Addressing the deadly Washington D.C. train crash Debbie Hersman of the National Transportation Safety Board said the operator of the train that “slammed into a stationary train in front of it apparently had activated the emergency brakes in a failed effort to stop before the accident.” as reported in the Washington Post. Hersman said the “emergency brake button, known as the ‘mushroom,’ was depressed, and the steel rails showed evidence that the brakes were engaged.”

The illusion of safety with industry standards
ASTM International, a Pennsylvania-based group that sets voluntary safety standards, last week eliminated its guidelines for drop-side cribs, citing complaints about hardware failures,” as reported in the Bloomberg News on November 24.