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.”

A Call to Safeguard Workers
The Western New York Council on Occupational Safety and Health, “WNYCOSH”, an independent not-for-profit safety group issued a report January 25, 2016, providing that the Scaffold Law, Labor Law Section 240 is essential to protect construction workers. As a son of a construction worker, I feel strongly that