A federal safety agency says the technology known as positive train control would probably have prevented the Dec. 1 train derailment that killed four people in New York.
The National Transportation Safety Board says the system would have required the engineer to slow the train to an appropriate speed. If he failed to do so, the technology would have stopped the train, “likely preventing the derailment.”
The board has said the train was at 82 mph entering a 30 mph curve.
The board has previously said it was “possible” that positive train control would have prevented the crash.
The engineer’s lawyer has said the engineer may have experienced a momentary loss of awareness at the controls.
Railroads are facing a congressional deadline to install positive train control by December 2015.