U.S. Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Donald M. Payne (D-NJ) encouraged the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to finalize its fatigue risk management program rulemaking in a letter this week.
DeFazio, the Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Payne, the Chair of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials, said the program’s rulemaking that would mitigate railroad worker fatigue is a decade late.
“After decades of studying the issue, the FRA has a clear understanding of the safety risks posed by fatigue: fatigue symptoms include falling asleep, slower reaction time, attention loss, performance impairment, and increase error,” the Congressmen said. “A number of individual, environmental, and organizational factors can contribute to the likelihood of fatigue, such as general health and medical conditions as well as scheduling and other practices that affect opportunities for workers to obtain sufficient quality and quantity of sleep.”
The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued in December 2020 required railroads to identify and evaluate fatigue-related railroad safety hazards and to determine the degree of risk associated with each hazard, the Congressmen said. Additionally, the proposed rulemaking required railroads to implement mitigation strategies to reduce fatigue and the risk of accidents, injuries, and fatalities.
“Despite the known risks associated with fatigue, many railroad workers are unable to obtain adequate rest. This includes operating crewmembers who are protected by federal hours-of-service limitations but still struggle to obtain the necessary quality and quantity of rest,” they wrote in their April 6 letter. “While workers have a responsibility to make decisions that allow them to access proper rest, planning for such opportunities is nearly impossible due to erratic train lineups, regularly being on call 24/7, and having just a few hours’ notice to report for work. We believe that attendance policies that not only contribute to fatigue but also penalize workers for taking off when fatigued or ill simply cannot co-exist with any serious fatigue risk management program.”
The two chairs said that in 2008, Congress stepped in to ensure that railroads develop fatigue management plans. However, the rulemaking has not been finalized despite the Congressional mandate, leaving those fatigue risk management plans unrealized.
DeFazio and Payne asked the FRA to issue the final rules without delay and require railroads to implement them quickly.