An Amtrak train travelling 106 mph--twice the speed limit--derailed just outside of Philadelphia late Tuesday night, May 12th, leaving at least seven passengers killed and more than 200 injured.
Apparently there is technology, known as Positive Train Control, that can cap out the speed of a train, but it must be installed both on the train and on the track; and that stretch of track along which the train sped up and derailed was not installed with that technology, in spite of having been requested "for many many years," according to National Transportation Safety board member Robert Sumwalt.
What can we learn from this tragedy? Many things, of course, but here are a few that come to mind:
1. Our technologies often exceed our rate of decision-making: What is speculated is that the railroad tracks were not equipped with Positive Train Control, but the train itself was. Here we have an asymmetry between the state of art train and the obsolete tracks, in spite of the latter having been requested "for many many years."
2. We often, mistakenly, wait till catastrophe to make changes: If there hasn't been a need before to install PTC on the tracks prior to this accident, there certainly is now. This is true of many aspects of our lives: we don't make changes until there's a crash--whether physical, biological, emotional, marital--and then we stop everything to deal with it. The best way is to look ahead and deal with needs that come up in real time. Unfortunately, we move through life too fast to be present for what is needed, and we push everything off--till tragedy strikes.
3. Rapid Change + Complexity = Futility: The Amtrak derailment is a tragic metaphor for our world right now as a whole: as mentioned, our systems are growing too complex, and change so rapid, that we are unable to keep up; and when we're on the wrong side of change, managing it is futile. We have to continue to find better ways of making decisions and designing systems (whether transportation or otherwise) that puts us on the right side of change. This is very difficult.
4. Do we all need to slow down?: We are now living, in the words of Douglas Rushkoff, in "present shock," that is, when everything is live, real-time, and always on. Rushkoff continues in his book Present Shock:
“Our society has reoriented itself to the present moment. . . . It’s not a mere speeding up, however much our lifestyles and technologies have accelerated the rate at which we attempt to do things. It’s more of a diminishment of anything that isn’t happening right now—and the onslaught of everything that supposedly is.”―Douglas Rushkoff, Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now
As a society, we may have no choice to slow down, but as individuals we do. Amtrak, again, is a very tragic metaphor for a world that is moving too fast and too carelessly--but as individuals we don't have to. We can live in the present moment, and, as such, be in somewhat better control of our lives. We have time to be present for those we love, serve those in need, and live our lives mindfully.
Our condolences go out the family and friends of the victims of the Amtrak derailment, and our thoughts are with those who are suffering as a result, whether through injury or loss.
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