Eastern Railroad Discussion > NTSB Chairman and PBS Oil train report

How did Deborah Hershman get to be NTSB Chairman? She was just on PBS ( which I hold as the most factual news TV channel) and totally trashed the railroad industry and tank car builders for their efforts to improve rail safety. What does she know about railroads, train operation, or tank cars?) She said the major cause of accidents was track related. I think only one of the notable recent accidents was caused by track, the one in Alabama and I do not know that as a fact. She made no mention of CPC 1232, PBF's intent to use all CPC 1232 cars soon, BNSF intent to by a huge order of even more compliant cars, and the railroad industry plans for even better cars in the future. She is pretty; I can think of a lot of other endeavors where she would be more qualified.

A little sexist? Of course, she's in politics now. Politicians don't care about the truth. It's all about using talk to advance their cause.

tp117 Wrote:
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> > > She is pretty; I can think of a lot of other
> endeavors where she would be more qualified.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/23/14 19:57 by wabash2800.

NTSB:

>>Previously, Hersman was a senior advisor to the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation from 1999-2004 and served as Staff Director and Senior Legislative Aide to West Virginia Congressman Bob Wise from 1992-1999. Her efforts contributed to the passage of milestone bills such as the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999, Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002, Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century, and Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act.

Hersman received B.A. degrees in Political Science and International Studies from Virginia Tech<<

also holds a CDL and motorcycle license. and is a certified child safety seat technician

railroads can only go on info provided them by the oil producers who weren't forthcoming in their facts about how volatile the Bakken and Canadien crude can be ... of course this would mean they would need to spend more bucks on neutralizing the volatility of the gases in the oil they're extracting ... so when the oil producers request tank cars to transport 1067 crude the railroads ask what the product specs are and i believe they were intentially mislead to the oil's contents and quite frankly partially liable for their part for all the incidents involving volatility



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/23/14 17:39 by Out_Of_Service.

Thanks for the updates. Obviously the NTSB Chair has some credentials, none really impressive, and none involving any real knowledge of the railroad industry, operations, marketing, or tank car construction. I agree with 'oos' that the rail companies were probably misled about the flamable properties of crude (think you meant placard 1267, a typo). As for being a 'sexist' initial comment; no way. I have a wife of 45 years, a daughter, and a three legged cat, who compared to my big male cat 'Zephyr' is the sweetest little pussy I have known.

While I want public officials to report on unsafe conditions by companies, and yes, sometimes, you have to go on TV to make a loud significant statement. But on the other hand, all news organizations, NPR included, are looking for ratings with blood, children, disasters, and yellow journalism.

So, let's hope the railroads hear it, and let's hope Hershmann can be quieter.

The statistic about broken rails as a factor in derailments refers to ALL mainline derailments, not just oil-train derailments, and was reported to the NTSB during its two days of hearings on unit-hazmat train safety issues by a railroad-engineering expert from the University of Illinois. The statistic was not that majority of derailments are caused by broken rails or broken rail welds, either, just that such are more frequently the cause by a factor of about five compared with any other single cause. And broken rails have been blamed for other unit-train wrecks, including a spectacular ethanol-train pileup near Arcadia, OH two years ago.

Whatever news report you saw on TV -- even on PBS, which is certainly more thorough than the commercial networks with stories like this -- probably just scratched the surface. There was a lot of discussion during the two days of hearings about the issues you mention.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/23/14 19:05 by toledopatch.

Just watched the segment and decided the subject was about the NTSB having reached their conclusion before the Canadian decision, also that nobody was listening when the NTSB made that conclusion. The NTSB Chairman stated that they don't make regulations, they only make investigations.

Very worthwhile spending a few minutes to watch or read the reports of the discussion. btw, the decision or conclusion was about removing the older tank cars, as we've discussed on TO.

My $0.02 says the PBS Newshour was a very good presentation of the news, but the chosen subjects are moving away from news and into a field similar to a personal agenda, maybe political, maybe humanistic.

NTSB Chairman Hersman is going to move on to being head of the National Safety Council.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/23/14 23:41 by SOO6617.