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posted by martyb on Tuesday October 04 2016, @12:37AM   Printer-friendly
from the GIGO?-DINO!-Data-In-Nothing-Out dept.

The National Transportation Safety Board has said that a data recorder recovered from the crash of a New Jersey Transit train in Hoboken recorded no information about the incident:

A data recorder that could have helped investigators answer why a New Jersey Transit train crashed in Hoboken last week was not working, the National Transportation Safety Board said Sunday. "Unfortunately, the event recorder was not functioning during this trip," NTSB Vice Chairman Bella Dinh-Zarr said. Investigators said the data recorder was over 20 years old.

The NTSB is looking for a second data recorder from a newer passenger car. The recorder could provide information on the train's speed, use of brakes and throttle position. The train's engineer, identified as Thomas Gallagher, told NTSB investigators the train entered the Hoboken station at 10 mph. Witnesses have said the train was speeding as it entered the station instead of slowing down.

New Jersey Transit had already been under scrutiny for safety issues before the crash. A roof (possibly containing asbestos) which had collapsed on top of the train during the accident is now preventing investigators from inspecting the scene.

Also at Reuters and The Guardian .


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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Dunbal on Tuesday October 04 2016, @12:53AM

    by Dunbal (3515) on Tuesday October 04 2016, @12:53AM (#409758)

    In the race to the bottom that greedy capitalism mandates, America has been so busy looking for cheaper ways to do things that it has forgotten why they were necessary in the first place. System designed by the cheapest engineer, built, installed, maintained and operated by the cheapest possible labor. Well, you reap what you sow.

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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by edIII on Tuesday October 04 2016, @01:09AM

    by edIII (791) on Tuesday October 04 2016, @01:09AM (#409762)

    Yep. When I hear that the device was sitting there for 20 years, I immediately think of how much money was saved/stolen by c-suites that refused to service or replace the device.

    It's not just exploited labor, but the illusion of workplace safety while they're being exploited. Perhaps one day when we can put that c-suite in jail for that decision we may find different behavior.

    --
    Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
  • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday October 04 2016, @02:02AM

    by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Tuesday October 04 2016, @02:02AM (#409773)

    Fault for the accident will be pinned on the engineer, he has already been named, despite not being charged with anything.
    Wait for the media campaign against him to start.
    No real decision maker will face court over this.

  • (Score: 2) by SecurityGuy on Tuesday October 04 2016, @02:51AM

    by SecurityGuy (1453) on Tuesday October 04 2016, @02:51AM (#409787)

    Unless I'm missing something, the train was operated by NJ Transit, a "state-owned public transportation system" according to wikipedia. In other words, capitalism had nothing to do with it. This was a government-run operation.

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by maxwell demon on Tuesday October 04 2016, @06:34AM

      by maxwell demon (1608) on Tuesday October 04 2016, @06:34AM (#409834) Journal

      State-owned just means that the profits go to the government. It doesn't automatically imply non-profit. After all, the government needs money, too.

      The reason why many government operations are inefficient is not that they are government-driven, it's because they are government monopolies. Monopolies tend to be inefficient, no matter whether run by the government or by a private organization.

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
      • (Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Tuesday October 04 2016, @09:06PM

        by Joe Desertrat (2454) on Tuesday October 04 2016, @09:06PM (#410324)

        The reason why many government operations are inefficient is not that they are government-driven, it's because they are government monopolies. Monopolies tend to be inefficient, no matter whether run by the government or by a private organization.

        I suspect the problems have more to due with budget cuts rather than efficiency. Government run services tend to be better run than private interests at the price simply because they are required to perform first, not make a profit. That however, cannot withstand the political grandstanding that has taken over budgeting. As a result, something like a data recorder doesn't even make the "wait list" for replacement until it is discovered to be non-functioning, and only then does the process to get replacing it funded start. There is probably a lot of our infrastructure held together only by rust and inertia.