MTA Looking to Implement Safeguards Against Subway Track Dangers Dylan Duarte December 12, 2013 I was originally going to start this article with a joke about how movies have given this idea that falling into subway tracks is one the biggest dangers of living in a city, but then I read the actual grisly statistics: an average of 134 people have been hit and 49 killed by subway trains every year since 2001. So maybe movies haven’t been exaggerating; it’s an actual problem. New York City is looking for a way to address this issue and they’re hoping that modern technology has the answer. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is trying to develop the best system for detecting when someone has fallen onto the tracks and they’re looking at motion sensing lasers, thermal imaging, intelligent video software, and even radio frequencies as possible solutions. Lasers and radio frequencies would sense when a body has interrupted them, thermal imagining would detect the body heat on the tracks, and smart video software would recognize a large object going from the platform to the tracks. All of these instances would trigger an alarm that will stop oncoming trains. Testing will occur in the next few weeks, but even if the system proves successful, implementing it everywhere it needs to be could prove too costly for the MTA’s budget. Via The Verge Share This With The World!
