THE
LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL
We have all heard the old adage,
supposedly a reference to hope, that there is "light at the end of the
tunnel". In my life, that light has most often been a train coming from the
other direction, but nonetheless, I respect the saying and the intended
meaning. However, a recent article that caught my eye got me wondering if
more people should consider my interpretation of that time-worn saying. A
recent report detailing the dangers of working in New York City's subway
system through me for a loop. The report begins with the sobering statement
that since 1946, 238 workers have been killed on the job. My immediate
assumption was that they had been shot, stabbed or otherwise met their
demise through some sort of violent exchange. Not so fast, partner.
The report came out just as subway workers were gathering at a church in
Queens to remember two workers killed recently. I certainly do not intend to
make light of anyone's passing, but I was simply stunned by the statistics.
The two most recent fatals occurred within five days of each other and
caused a four day suspension of maintenance and construction while workers
were retrained. No pun intended by re-"trained". You may be as surprised as
I was, or maybe not, to learn that over the last 61 years 150 workers have
died as a result of being struck by a train. About 24 died from electrical
shock via the famed third-rail, about 20 workers died in falls and 11 from
train crashes or collisions. The number shot during robberies? Three.
The reason I found this interesting was that it countered my initial
assumption, which made me feel stupid, judgmental, or both. The notion of
New York city as a violent place helped my initial leap to a conclusion. My
leap was also aided by a pragmatic analysis which quickly concluded that if
you work around trains, the number one rule has just got to be...don't be on
the tracks when a train goes by. It just doesn't make sense. I know it's a
dangerous environment, but so is an airport. You don't see ramp workers
getting run over by planes every other day or sucked into jet engines,
although it has happened and makes a head on with the Green Line look pretty
good. Construction work is dangerous and especially on highways but again,
overall, a pretty good safety record. I admit freely that I may be obsessing
over this one but it just strikes me as, with all due respect, a little
silly.
The four day shutdown for retraining is certainly a step in the right
direction though I am not overly optimistic. For most of us, not sitting on
railroad tracks during the passing of a train is knowledge that is just kind
of intrinsic. I don't remember a class, or a formal declaration from my
parents. You just kind of knew, right about from the age when you could tie
your own sneakers, that only Smurfs get run over by trains and regain their
original shape. I wish I could be a fly on the wall at one of those training
sessions. Perhaps they'll use a watermelon, crushed by an anvil, to
demonstrate the anticipated dispersal of your brain matter when you get
clobbered by the Double E at about 85 mph. Touching the third rail? That's a
tougher demonstration because you really need a smoke machine and something
to make that crackling sound that is inherent to high-voltage electrocution.
Could it possibly make a difference? Something tells me, there's more than
meets the eye here. I would be checking transit worker tool boxes for bongs
and rolling papers because it is hard to imagine anyone sober, who works in
that environment daily, not understanding the pounding finality of a
"train-strike". Optimist that I am, I will hope for stellar results from the
training sessions and will anticipate in advance the possibility that we can
lower the death toll by flattening to 75 over the next 60 years. That would
be a 50% reduction and with results like that, we could all say "there is
light at the end of the tunnel".