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Ricky Gates et al
Author: SP5103
Date: 12-04-2013 - 10:28
Clearly a can of worms. Is an engineer or train crew any more or less liable than say a commercial truck driver? If so, should an engineer or crew in passenger service or hauling haz mat be compensated for his/her added potential liability/legal exposure? That assumes of course, that the act or omission was an intentional crimunal act, not just a violation of railroad rules.
Latest news reports suggest that the Metro North had just changed shift schedules, which may have been a contributing factor. The union has been removed from participating in the investigation due to violating confidentiality, and supposedly the FRA has sent MEtro North a letter telling them to get their act together. Should a manager or company officials be held to the same standard if their actions or knowledge contributed to the incident?
I assume the railroads still have "Operation Red Block" that allows an employee to mark off or refuse a call without penalty if they would be reporting for duty in potential violation of blood alcohol standards. But, a similar program does not exist for an employee that was not sufficientl rested whether due to their own actions, simply unable to sleep or an unexpected call. It isn't unusual for a train crew member not on a scheduled assignment to be awake for more than 24 hours because the railroads can't tell you when you are going to work.
In my personal experience, I was working for a shortline when during the grain rush I went from nights to days to nights in the same week. We had been working steady with few days off. The last night I worked, the conductor woke me up. We were stalled out in front of a 5 mph slow order, and had been stopped for about 30 minutes. The same thing happened a second time that night, but I woke up before the conductor. (Obviously the engines were not equipped with alertors nor would they be required even today.) I had already scheduled several days off, but was called back to work for the next night, which I refused, and was fired as a result. So who wuld have been criminally/financially liable in the event I had gone to work and killed someone - me for not being alert? The company for the schedule or ordering me to work?
I think we need to look back at Ricky Gates who was directly responsible for the current drug testing and engineer's certification rules - Amtrak Wreck Link
Ricky did serve time, but very little and ironically served as much for lying to investigators as killing 16 people not to mention affecting the lives of many others. Ricky Gates 1993 Interview Link
Latest news reports suggest that the Metro North had just changed shift schedules, which may have been a contributing factor. The union has been removed from participating in the investigation due to violating confidentiality, and supposedly the FRA has sent MEtro North a letter telling them to get their act together. Should a manager or company officials be held to the same standard if their actions or knowledge contributed to the incident?
I assume the railroads still have "Operation Red Block" that allows an employee to mark off or refuse a call without penalty if they would be reporting for duty in potential violation of blood alcohol standards. But, a similar program does not exist for an employee that was not sufficientl rested whether due to their own actions, simply unable to sleep or an unexpected call. It isn't unusual for a train crew member not on a scheduled assignment to be awake for more than 24 hours because the railroads can't tell you when you are going to work.
In my personal experience, I was working for a shortline when during the grain rush I went from nights to days to nights in the same week. We had been working steady with few days off. The last night I worked, the conductor woke me up. We were stalled out in front of a 5 mph slow order, and had been stopped for about 30 minutes. The same thing happened a second time that night, but I woke up before the conductor. (Obviously the engines were not equipped with alertors nor would they be required even today.) I had already scheduled several days off, but was called back to work for the next night, which I refused, and was fired as a result. So who wuld have been criminally/financially liable in the event I had gone to work and killed someone - me for not being alert? The company for the schedule or ordering me to work?
I think we need to look back at Ricky Gates who was directly responsible for the current drug testing and engineer's certification rules - Amtrak Wreck Link
Ricky did serve time, but very little and ironically served as much for lying to investigators as killing 16 people not to mention affecting the lives of many others. Ricky Gates 1993 Interview Link
