Why It Won't Do Any Good to Add Seatbelts on Trains

Amtrak’s tragic derailment near Philadelphia last week has revived the question of whether or not trains should have seatbelts, just as cars do, with some public figures lobbying for them over social media:

But the New York Times settles the question pretty crisply in a story from Sunday: on trains, seatbelts often do more harm than good. Studies have found that lap seatbelts might increase spinal injuries, as a passenger’s neck gets thrust forward. Belts that go across both lap and shoulder would take care of that problem, but the stiffer seats required for this design might cause injuries to those who get tossed during a crash. Here’s the chief expert take: