Reading his June 19 op-ed column “Congress must act now on oil trains,” about what Gov. Jay Inslee had to say about making the oil trains safer, is unrealistic — it cannot be done. There are so many factors that no safety regulations passed by Congress or anyone else could ever make the trains safe.
The biggest problem is that the American railroad companies think they are above the law and they set their own laws and can pretty much do whatever they want regardless what anyone says. Then it’s the rails themselves, which are at best a moving target maintained, yes, but never perfect. Then last but not least is the human factor. If everything else is perfect the engineer is still human and subject to failure.
When is America going to stop trying to put a Band-Aid on a bomb wound? Shipping by rail will never be safe no matter what is done to the tracks or cars; it is just an accident waiting to happen and it could become a catastrophic event. Mosier, Ore., was just a warning. Wake up, now is the time to stop this madness.
