Prescriptive analysis
Prescriptive analysis, I believe it’s called. The examination of an accident, with the goal of preventing a reoccurence. Sort of like what you do at home, when you’ve stubbed your little toe (badly) because someone else moved that dad-blasted chair into the route you take between the couch and the refrigerator. I jest, a little.
I’ve been reading Transportation Safety Board reports, by accident. That is, I accidentally came across an online archive, and started reading the actual accident reports. Fascinating art form. Take an incident and turn it into fifteen pages of prose, replete with charts and photos.
Here’s an example of the synoptic content in one report.
At 1728 eastern daylight time on “date”, “company” freight train No. ###-
##, proceeding eastward at 28 mph on the “location” Railway, struck a northbound vehicle
at the “more location” public crossing (Mile ##.##, “company description” Subdivision), near “name of community”, Ontario.
The train consisted of 3 locomotives and 93 cars, was 7149 feet long, and weighed 10 755 tons.
The crew placed the brakes in emergency, and the train stopped approximately 1300 feet east of
the crossing. The occupant of the vehicle was fatally injured.
I’m responsible for the redaction, although I haven’t figured out how to include those nifty black lines used by other governmental agencies. In short, a train hit a car; or, a car hit a train. More detail follows. Actually, the train hit the car. Since the train has right-of-way, by law, the car was “in the wrong”, and the “occupant” was charged, convicted and sentenced to death within the same phrase.
There are dozens of reports available, all vignettes of the ultimate reality show. All offer solid strategies to prevent any need for a remake of the show. I’m impressed; if only the government would apply this model to other ministerial pervues.
