Rosedale Train Derailment Report Calls for Reform

By Marissa Parra, CAPITAL NEWS SERVICE

More than one year after an explosive train collision in Rosedale, the National Transportation Safety Board issued its ruling on the causes of the crash—one of which was distracted driving.

After 1 p.m. on May 28, 2013, a Mack truck collided at a rail crossing with a CSX train that was carrying hazardous material, resulting in a fire and explosion, officials said.

The blast was heard from Perry Hall to Pasadena, Patch reported at the time.

After nearly 18 months of investigation, the National Safety Transportation Board ruled the truck driver had been distracted while using a hands-free device, among other factors.

“Current laws may mislead people to believe that hands-free is as safe as not using a phone at all,’’ acting Chairman of the National Safety Transportation Board Christopher A. Hart said. “Our investigations have found over and over that distraction in any form can be dangerous behind the wheel.”

The driver was going 10 mph at the crossing. In its recommendations, the board advised that commercial drivers should be banned from using hands-free devices while operating commercial vehicles.

Several were injured in the derailment, and glass shattered as far as a half mile from the explosion, Hart said. The 50-year-old truck driver was seriously injured, Hart noted, and three workers in a building adjacent to the tracks and a Maryland Transportation Authority police officer had minor injuries too.

Vegetation at the crossing restricted visibility, an issue CSX corrected after a second train-truck crash at the crossing in August 2014, according to the board.

Read the full report on the May 2013 Rosedale derailment from the National Transportation Safety Board.

Screenshot from ETTCorp/YouTube.

Related:

• WATCH: CSX Train Collides with Mack Truck
• Freight Train-Truck Collision Causes Explosion, Shuts Down Area East of Baltimore