Pondering Seatbelts After Amtrak Crash
The Brian Lehrer Show | May 19, 2015
Richard Pérez-Peña, New York Times reporter on the National Desk, discusses how the latest train derailment by an Amtrak train on the Northeast Corridor has sparked a new debate about an old proposal -- should trains have seatbelts?
.@perezpena explains the physics: when a car crashes, it stops within seconds. Trains don't decelerate as fast, different impact injuries.
— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) May 19, 2015
Talk to any train engineer and they'll tell you they get hit by people throwing rocks - even cinder blocks - "all the time" says @perezpena.
— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) May 19, 2015
Lap belts (like on planes) would do more harm than good; train seats aren't strong enough for harness belts (like in cars), says @perezpena
— WNYC (@WNYC) May 19, 2015
