The Inside Story of Train Accidents

By Carla C. Ballatan

The American society has continuously seen many developments concerning forms of transportation. However, long before the other forms of motorized vehicles had appealed to the masses, the train has been a longstanding mode of cargo and human transportation.

Trains were once powered by steam engine. In 1862, when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad Act, promoting the train as a main mode of transit for the masses. The Pacific Railroad Act paved the way for constructing the transcontinental railroad. This ultimately became the link for California to become part of the rest of the United States.

By 1865, considered the "golden age of railroads," there were no other forms of transit but the trains. Half a century would pass by without any other kind of vehicle challenging the railroads.
As the society advanced, though, and new forms of transportation were borne out of technological advances like diesel engines, the steam engine powered trains retired by 1970.

However, with the Rail Passenger Service Act of 1970, Amtrak was introduced to take charge of intercity railroad passenger services.

Even during the advent of many years, the train is still largely considered as a reliable form of mass transit. Most public commuters find it easier and quicker to ride in trains in getting to their area of destination. The increasing of population has also become a factor for the need of expanded types of mass transportation. The train fills up this requirement.

Millions of Americans rely on traveling by train as their necessary form of transport. They rely on train travel for their daily commute from home to work and vice versa.

Sadly, along with the longstanding history of trains are the tragedies that result from accidents in the railroads, collisions and other factors. According to authority institutions, about 3,000 train and / or railroad accidents occur annually. Along with this, the fatalities amount to 1,000 people being killed because of train accidents.

What could cause such devastating accidents?

Usually, the main causes of accidents involving trains and railroads are defects in the railroad tracks, mechanical failures, improperly loaded cargoes or much too heavy loads of cargo, negligence on the conductor's part and other human errors.

The National Transportation Safety Board studied the human factors involved in the occurrence of train accidents. Since 2001, NHTSA did investigations on about 29 accidents on railroads that involve train collisions and derailments.

The investigations turned out that most of the accidents happened due to the following human errors:

- Failure of train crews in abiding by the "train control signals."- Failure to follow the operating procedures involved when in non-signaled or dark areas.- Failure to observe the other definite operating rules like returning the track switches to their normal positions after they have completed their tasks at the track sidings.

Other human performance failures includes improper positioning of switches, loss of "situational awareness", usage of "after-arrival track warrants" when in dark terrains, usage of mobile phones, fatigue and other medical conditions.

For more information regarding personal injury cases involving train accidents and other vehicle accidents please log on to Los Angeles Personal Injury Lawyers website

How to Weight Train for Maximum Gain

By Ken Wilssens

Weight trainers want to make the most of their workouts. Therefore, the question for them is how to weight train for maximum gain. The best way to make the most of weight training exercises is to use free weights. When weight training, the main types of equipment consists of barbells and dumbbells as well as machines that use cables and pulleys. The barbells and dumbbells are called free weights. They help to stimulate the muscle fibers.

When you use a bench press, you work out the maximum number of stabilizer muscles. Along with synergist muscles, stabilizer muscles are the main supporting muscles used when doing lifts. You don't need any stabilizer assistance if you bench press on a machine, but with free weights, this targets the muscle mass effectively. If your muscles are already weak, using a machine won't help them grow.

Free weights put a lot of resistance on the muscles. This is the reason you get tired faster when using them and think they are not working as well as a machine. However, they will help you gain muscle mass quicker and gain the strength you need.

When beginning a weightlifting regimen, you should start out using a combination of machines and free weights. You should become familiar with the proper way to do each exercise before you move on to harder and more complicated routines. For working the large muscle groups, you should use multi-jointed exercises. These involve the movement of many muscles at the same time. A typical routine would consist of:
* Bench press

* Overhead press

* Pull ups with barbells

* Squats

* Deadlifts

* Bar dips

Thus through the process of your workout you target all the major muscle groups in the body.

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