141 
RAILWAY TRAVELLING AND ELECTRICITY. 
The examination of the interesting statistics compiled by the 
Board of Trade shows that, taking the following periods, the 
proportion of passengers killed from causes beyond their own 
control to passenger journeys made was : 
Table V. — Proportion op Passengers Killed to Journeys Made. 
3 years ending 1849 
4 „ 1859 
4 „ 1869 
3 ,, 1873 
1 in 4,782,188 journeys made. 
1 „ 8,708,411 *„ 
1 „ 12,941,170 „ 
1 „ 20,089,660 „ 
This gives striking evidence of steady and constant improve- 
ment in the conduct of the railway traffic, for the safety in the 
period ending 1873 was nearly five times greater than that in 
the period ending 1849. 
If we take the average length of each journey at 10 miles, 
one passenger is killed, from causes beyond his own control, for 
every 200,896,000 miles travelled. Thus, if a person travelled 
10 hours a day at the rate of 30 miles an hour for each of the 
365 days of the year he would probably be killed in 1,835 years. 
How has the potentiality of danger of railway travelling been 
converted into comparative actuality of safety? Freedom from 
accident depends upon the perfection of the road, of the rolling 
stock, of the signals, and, above all, of the men. But none of 
these elements are perfect. Accidents have been analysed 
into — 
Defective permanent way 
, rolling-stock . 
„ signals . . 
„ human machinery . 
18 per cent. 
13 
28 
41 
it 
ft 
tt 
Classified for the period 1870-74, they show the result given 
in the table on next page.- 
Zeal and anxiety, the necessary evils of a state of tension due 
to increasing traffic ; want of punctuality ; late arrivals of the 
public; and variable weather, become an absolute source of 
danger. Every accident is traceable to its cause. Purely 
inexplicable accidents are unknown. Hence, though consider- 
able improvements in the mode of working have been made — 
as are indicated in the continued progressive increase shown in 
ratio of killed to journeys made in Table V. — further improve- 
ments are certain. But ali improvements bring their own 
evils, and the greatest of these is human fallibility. The body 
will tire, and the brain will get out of gear. Pure wilfulness, 
carelessness, or mischief are extremely rare. Who does not 
