NATURE AND EXTENT OF NONFATAL INJURIES TO BRAKEMEN (NOT SPECIFIED) INJURED IN ACCIDENTS IN NEW JERSEY, 1888 TO 1907.

[Data compiled from the annual reports of the railroads of New Jersey to the state comptroller.]

a Not separately reported. b Including 471 injuries not classified and 10 internal injuries.

SUMMARY OF NONFATAL INJURIES TO BRAKEMEN (NOT SPECIFIED), BY NATURE

SWITCHMEN (NOT SPECIFIED).

In New Jersey there seems to be a difference in the meaning and usage of the term switchman. Some roads apply the term switchman to a man who only tends switches and sees that the trains or cars pass safely over them. Tending a switch means not only the throwing of the same, but in keeping it in good condition—that is, free from obstructions, such as snow and ice, and in keeping it well oiled. Switch tenders in this strict sense of the term, when reported in such a manner as to indicate that their duties were principally on the ground, are considered with the group of employees engaged in the maintenance of way. The causes of accidents to switchmen (not specified) so clearly indicate that the large majority of such employees were engaged on trains or cars that they have been considered as trainmen and the statistics are presented in this group. In the following table, for example, it is shown that of the 455 switchmen (not specified) reported as injured during the twenty-year period, 216, or 47.5 per cent, were injured in the coupling or uncoupling of cars; 91 were injured by falls from trains, locomotives, or cars. Of the 41 fatal injuries to switchmen (not specified) all were due to train accidents of one kind or another. The figures show that 9 per cent of the injuries were fatal and 91 per cent were nonfatal.

CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS TO SWITCHMEN (NOT SPECIFIED) FATALLY AND NONFATALLY INJURED IN NEW JERSEY, 1888 TO 1907.

[Data compiled from the annual reports of the railroads of New Jersey to the state comptroller.]

In the next table the nonfatal accidents to this class of railway employees during the period 1888 to 1907 are classified by the nature and extent of the injuries:

NATURE AND EXTENT OF NONFATAL INJURIES TO SWITCHMEN (NOT SPECIFIED) INJURED IN ACCIDENTS IN NEW JERSEY, 1888 TO 1907.

[Data compiled from the annual reports of the railroads of New Jersey to the state comptroller.]

a Not separately reported. SUMMARY OF NONFATAL INJURIES TO SWITCHMEN (NOT SPECIFIED), BY NATURE

Including 11 injuries not classified and 2 internal injuries.

(a)

(a)

(a)

66

6

28

10

b 414

OF THE INJURY.

The figures indicate that switchmen on trains are exposed to about the same degree of injury as freight and yard brakemen and drillers. Of the 414 nonfatal injuries, 6.8 per cent represented fractures, 2.4 per cent the loss of a part or parts, and 15.9 per cent represented a crushed part or parts. These figures clearly indicate that the injuries to switchmen are frequently severe, and result in permanent disability.

FLAGMEN.

In the following table the accidents during the period 1888 to 1907 reported under the occupation title of flagman are presented by causes, in the usual manner. Flagmen on trains perform service similar to that of brakemen; in fact the brakemen frequently perform the work that is sometimes assigned to rear-end flagmen. That flagmen are exposed to about the same hazards as brakemen is plain from the data in the table.

CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS TO FLAGMEN FATALLY AND NONFATALLY INJURED IN NEW JERSEY, 1888 TO 1907.

[Data compiled from the annual reports of the railroads of New Jersey to the state comptroller.]

The figures in this table show that 25.6 per cent of all the injuries were caused by coupling or uncoupling, and 20.2 per cent were caused by the injured employee being struck by trains, locomotives, or cars. Train accidents were responsible for the great majority of both the fatal and the nonfatal injuries to this class of railroad employees. Of the 129 accidents reported, 26, or 20.2 per cent, were fatal and 103, or 79.8 per cent, were nonfatal.

In the next table the nonfatal accidents to flagmen during the period 1888 to 1907 are classified by the nature and extent of the injuries. Comment on this table is unnecessary, since the degree of injury is very similar to that of brakemen.

NATURE AND EXTENT OF NONFATAL INJURIES TO FLAGMEN INJURED IN ACCIDENTS IN NEW JERSEY, 1888 TO 1907.

[Data compiled from the annual reports of the railroads of New Jersey to the state comptroller.]

SUMMARY OF NONFATAL INJURIES TO FLAGMEN, BY NATURE OF THE INJURY.

Injuries to baggagemen (not specified) appear to refer, in the New Jersey statistics, principally to baggagemen employed on trains. This occupation is therefore considered in the group of trainmen and the statistics are presented in the following tables. The figures in the first table, in which the accidents during the period 1888 to 1907 are classified by causes, indicate that at least one-half of the injuries to baggagemen (not specified) were the result of train accidents, all of the fatal injuries having been due to that class of causes. Of the 85 accidents reported, 5, or 5.9 per cent, were fatal and 80, or 94.1 per cent, were nonfatal.