Did you ever notice that railroad accidents seem to usually fall in one of two categories?

1. There is a single, clear and definite cause - like a broken rail, excessive speed, major rule violation, etc. Thought there may be contributing factors that had only minor consequences.

2. There are a chain of normally inconsequential incidents, that in the proper order lead to an accident. Breaking the chain at any point would either prevent the accident or at least make it less.

Maybe the railroads should teach and stress respecting the intent of the rules, and how to break the chain of events before an accident or injury. It might be a more worthwile task for managers rather than just trying to nail a crew with the highest level violation possible?