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Re: PTC
Author: Retired RR
Date: 01-16-2018 - 17:12
It has been pointed out that the biggest lifesaving investment we could currently make in the US would be the adoption of Self-driving cars saving 40,000 lives a year. Ignore natural disasters, terrorist acts, and pretty much everything else short of nuclear war.
Why isn't this a national or even worldwide goal? Simple. People are lousy at judging real risk vs. perceived risk. We'll spend billions annually on airport security theater (remember actual incidents stopped by TSA is still zero) but balk at doing things that might be actually meaningful.
As tragic as AMTRAK 501 or the Chatsworth incident was, it still doesn't justify spending 10 billion on PTC. If you're going to argue humans are incapable to do their job as required without computer assistance than just go ahead and remove them from the equation. It might be the sad end of an era, but if the goal is safety, than why not?
Why isn't this a national or even worldwide goal? Simple. People are lousy at judging real risk vs. perceived risk. We'll spend billions annually on airport security theater (remember actual incidents stopped by TSA is still zero) but balk at doing things that might be actually meaningful.
As tragic as AMTRAK 501 or the Chatsworth incident was, it still doesn't justify spending 10 billion on PTC. If you're going to argue humans are incapable to do their job as required without computer assistance than just go ahead and remove them from the equation. It might be the sad end of an era, but if the goal is safety, than why not?
