Issue 24
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HOURS OF SERVICE |
The Hours of Service (HOS) law was instituted in 1907 with a signalman provision added in 1976. This law was enacted to promote public and employee safety by restricting the total hours railroad employees can work. Studies have shown excessive hours at work can affect health, job performance, and safety. According to researchers Michael H. Bonnet and Donna L. Arand, "There is strong evidence that sufficient shortening or disturbance of the sleep process compromises mood, performance and alertness and can result in injury or death. In this light, the most common-sense 'do no injury' medical advice would be to avoid sleep deprivation.” Supporting this the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) reports human factors are to blame for 40 percent of train accidents, and studies confirm that fatigue played a role in twenty- five percent of those accidents. The hours of service law deals only with acute fatigue, not with cumulative fatigue. Acute fatigue is defined as recent onset and is temporary in duration. Cumulative is defined as persistent and recovery is not quickly anticipated .The law allows a railroad employee to work 12 hours, followed by eight hours off, followed by another 12 hours on continuously. FRA Administrator Joseph Boardman states “the specified maximum hours on duty and minimum periods off duty, coupled with provisions related to ‘limbo time,’ clearly function to permit the occurrence of cumulative fatigue. Because science related to biological rhythms had not been applied to the railroad workplace when Congress last addressed the issue, the hours of service law simply does not deal with the issue.” As we know, the signalman is responsible for maintaining crossings and railroad traffic signals to ensure safety of the public and railroad personnel. A signalman is not just a heavy lifter, he must be able to note small variances in electrical signals and correct them before they become a problem. He is also responsible for the paperwork that is required by the FRA. Concentration is needed to ensure all the appropriate information is documented for any future audits. The HOS law also requires railroad employees to document hours worked. The HOS law as it applies to signalman has one fatal
flaw. Only
actual employees of the railroad carrier are covered. Bona fide
independent contractors and their employees are not. With
more railroads using contractors for maintenance and construction
it creates a dangerous situation. On May 1, 2007 H.R. 2095- Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act was introduced to address this issue. To date, it hasn’t passed into law.
Railroad maintenance contractors tend to employ one person per territory. If an unexpected call comes in requiring the employee to work all night exceeding his hours, who covers his territory the next day? Or in the case of multiple calls spread out over a large area, who helps? Such scenarios can leave a maintainer fatigued with his ability to concentrate affected. It should be noted that it is the railroad employee’s responsibility to disclose to the railroad he has exceeded his HOS, but it is also the railroad’s responsibility to have enough employees to handle such situations. Signalmen are not the only ones affected by HOS. The law was initially intended for train crews. An engineer’s circadian rhythm (approximate daily peridocity, roughly a 24-hour cycle) can also be disturbed. Train crews can work a maximum of 12 hours on, eight hours off, being recalled to work again. Their ability to operate the train can become suspect. In 1992 studies indicated engineers experienced irregular sleep patterns; were more likely to incur speed limit infractions; failed to blow the horn for crossings; experienced rapid throttle changes; and application of excessive train forces were reported. On April 22, 1984 two freight trains collided in Newcastle, Wyoming. The National Transportation Safety Board stated that the probable cause was one of the train crews had fallen asleep and “failed to comply with restrictive signals.” This is just one example where fatigue played a major role affecting safety. Many have followed since. Congress should pass H.R. 2095 (Disclaimer: The views, opinions, and subject matter are based upon Mr. Wilson’s personal experiences/research and are not those of the Foundation. The Foundation in no way expresses expertise or common knowledge of its content) Psychiatric News June 17, 2005 House of Representative website Technical Bulletin G-00-02 January 24, 2007 http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-2095#votes http://www.wehealny.org/stoppain/palliative_careold/index_fatigue.html http://www.du.edu/transportation/TransportationResearchProjects/Fatigue_CH1.html http://www.ntsb.gov/recs/mostwanted/rail-fatigue.htm
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