December 6, 2013
It’s Time to
End Crew Fatigue and Implement PTC
As the recent Metro North passenger train wreck in New York
illustrates, fatigue kills. From preliminary reports, it appears that the
engineer had nodded off. This of course would not be the first time that a
train crew member fell asleep. As we know, it happens all the time. In
this case however, the result was catastrophic.
Sleepiness, spacing out, nodding off, zoning out, drowsiness
-- it is a way of life for railroad train crews. Considering the lack of
scheduling in the freight industry; the 24/7 nature of the job; the lack of
time off work (and harsh availability policies that keep us "in line"
if and when we choose to mark off); the inability to predict the time when one
will be called to work or when one will be relieved of duty -- it is a wonder
that there are not more tragic wrecks as a result of fatigue.
When there is a spectacular wreck like the Metro North
derailment, the immediate temptation is to blame the train's crew. But those of
us in train & engine service know that there is always more to it than
that. In the days and weeks to come, railroad train crews across the nation
will be bombarded with "advisories", "alerts" and bulletins
that beseech us to stay alert, to remain focused, and maintain our “situational
awareness”. Yet ironically, not a single railroad will do anything to improve
train lineup predictability, grant the needed time off work to those who
request it, schedule their railroad's trains, or beef up the extra boards
and/or pools to ensure adequate staffing which would result in adequate rest
for train crews.
The fact remains, train crews are human beings. And
as such, we make mistakes, cut corners, nod off, get distracted, zone out,
forget things, get irritable, become sleepy, and fail to properly perform
the task at hand, like every other human being. Even under ideal
conditions we remain human and imperfect, prone to error. Therefore, we need to
stop pointing fingers and laying blame each and every time there is a train
wreck. Rather, we must begin to organize the workplace around human beings,
taking into account all of our fallibilities.
And this means granting adequate rest between tours-of-duty,
granting reasonable time off away from the workplace, and ending the practice
of “subject to call” 24/7. In addition, it means implementing the technology
that has been available for many years now so that if and when a train crew
does zone out, nod off, or make a mistake, it does not become a fatal mistake.
But the rail carriers have historically resisted any attempt to reduce crew
fatigue, and are in fact lobbying vigorously to stave off the mandated
implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC). Meanwhile, trains continue to
go in the ditch and lives continue to be lost. And the rail carriers simply
blame the workers. And if that isn’t bad enough, the rail carriers are pushing
for single employee train operations to become the universal standard for the
industry. While the Metro North engineer did had additional crew members behind
him, he was alone in the cab. Would this wreck have even happened had he had a
partner in the cab to assist in preventing this tragedy?
If we are serious about safety, if we are serious about
eliminating tragic train wrecks, then it’s high time for a change in the direction
the industry is headed. No more crew
fatigue! PTC now! No single employee train crews!
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