If you work on a Connecticut railroad, you may already be aware that there are enough railroad tracks laid in the United States to encircle the earth — eight times. Whether you work on a freight train or one that carries daily commuters and other passengers, you know there is always a risk involved when working on or traveling by locomotive. The question is how to keep collision risks as low as possible. It’s also important that you know where to seek support if your job causes you injury.

There are several measures railroad companies can take to improve their employees’ likelihoods of avoiding collisions. Modern technology allows certain types of checks and balances that weren’t possible years ago. If you’re aware of these helpful tools and you know how to access help if a problem arises, you can stay one step ahead of the game.

New developments improve safety on the tracks

Some of the problems that can lead to railway collisions involve things you can’t see. Certain defects in railroad lines may occur during manufacturing. However, there are steps some have taken to detect potential flaws. Information on new technology and other safety issues include those in the following list:

• You may have undergone an ultrasound test at some point in your life from some type of adverse health condition or medical concern. Safety officials have put this same of type of technology to work for them on the railroad. By using ultrasound, they can detect internal flaws in the rails, which can help prevent crashes.
• An average train weighs more than 3,000 tons. Maintenance and upkeep on such massive machines, as well as on the rails with which they come in contact, is definitely no small task. Highly sophisticated technology allows safety analysts to scrutinize track geometry to check for problematic issues and determine where tracks need maintenance.
• One of the most important components of a train is its wheels. You may have loved to watch train wheels turning as a child; perhaps that pleasure is part of what drew you to a career on the railroad. In an adult world, however, a company must keep train wheels in tip-top shape to avoid collision. They can use monitoring devices to detect possible problems with wheel bearings.

If, at any point in the complex system of networks designed to keep trains running smoothly, one alerts an engineer or worker to a potential problem, what follows may affect your chances for survival. Hopefully, your employer takes the responsibility to provide appropriate education and equipment to help keep you and your fellow workers safe.

What to do if you’re injured

Even the most sophisticated safety system in the world can fail. If you’re involved in a train collision and suffer injury, investigators will likely want to ask you a lot of questions. You may have some questions of your own as well, such as who should be responsible for medical bills and other economic losses you suffer caused by the accident.

You may take similar steps that other injured railroad workers in Connecticut have taken in the past by pursuing an injury claim in civil court as allowed by the Federal Employers Liability Act.