In December of 2013, an engineer fell asleep while driving a Metro-North train in the Bronx. It derailed, killing 4 people.
The NTSB released a report on Wednesday with safety recommendations. Among those recommendations is that railroads should routinely screen employees who perform "safety-sensitive" functions for sleep disorders.
NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart says they've made the recommendation to regulators of all transportation industries. He says, for example, it’s been helpful for the trucking industry.
"Not only did it improve safety because there was less sleepiness but it also improved driver moral," Hart said, "It reduced training costs because they didn't have as much turnover of drivers."
Hart said the NTSB has had favorable responses from all regulators except the Federal Railroad Administration.
"They sent it to their advisory committee and their advisory committee came back and said we can't reach a consensus. So they said it's not doable." Hart said.
The FRA issued a statement Wednesday saying even though it did not reach a consensus, it’s working on making rules to address fatigue and sleep disorders.
Rail Commuter Advocate Jim Cameron says the NTSB recommendations are essential to the safety of Metro-North commuters.
"Trains on Metro-North carry as much as 2 fully loaded 747s. So we’re talking about a lot of lives here. And the person in that cab needs to be adequately rested, we need to know he’s in a healthy condition. There’s a lot riding on the viability and safety of that individual." Cameron Said.
The NTSB report said the New York City subway system already has a successful screening program for sleep disorders. The NTSB says if the Metropolitan Transportation Authority used that same kind of screening on Metro-North, the deadly derailment could have been prevented.
