Experts Discuss Trains' Lack Of Seatbelts Following Deadly Hoboken Crash

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Passengers on the train that crashed in Hoboken describe chaos and a lot of flying debris.

Seat belts on trains wouldn't guard against debris in crashes like the Hoboken one, but passengers were also knocked around, something that caused many injuries.

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"People were hurled violently against each other," said Dr. Herbert Cushing, the Chief Medical Officer at Temple University Hospital. Most experts feel, because train crashes are so rare, it's not worth installing seat belts.

"The risk on the highway is many times higher than on railroad," said Dr. Vukan Vuchic of the University of Pennsylvania. "Likelihood of accidents like this one is extremely low."

A 2007 British study found seat belts on trains could actually do more harm than good. When simple lap belts, like those on planes, were tested, the crash dummies were whipped forward and rotated with enough force to break their necks.

When three point belts were tested, like the ones in cars, they did better, but seats would have to be made more rigid in order to anchor them, increasing the risk of injury to unrestrained passengers.