invention is not only relevant to air transport, but to other modes of
transport. It is important to note that the Modern Event Data Recorders are now
installed in cars these days; new cars now come with installed black boxes. Speed
has been identified as one of the leading factors of road accidents and one of the
functions of the black box is to record speed at a particular time before any road
accident or collision. Undeniably, the black box remains relevant not only in air
transport but also in road transport.
Black Box Components
Without any element of doubt, at this point, you will also agree that the
importance of the black box in modes of transport cannot be over-emphasized.
The plane, the train and the motor car are all equipped with the black box for
safety purpose. Wherefore, one may be wondering to know the component parts
of this important box. However, the major components of this inevitable box in
transport operations are stated below:
*Aluminum Housing
*High-temperature Insulation
*Stainless-steel Shell
*A Steel Plate
*Magnetic tape
Black Box: A positive revenge for father’s death and a strong desire for safety
As a writer of this article, I will not like to conclude this article without providing a
broad overview of Dr. Warren’s history in line with the above sub-title. As an
individual, I see Dr Warren’s history and project as positive revenge for his father’s death and strong desire for safety for all. Indeed, David Warren was a friend of humanity. Like I noted earlier, David Warren lost his dad in 1934, in one of the Australian air crashes, when he was just a 9 year – old.
Young David Warren became a fatherless child and probably grown up with a pain
for losing his dad in a plane crash. By that time, he might not know the cause of
the plane crash that killed his father; all he knew was that his father also died in a
plane crash. Plane crashes, without having the clear pictures of what the causes were, might be the most worrisome issue in the heart of a researcher like David
Warren.
As fate would have it, Dr. Warren got a job in 1952 in Aeronautical Research
Laboratories (ARL), Melbourne: a science research organization that deals with
the operations of aircrafts. It was there he rose to the post of Principal Research
Scientist and as a researcher in such an organization, he carefully studied to find
new knowledge for transport investigators to easily determine the cause of a plane crash and to have the clue to preventing a re-occurrence.
Actually his father died in a plane crash many years ago when he was nobody; so
when he became a researcher in ARL, he took the matters into his own hands and
revenged the death of his father for the safety of humanity. He discovered the
black box for the benefit of humanity. He had successfully defeated the plane
crash that hurt him many years ago for the benefit of all.
His passion for safety for all is a famous land-mark to reckon with in the history of
humanity. Even though he was not paid for his selfless service to humanity, what
he had done for the human race cannot be easily forgotten. Even though he is no
more but his handiwork still speaks for him till today.
He was a man of vision and mission. Like I noted earlier, his vision was to make
the air transport safe for all and his mission was to do all he could to actualize his
vision. He introduced his vision in his country, he was turned down. He later took
a bold step to write to other countries about his vision, yet he was also turned down. Nonetheless, he was not discouraged; he took time off to build the black box. These are parts of his mission to actualize his vision and indeed, his vision was accomplished.
Despite the discouragement, he was still focused. A man with vision is a man with
a focus. This is the attitude of the persistent people and they never lose their focus. David Warren’s vision for safety came to pass. Experts have judged the air transport as the safest mode of transport in the world. Indeed, he actualized his vision for all.
I humbly and really celebrate a man who was a hero to all; I celebrate a man whose work touches lives;I celebrate a man who loved unconditionally; I celebrate a man who believed in sharing knowledge and vision for humanity sake; I celebrate a man who believed in caring for humanity; I celebrate a man who desired safety for all and also put a smile on people’s faces. Though he is no more, but his legacy lives on. My tribute to a hero: Dr. David Ronald de Mey Warren.Don’t Endanger Your Life: Think Twice When Approaching the Level Crossing.
There have been 254 collisions between cars and trains at public road level crossings in New Zealand from 2004 to 1 September 2015. Source: http://www.tracksafe.co.nz/issues/level-crossing-collisions
The level crossing is a place or level point where railway, road or path meets or crosses each other. It is also known as a grade crossing, railway crossing, railroad crossing, train crossing, etc. Every human being on earth has only one life to live; no one has more than one life.
The way and manner we protect our lives from dangers determine how long we shall to fulfill destiny in life. If one imagines the thousands of people that have lost their lives in different modes of transport, one may wonder if the modes of transport are death traps for man on earth. This explains why safety in transport is very important.
Without any element of doubt, modes of transport and the new technologies are
meant to make life easy for man and to benefit man in all ramifications but
human errors and poor safety attitude of some people are the leading factors of
most accidents in any mode of transport. These may also explain why there is high rate of rail accidents in the world. For example, according to Department of Transport and the Federal Railroad Administration, more than 2,500 train accidents occur every year in the US.
If all railroad users, train drivers and the entire railway staff consider safety as
their first priority, railroad will be safer. For instance, there is speed limit a train
driver is expected to obey at a particular route section. Train’s lighting and the
good condition of the track must not be in doubt, the train must be equipped
with functional horn and train bell, the train driver is expected to honk, at least,
1,000 feet distance from the point of the level crossing and he is also expected to
allow the train bell to ring until the last car of the train left the level crossing, train
driver’s sensitivity during operation must not be questioned. These, among
others, are the obligations every individual concerned must keep to make the
railroad safer.
Having read the above caption as a reader of this article, probably you are one of
those that would have expected the caption to be: “Don’t endanger your life:
think twice when you are at the level crossing” not “…when you are approaching the level crossing.”
You may further assume it is only necessary to think twice when one is already at the level crossing not when one is still approaching it. If you hold this kind of opinion, it is good. Why? It is because it will help you after reading through this article to understand how dangerous the level crossing accident is and the reason why you need to think twice when approaching it.
As an individual, my observation reveals that the frequency of the level crossing
accidents these days is becoming more worrisome and the consequences thereafter are even more serious than any other kind of accident in railway transport. For instance, in Europe not less than 400 people and in the United States over 300 people are killed every year in level crossing accidents. Source: Wikipedia.
In addition, in 2016, there were 2025 collisions in the US, resulting into 265 fatalities and 798 injuries; also, in 2015, 2075 collisions occurred resulting into
233 fatalities, 1032 people injured, while also, in 2014, there were 2,295 collisions in the US., resulting into 262 fatalities and 873 injuries. Source: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).
However, from the above data, you will notice that over 2,000 collisions occurred each year. Obviously, there is progress in reduction of collision at the level crossing. For example, in 1981 and 1982, there were 9,461 collisions and 7,932 collisions in the US, respectively (FRA). So, when you compare it to the last 3 years, you will see there’s obvious reduction, like I have noted earlier. Yet these figures, as it were, in the last 3 years are still not acceptable. Why? It is because the level crossing collisions are avoidable accidents. Therefore, from zero collision to over 2,000 collisions is still a great figure and it’s not acceptable.
It is important to note that the majority of level crossing accidents happens during the day where the level crossings are even equipped with automatic warning devices. One may wonder why the majority of this kind of accident still happens during the day. This, among other reasons, justifies the above caption, “Don’t Endanger Your Life: Think Twice When Approaching the Level Crossing”. This is because the cyclist’s, the pedestrian’s and the driver’s negligence at the level crossing may be a costly mistake that can kill you.Do Not Gamble With Rail Safety; If You Do, You Bet Your Life.
Picture showing a bad and dangerous attitude of some passengers
Poor attitude of some passengers to railway safety is highly worrisome. The misbehavior some passengers exhibit while traveling in rail transport show their poor safety culture and that many of them are gambling with their lives. Poor or bad attitude to rail transport safety can be described as the way you think and behave that can endanger your life and the lives of other rail transport users.
Poor attitude of many people to transport safety also suggests their lack of safety culture to the transport mode they make use of. Safety culture in transport, as it were, is the way you are expected to think and behave in a particular environment with respect to transport safety. In other words, safety culture in transport is the transport safety features of everyday existence shared by people in a particular place. Anyhow, in a simple language, is a way of life with respect to transport safety.
A mature safety culture in railway transport is characterized by the way people
notice and understand the importance of safe operation in rail transport and the
urgent need to manage or reduce risk to an acceptable level. In a bid to improve
the railway safety, the responsibilities of individual passengers who have a potential impact on the safe operation of the railway system must not be compromised.
Is this a Sign of Poverty or Shortage of Public Transport?
The safety of the railway depends on the behaviors and attitudes of everyone in the system e.g. the staff and the passengers. Having examined the pictures, one would wonder why people in their large number would have to take rail safety for granted; one may still be wondering why many people we see in this picture had to hang on rail cars why many of them sat on top of the train. It is not because of poverty or shortage of public transport that would make people in their large number to take their lives for granted as rightly shown in the pictures.
The reasons are simply due to lack of good transport safety culture in the community and poor safety attitude of individual. It is needless to say, as you have also noticed in the pictures used in this article, that lack of safety culture with poor safety attitude can lead to misbehavior of many transport users that will increase the risk of accidents.
Often times, rail accidents are caused by people. They are not made and they can be preventable instead of managing them. One way to achieve this is good safety culture with good safety attitude of individual; in fact, it’s a collective responsibility of all rail transport users. To address the misbehavior of people towards safety, hence, good safety culture and individual safety attitude are important directions to make the rail transportation and other modes of transportation safer.
Responsibilities for railway staff during operations
3 Major Types of Railway Accidents and 36 List of Causes Common to Them
Rail Accident
It is an undeniable fact that rail accidents have become a significant concern in the world and this explains why several efforts have been made by different countries concerned to reduce the rate of accident in their countries. However, in this article are the 3 major types of railway accident and the list of their causes.
3 Major Types of Railway Accidents
A collision is a crash in which 2 trains hit each other. In other words, a collision occurs when a train runs into another or an object. Once it happens, the result is always very serious, if not fatal. This is why collision is the most dangerous accident in rail transports. However, the major types of collisions include:
* Head-on collision,
* Rear-end collision and
* Side collision
Types of Rail Accident by Collision
Since a collision involves 2 or more objects crashing into one another, hence this type of crash includes:
This is a head-on collision between 2 trains. This kind of accident always results to great disasters.
Collision involving a train and a motor vehicle
Several motorists and passengers have lost their lives in level crossing accidents. It is very difficult if not impossible for a train to stop like a motor vehicle for any object at the level crossing.
Collision involving Pedestrian
As a collision can occur between a train and a motor vehicle, likewise pedestrians, in fact, a collision involving a pedestrian or pedestrians is more likely to result infatality.
A derailment occurs when a train leaves its tracks; better still, a derailment is
said to occur when a moving rail suddenly runs off its tracks. When a single car or coach derails, it may affect other cars and at times, you see the whole train derails completely.
A derailment can be due to a defaulted plain track, over speed at a cross section, junction or a collision, among others.
During a railway operation, a fire accident may occur in a train, probably due to a
vehicular electrical fault, or an attack by terrorists. People sitting on top of a train
and people hanging on a moving train may also fall down. These, among other
means, are possible ways by which accidents can occur in rail transport.
List of Causes of Rail Accident
There many factors that can cause rail accident, below are the list of some of these factors:
It is an undeniable fact that rail accidents have become a significant concern in the world and this explains why several efforts have been made by different countries concerned to reduce the rate of accident in their countries. However, in this article are the 3 major types of railway accident and the list of their causes.
3 Major Types of Railway Accidents
- Collision Accidents
- Derailment Accidents and
- Other Means of Accidents 1. Rail Accident by Collision
A collision is a crash in which 2 trains hit each other. In other words, a collision occurs when a train runs into another or an object. Once it happens, the result is always very serious, if not fatal. This is why collision is the most dangerous accident in rail transports. However, the major types of collisions include:
* Head-on collision,
* Rear-end collision and
* Side collision
Types of Rail Accident by Collision
Since a collision involves 2 or more objects crashing into one another, hence this type of crash includes:
- Collision involving Trains
- Collision involving a Train and a Motor Vehicle
- Collision Involving a Pedestrian
This is a head-on collision between 2 trains. This kind of accident always results to great disasters.
Collision involving a train and a motor vehicle
Several motorists and passengers have lost their lives in level crossing accidents. It is very difficult if not impossible for a train to stop like a motor vehicle for any object at the level crossing.
Collision involving Pedestrian
As a collision can occur between a train and a motor vehicle, likewise pedestrians, in fact, a collision involving a pedestrian or pedestrians is more likely to result infatality.
- Rail Accident by Derailment
A derailment can be due to a defaulted plain track, over speed at a cross section, junction or a collision, among others.
- Rail Accident by other means
Fire Accident
List of Causes of Rail Accident
There many factors that can cause rail accident, below are the list of some of these factors:
- Communication Errors
- Brake Rigging Defects
- Hand Brake Defects
- Other Brake Defects
- Over Speed
- Body Defects
- Center-Plate/Car- body Defects
- Wrong Use of Switches
- Coupler Defects
- Track and Structure Defects
- Truck Structure Defects
- Obstructions
- Side-bearing, Suspension Defects
- Level Crossing Collisions
- Bearing Failure
- Axle Defects
- Track-Train Intersection
- Broken Wheels
- Other Wheel Defects
- Signal Failures
- TOFC/COFC Defects
- Road-bed Defects
- Non-Traffic Weather Causes
- Loco Electrical and Fires
- All other Locomotive Defects
- Track Geometry ( excl. Wide Gauge )
- All Other Car Defects
- Stiff Truck
- Rail Defects at Bolted Joint
- Joint Bar Defects
- Broken Rails or Welds
- Brake Operation (Main Line)
- Other Rail and Joint Defects
- Failure to Obey/Display Signal
- Train Length ( Car-mile- related and train-mile- related accident)
- Employee Physical Condition
5 List of Design Criteria for Road Standards
This consists of a detailed list of considerations to be used in negotiating a set of
road standards in an environment. This includes the following:
1. Resource management objectives: These indicate the reasons and
purpose a particular road should be built in a particular area. For instance,
it may have to do with the economic benefits derivable in such an area
when the expected road is constructed e.g. access to rural community for
easy transportation of agricultural produce.
2. Physical environmental factors: The topographic, climatic, soil and
vegetative characteristics of an area, the physical features of the land as
well as the type of road to be constructed and so on must be determined if
a road must be built in that area or not.
3. Environmental limitations: There are social-political limitations e.g.
erosiveness of soils, difficult geologic conditions, high rainfall. Others
include land ownership boundaries, state of the local economy and the
public opinion about the given project.
4. Traffic requirements: The average daily traffic should be estimated for
different user groups and the traffic volume will also determine the kind of
road needed in such an area.
5. Traffic service levelList of 10 Factors Responsible for Road Designs
The volume of traffic in an area is often considered in determining the road
designs in such an area. However, such factors usually include the following:
1. Number of lanes
2. Turnout spacing
3. Lane widths
4. Type of driving surface
5. Sight distances
6. Design speed
7. Clearance
8. Horizontal and vertical alignments
9. Curve widening
10. Turn around10 Reasons why Motorists would like to use a Particular Road
Oftentimes, one may wonder why some motorists, especially the commercial
ones, choose to ply a particular route to carry out their daily activities, as if there
are no other routes for them to use. There are reasons why motorists will choose
and not to choose a particular route for the same journey. Hence, the saying
“there is no smoke without fire.” Also, most of their reasons are for their better
advantage. Following are the reasons why drivers choose a particular route for
their journey:
1. Speed: This is the rate at which a vehicle travels. Most drivers like to drive
their vehicle at a particular speed convenient and safer for them.
2. Travel time: The time at which a driver, mostly a commercial driver, uses to
complete a particular journey matters a lot. The route that is full of
different obstructions that may cause unnecessary delay, thereby
increasing the driver’s travel time will not encourage many motorists to ply
such a route.
3. Traffic interruption: Anything that interrupts will discourage the motorists
to continue to ply such a route if there is a better alternative.
4. Freedom to maneuver: Drivers will prefer a wide route that will enable
them to move their cars easily and carefully probably to overtake or to
avoid accidents. Therefore, a road that is very tiny or narrow to maneuver
will discourage them.
5. Safety: A road must be free enough from any form of danger, otherwise
both the drivers and the passengers would be discouraged to travel on such
a road.
6. Driver’s comfort: When a driver travels on a long journey and throughout
the journey he feels less worry and more importantly, he feels safe
travelling on such a road, undeniably he will be eager to travel again on the
road.
7. Convenience: When you drive on a good road, the time and the stress you
would have encountered if you are on a bad road would be reduced.
8. Operating cost: Every transport service provider is expected to have
practical and economical mindset to manage his business. He must be able
to choose the routes that are cost-effective for his business.
9. Business orientation: No commercial vehicle driver will hesitate to travel
on a route where he can easily get goods and passengers to carry. Since his
business is to carry goods and passengers for economic gain, then it will be
unwise of him to abandon a route where his desire can be met.
10. Inevitable route: Every motorist going to their offices and houses will have
no choice but to pass through the road that leads to their houses and
offices.10 The Most Notable Shipwrecks in the World
A shipwreck
1. RMS TITANIC
RMS Titanic is one of the popular shipwrecks in the world history. It was an
ocean liner said to be unsinkable but later proved to be most notable sinkable
ship in the world. In 1912, precisely on April 10, the ship was on a journey. 4
days as the journey progressed, precisely on April 14, 1912, the ship suddenly
hit an iceberg just before the midnight and the ship sank less than 3 hours,
killing 1,514 lives.
However, in 1985, a Franco-American expedition discovered the ship and
found that the ship split into 2 parts, each part lying about a 3 rd of a mile from
each other.
2. RMS REPUBLIC
RMS Republic was built 1903 and sank on January 24, 1909 at about
8:40p.m. 6 lives were said to be lost in that incident. The bad incident
occurred in 1909, on January 23 rd , when the ship collided with the Lloyd
Italiano liner SS Florida and the ship sank at about 8:40 p.m. on the said
day.
3. RMS LUSITANIA
RMS Lusitania started operation in 1906 and it sank on May 7 th , 1915. 1,
191 lives were said to be lost in that incident. It was said that the shipwreck
was caused by a German U-boat.
4. USS ARIZONA
USS Arizona was specially built for the US Navy in1915. It was bombed by
the Japanese on December 7 th , 1941. It was said that 1, 177 crew members
and officers were killed in the incident.
On the 5 th of May, the shipwreck became National Historic Landmark in the
US and the remains, known as USS Arizona Memorial, are viewable in the
US.
5. THE MARY ROSE
It was a Tudor warship used during the reign of Henry VIII and it was
used in many battles against France, Britain and Scotland and it was
sunk during a battle against French.
6. VASA
It was a Swedish warship, believed to have been built between 1626
and 1628. It sank on the 10 th of August, 1628, after being hit by
strong winds and flooding, sinking 20 minutes and less than a mile
into its journey.
7. THE ANNE’S REVENGE
It was an 18 th century warship popularly known as the ship of the
legendary pirate Blackbeard. It used the ship less than a year with
greatest achievement during this short period of time.
8. MV DONA PAZ
MV Dona Paz is referred to as the deadliest of all peacetime maritime
disasters. In December 20 th , 1987, the Philippine registered ferry with
over 4,000 passengers collided with an oil tanker MT Vector resulting
into fire accident killing an estimated number of 4, 386 passengers
and there were only 24 survivors.
It took 8 hours for Philippine maritime authorities to hear of the
incident due to poor communication equipment. However, because
of the fatal incident, it is referred to as ‘Asia’s Titanic’
9. THE BLACK SWAN
It is a Spanish war ship known as Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes.
The warship sank in 1804 off Portugal territorial waters. However, in
2007 an American Company, Odyssey Marine Exploitation,
discovered gold, worth of $500 million.
However, the Spanish government made it known to be the rightful
owner of the said gold, hence the case was decided in the US
Supreme Court, and the court ordered the gold should be returned
to Spanish authorities.
10. MS WORLD DISCOVERER
It was a Danish cruise ship manufactured in 1974. The disaster
occurred when the ship struck a rock at the Solomon Islands; all the
passengers survived the incident.10 Common mistakes by new drivers
Sitting on the driver’s seat for the first time to drive the vehicle alone may excite a new driver but it’s not an easy task for him. Such a new driver is likely to be nervous and fearful while driving.Also, such a driver is likely to be over conscious not to hit any object or being hit by other drivers. These, among others, are the predictable misbehavior of new drivers.However, below are the common mistakes of a typical new driver on the road:
- Inferiority Complex: Often times, they drive under pressure. Why? It is because they think other experienced drivers on the road are better than they are.Hence, consciously or unconsciously, they become anxious to the point of making several mistakes while driving.
- Panic or fear:At times, they feel they are very conscious while driving but in the real sense, they are panicky.As a result, often times, you see them stopping suddenly on the road causing unnecessary traffic delays.
- Poor understanding of the Traffic rules and Regulations: One of the qualities of a good professional driver is the ability to interpret and understand the traffic rules and regulations. In fact, they are one of the ways to drive safe on the road.The difference between a driver and a man who moves the vehicle on the public road is proper understanding of the traffic rules and regulations.
- Poor Routine Checks: Failure to carry out daily routine checks such as engine oil, brake oil, battery terminal, light operations to mention but a few, before driving behind the wheel is part of typical new drivers’ mistakes.
- Lack of Basic safety information: This is common to those that did not attend a driving school before starting to move the vehicle on the road.They lack safety information to make the road safe such as why they need to equip their vehicle with a functional horn; when and how to join the road; when to brake and accelerate and so on.
- Poor Reverse: New drivers often find it difficult, if not impossible, to reverse the vehicle easily without being assisted, otherwise they hit their vehicles on any object behind them.
- Failure to keep proper distance from the vehicle in front while driving
- Sometimes new drivers forget to use the traffic indicator lights when turning or moving out of the lane.
- Failure to use inner mirror when necessary.
- In a bid to avoid the danger of being involved in an accident, some new drivers tend to drive too slowly for the road condition, which thereby affects the easy flow of traffic.
3 Factors that make Passenger Train Dangerous and 1 Reason why it is Worrisome
passengers traveling by rail transport
- The weight
- The speed &
- The length
length of train
t the more cars in a train increase, the higher the probability that a car or track elements in or below a train may fail at any point in time during operation. With this knowledge, the causes of accident in this regard can be divided into 2 types which are: firstly, the accident that can result from the number of train-miles covered and secondly, the one that can occur due to the cars-miles covered. (CCP 1995, Arthur D, Little (ADL) 1996). However, the length of a train in this article means the total number of the cars in a train. It is not the linear measurement of the actual length of a train. It is the total number of cars that is attached to a single truck to move with.
A Worrisome Factor
A passenger train is specially made to carry people in their large number. The longer the train, the higher the number of passengers it will carry. Most rail accidents are avoidable accidents because they are caused by human errors; yet it is humans that suffer most in the accidents for many people suffer permanent injuries while others even lose their lives. This is worrisome. For instance, when there is a collision between two passenger trains, the object that suffers most is the occupants (the passengers), hence, the saying when two elephants fight, the grass will suffer.
India’s worst rail disaster
plunges into the Baghmati river. Hundreds more are never found, with an estimated death toll ranging from 500 to 800
The most painful thing is that most innocent people suffer when accidents happen.It is important to note that it is not only passengers that suffer when a rail accident happens, even the pedestrians, bystanders, motorists etc. also suffer in rail accidents. However, for better understanding on the most worrisome factors in rail accidents, below are the examples of rail accidents:
‘At least 23 people died and dozens were injured when 2 passenger trains collided head-on in southern Italy on Tuesday,’ source: New Europe al jazeera.
A total of 27, 581 Indians died in 2014 in railway related accidents…. By the National Crime Records Bureau.
On 26 Nov., 1998, in khanna, at least 212 killed as a train collided with a derailed train.
On Sept., 2002, in Rajdhani, the Rajdhani Express derailed on bridge, killng at least 130 people.
On May 28, 2010, in West Midnapore, West Bengal, : The Calcutta-Mumbai passenger train derailed, killing at least 100.
On August 2, 1999, at least 290 killed as two trains carrying a total of 2,500 people collided.
Nevertheless, ‘The worst accident was the November 20, 2016 derailment of the Indore-Patna Express near Kanpur which resulted in 150 deaths and over 150 injuries.’ Source: hindustantimes
Nevertheless, you will notice from the given examples of rail accidents that the most common fact is the death of people in the accidents. Many important personalities in their communities were sent to their early graves for choosing the rail transport for their journey. Painful enough, most of these are caused by human errors and in a simple language, humans make errors that send other humans to their early graves. This is the most worrisome truth in this article.
10 Most Notable Reasons Why People Travel by Rail
passengers traveling by rail transport
List of Rail Accidents in the World during the 3rd Quarter of 2017
NOTE: each crash contains the date; the country where the accident occurred; the kind of accident e.g. (crash) and the number of people killed or injured in the accident.
- July2nd in the US (derailment) people got injured but the exact figure was not given.
- July 21st in the US (derailment), 9 people injured.
- July 26th in Cameroon (derailment), 1 person killed.
- July 28th in Spain (crash), 48 people injured.
- August 11th in Egypt (collision), 40 people killed and133 injured.
- August 14th in UK (derailment), no one injured.
- August 15th in UK (crash), no one killed or injured.
- August 15thin UK (derailment), 2 people injured.
- August 19th in India (derailment), 23 people killed and 60 injured.
- August 20th in UK (derailment), no one injured or killed.
- August 22nd in the US (crash), 37 people injured.
- August 23rd in India (derailment), no one died or injured.
- September 11th in Switzerland (derailment), 30 people injured.
List of Rail Accidents in the World during the 2nd Quarter of 2017
Transport system, as it were, is playing a key role in globally. Without transport,
moving people and goods from one place to another for economic, social and
other reasons will be difficult if not impossible. However, the transport system
that plays a very important role in over-land transport in moving people and
goods in large number is rail transport. In addition, in recent times, the rate of
crashes in rail transport is becoming worrisome and this explains the need for this
article. To this end, below is the list of rail accidents during the second quarter of
2017:
NOTE: each crash contains the date; the country where the accident occurred; the
kind of accident e.g. (crash) and the number of people killed or injured in the
accident.
1. April 8th in Russia (collision), 50 people injured.
2. April 15th in Austria (collision), 9 people injured.
3. April 28 th in Netherlands (collision), no record of people died or injured.
4. May 1 st in Germany (derailment), 2 people injured.
5. May 13th in Greece (derailment), 3 people died and 15 injured.
6. June 27th in US (derailment and fire), 39 people injured.
Total no people injured: 115. Total people killed: 3
Source: Wikipedia
List of Rail Accidents in the World for 1st Quarter of 2017
Increase in rail accidents, around the world, is becoming worrisome these days, although it is still safer for one to travel by rail than by road. It is undeniable that in overland transport only the rail transport has the capacity to carry more goods and passengers than any other land transport. Therefore, the need to make our rail transport safer than before cannot be over-emphasized. However, here is the list of rail accidents around the world in the 1st quarter of 2017:
NOTE: each crash contains the date; the country where the accident occurred; the kind of accident e.g. (crash) and the number of people killed or injured in the accident.
- January 4t h in the US, Brooklyn(train crash): at least 103 people injured.
- January 21st in Indian: Kuneru train derailment: at least 41 people killed and 68 people injured.
- January 24th in the US; A Front runner (collision): no one killed or injured.
- February 14th in Australia; A V/Line Velocity(collision and derailment): 2 people injured.
- February 14th in Luxembourg; (collision) 1 person killed and 2 people injured.
- February 17th in Saudi Arabia (derailment due to flooding) 18 injured.
- February 18th, in Belgium; Leuven derailment: 1 person killed and 27 people injured.
- February 20th in South Africa; (collision) 100 people injured.
- February 21st in the US; (derailment) 4 people injured.
- February 28th in UK; 2017 Liverpool Lime Street collapse
- March 7th in the US; (derailment) no one killed or injured.
- March 7th in the US; 2017 Biloxi train crash, 4 people killed.
- March 10th in the US; (derailment)
- March 20th in UK (derailment)
- March 22nd in Switzerland; (derailment), 6 people injured.
- March 29th in India (derailment), 25 people injured.
10 Ways You Need to Know to Prevent Rail Accidents
Rail accident is becoming worrisome these days; hardly will you see a week
without occurrence of rail accidents in the world. As transport demand for rail is
increasing day by day, so also there’s direct increase in rail operations or
activities, hence you see trains moving in different directions on their track and
since they share land with motorists and other road users e.g. cyclists, pedestrian
etc, the risk of people being involved in rail accident becomes inevitable.
For instance, in U.S. it was discovered that the train hits a person or a vehicle
every 3 hours and this accident always causes serious injuries or deaths. Source:
Beyond Our Rails.
However, it is important to know that these accidents are consequences of
human errors that deserve individual special attention because they are
preventable accidents. To this end, here are the ways to prevent rail accidents:
1. Be careful because rail has no inbuilt capacity to stop for you like a vehicle.
It takes not less than a mile or more for an average train traveling at 55
miles per hour to stop for you.
2. If your vehicle suddenly stops on a highway-rail crossing, probably due to
mechanical fault or for any other reason, you should let everybody move
out of the vehicle far away from the rail track, then you can call the
emergency number you see near the crossing or you call the law
enforcement. It is because the train cannot avoid any object on its track.
3. Do not use the rail track as a footpath with impunity; it is risky, it may cause
you your life, the train movement on its track is unpredictable.
4. Do not dare the speed of a moving train it may be faster than the way it
appears.
5. Do not cross immediately after a train; wait with patience to see if another
train is not moving in another direction.
6. Do not ignore the safety warning.
7. Do not jump out of a moving train
8. Always have it in mind that the train can move at anytime on its track.
9. Do not stop your vehicle on the track; before you cross make sure there is
enough space between your vehicle and the end of the track.
10. It does no harm to be safety conscious.
10 Most Notable Reasons why people Travel by Rail
All over the world where rail transportation exists, the high demand for it cannot be denied. People like to travel by rail for both long and short distances within and outside the country. Rail transport is becoming more attractive and popular, mostly in Europe,North America and other parts of the world. Rail transport has been an effective means of transporting people and goods in their large number for over 10 decades.
In some countries such as India, North America, U.S., Canada, Japan,China to mention but few, it will not take you a longer time before you see trains in their large numbers in operation moving large number of people and goods along thousands of miles in both urban and rural areas. One may wonder why many people like to travel by rail.
In fact, in India, it will surprise you to see how many people patronize rail transport.It is a common sight in India to see many people in their large number hanging on the outside of the rail cars while hundreds of others sitting on top of rail cars, though this is not a good safety attitude in India yet.The question remains, why people like to travel by rail? Why do organizations these days also choose rail transport as a means of transporting their products? However, below are the notable reasons why people like to travel by rail:
- It is economical:When you consider the long distance to be covered and the amount of goods to be carried, you will discover that rail transport is the right choice for you to use because it is cost-effective.Bulk freight rail transport has the capacity to pull the weight of over 10,000 tons of goods at a cheaper rate. As many organizations also look for ways to cut down transportation costs, hence, they use rail transport as a means to achieve this aim. Even governments in different countries also encourage their business owners to use rail transport for their products.
- It accommodates more baggage:Rail transport allows passengers to carry more bags without stress. People come with their baggage without unnecessary limitations and if you are to pay for much luggage you carry, you pay still at a cheaper rate too.So, many people like to travel with their belongings by rail than by air.
- It is less stressful: The stress a passenger needs to pass through before boarding a flight is enormous. This is not so in rail transport, you don’t need to have a stressful day before you can travel by rail.
- Passengers enjoy fixed price: People also like to use rail transport because of its relatively stable fares. They already know the amount they are going to pay for their journey anytime, any day.
- It is much more environmentally-friendly: the carbon emission from rail transport is not as dangerous as the one coming out ofan aircraft. This is also one of the reasons why the government will also encourage different organizations to use the rail transport for long-distance journeys for their products than to use trucks or trailers.
- It reduces travel time: High speed train can reduce your travel time by half. In rail, you enjoy travel without unnecessary delay or traffic hold up.
- Comfort and convenience: Trains these days are equipped with comfortable seats that can make you feel relaxed without disturbing anybody. You can move around during the journey to reduce the stress of sitting down in a particular seat for hours.Thisis not possible in road and air transport.
- Free from traffic: People also like to travel by rail in order to avoid unnecessary delay on the journey.
- Travelling by rail, you will enjoy knowing more cities.
- People like to travel by rail because it is safer than road transport and the second safest mode of transport.
Rail Transportation and the 7 Safety Tips you need to know.
Rail transport is the one of the overland transport in the world that uses rail track built on ground for its operations. Since, it’s one of the land based transportation, hence, it becomes paramount importance for all road users to be conscious and cautious when approaching any rail track.
In view of this, here are the simple safety tips you need to know on rail transportation:
- Train has no specific time:
- Train cannot stopped immediately:
- Train cannot diverge:
- Don’t misjudge the train by ignoring the warnings at the level crossing:
- Don’t misjudging the speed of a train:
Good Transport Infrastructure and Investments: Indisputable Means for Economic Growth and Poverty Alleviation in Africa.
In the African countries, mostly in the rural areas that are isolated by distance and difficult terrains, there is a tendency for an increase in the population of poor people. Often times, poverty comes as a result of poor or lack of transport infrastructure, such as rail, bridges and good roads that make it difficult, if not impossible for people in rural areas to access economic opportunities, marketplace, health care and education facilities. In fact, the aged and the disabled people extremely suffer for mobility.
In rural areas, roads and waterways are the most common means that connect different rural communities to market places and other economic opportunities; hence, proper attention must be given to them i.e. (roads and waterways) why? It’s because of the benefits and potentialities they have to reduce the extreme poverty in the African’s rural areas.
However, an improved mobility through transport investments and infrastructure are the important factors of developments with positive economic and social benefits. Truly speaking, adequate transport investments and infrastructure in African rural areas will eliminate hunger, improve education, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health and so on.
Many communities in rural areas in African countries engage in agriculture for their income generation. However, two of the ways to improve agricultural production in rural communities in Africa that will provide economic justification for their different countries are good transportation and transport infrastructure that will enhance easy mobility.
Nevertheless, most of the African’s poor population is living in rural communities that are isolated by distance and difficult terrains from markets, healthcare, education, employment, and other economic opportunities, causing extreme poverty for the people and low agricultural production. However, the major solutions to poverty in rural communities in African rural areas are good transport infrastructure and transport investments in rural communities.
Therefore, the transport national authorities in the African countries are expected to ensure that adequate resources are allocated for the construction and maintenance of rural roads and road infrastructure.
10 Notable Shipwrecks in Africa
The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) estimates that there are over 3 million shipwrecks throughout the world at sea.
A wrecked ship refers to a destruction or loss of a ship at sea. However there are unwanted and unprecedented events that actually make a ship to become wrecked at sea. Some of these events are: heavy storm; bad weather; collision with another ship; when the ship strikes a rock or iceberg; poor design of a ship; poor arrangement of cargo; navigation, to mention but a few.
However, here are the notable shipwrecks in Africa:
- A ship known as HMS Birken Head was sunk near Cape Town in South Africa.
- In 1995, tourists discovered a shipwreck at Black Assarca.
- A ship known as MV Mtongwe sunk on April 27, 1994, in Kenya.
- A Greek oil tanker ship known as Katina P was sunk in Mozambique on April 26, 1992, caused by heavy storm.
- On December, 1994, a fire accident caused a ship known as MS Achille Lauro to sink in Somalia territorial waters.
- On September, 2011, a ship known as MV Spice Islander I was sunk in Somalia.
- On May 21, 1996, in Mwanza area of Lake Victoria a ship known as MV Bukoba was sunk.
- In addition, Lake Victoria in 2005, a ship known as MV kabaleja was sunk when it collided with another ship known as MV Kaawa in Ssese Island area.
- On April 1st, 1999, a ship in Nigeria moving from Port-Harcourt to Nembe capsized.
- On September 2002, a Senegalese passenger’s ship capsized near Gambia water territorial areas.
Passenger Alert! Bus-stop shelter: Gradually becoming a luxury apartment for lunatics in Nigeria
A bus-stop shelter is one of the important transport infrastructure designed for both passengers and commercial vehicles to “set down” and ‘pick up’ passenger. It is usually build on a public road with roof and inbuilt seats for passengers. It is an important infrastructure purposely made for passenger’s safety.
It is interesting to note that some of these bus- stop shelters are gradually becoming luxury, apartment for lunatics in Nigeria, thereby, making it so difficult and unpleasant to be used by public.
Often times, I wonder at my observation when I see a mad man making use of transport infrastructures on our public roads without being checked. A time you see them using road side as their inevitable apartment and a times you may see them using round about facilities as their dwelling place. So, one may wonder if all these public transport infrastructures are alternative means for lunatics to live
However, since many of these mentally ill people sharing the same road with pedestrians, hence, little will it baffle you when you see some of them making use of bus-stop shelter, road-side and round about infrastructure as their dwelling place? In all honesty, this is an eye sore on our public roads. I think, it is unacceptable to every Nigerian. It is not pleasant to the ears, to the eye and to the sense of reason. Hence, the saying two wrong things can never make a right.
Furthermore, in a society where many insane people are allowed to move anyhow on our public road, this often has a negative effect on our environment.
For instance on August 17, 2016, the writer of this article was listening to daily newspaper review on one of the radio stations in Nigeria, when he heard the story of a mad man who hit a pedestrian very hard on the head with iron, it was reported that the victim was bleeding from the head when he was quickly rushed to the hospital for treatment.
More so, in 2013, precisely on Christmas day, a woman, her 4 children and 5 other people were killed when a container fell on a stationary commuter bus at Alaba Suru in Lagos. It was revealed that the truck driver was trying to avoid killing a mad man who slept on the road when the container it carried fell from the truck.
In addition, some years back the writer was a witness on how a mad man was beaten mercilessly by motorist and passengers in Ibadan tollgate along Lagos/Ibadan expressway. Why? It was said that the mad man suddenly threw a big stone at oncoming vehicle from Lagos, this explains why the windshield was damaged and a passenger in the front seat sustained serious injury on the head. The simple truth is that a mad man on public road is a dangerous man.
The rise in number of insane people on public roads is due to lack of adequate special institution that can house the insane people in our society, thereby, causing social problem on our roads and reducing the bus-stop shelter as luxury their apartment.
However, provision of specialist institution by the government for mentally ill people in our society can never be over emphasized in this regards.
In Nigeria today in most cases madness is mostly the problem of the families concern and if such families are unable to care and control the insane or house them they let them alone, moving around the street and on the public roads. Consequently, we have many mad people around us that are violently and highly disturbing.
Social welfare board or the authority concern at all level of the government in the country have obligations and duties to prevent or make our public roads to be free from environmental harm and nuisance that are likely to cause by mentally deficient people.
The authority concern in Nigeria is expected to provide adequate public mental asylum where all these insane people can be housed for better compassionate care and moral treatment that will enhance rehabilitation of the insane rather than allowing them to move around the public road aimlessly, thereby causing social problem on our roads.
To this end, the authorities concern from all level of government in Nigeria must play a key role, through legal and financial means to implement and enforce decision that will make our public roads and transport infrastructures and all road users free from environmental harm and nuisance that are likely to cause by mentally deficient people.
Nevertheless, as I observed the increase of mentally deficient people on our public roads so also, is the concern about their harmful effects to human health and the environment at large become, highly worrisome. Therefore, the social welfare board or the authority concern and transport authorities at all level in Nigeria are humbly but firmly called through this platform to formulate road transport environmental safety policy that will contribute to the sustainable economic development, health and safety of all road users by maintaining and improving the quality of our public roads and transport infrastructures.
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