Railroads, deaths and squashing regulations

It is true: government regulations save lives. Best to not mince words: Congress has blood on its hands. For 50 years, at the behest of their lobbyist puppet masters, they throttled regulations the National Transportation Safety Board meant for railroads to adopt. What did the lobbyists win?

Reprieve from having to install automatic braking equipment, called positive train control. Again and again Congress extended the implementation deadline.

The cost to the American people since 1970: 298 deaths, 6,763 injuries and some $385 million in property damage from 150 crashes, the Associated Press reported last week.

Regulations protect the majority, the many among us, from the few who want to protect themselves, to gain for themselves and who game the system.

Do regulators make mistakes? Certainly. But how often does regulation misstep cause a train to jump the tracks, kill three and close an interstate?

As this century’s technologies advance, larger populations – especially in Washington – will have more of us living closer together and putting greater pressure on the environment. As sure as a winter’s rainstorm, voices will incessantly call for a go-slow status quo approach. As certainly as mountain passes are closed by snow storms, acquiescence by our governmental representatives will continue to kill more of us, maybe slowly, maybe in large numbers at once.

A hands-off approach is no way to get to a sane and sustainable future.

Deregulating to the good old days is a recipe for disasters. Correction: it is a formula for ongoing and increasing tragedies and more loss of life.

That’s not a freedom or future that is alluring or one that this newspaper will ever support.