NTSB -- NTSB Safety Recommendations R-12-16 through -22

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NTSB SAFETY RECOMMENDATION

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National Transportation Safety Board

Washington, DC 20594

May 10, 2012

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NTSB Safety Recommendations R-12-16 through -22

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The NTSB issues the following safety recommendations to the

FRA:

Require railroads to medically screen employees in safety-

sensitive positions for sleep apnea and other sleep

disorders. (R-12-16)

Establish an ongoing program to monitor, evaluate, report

on, and continuously improve fatigue management systems

implemented by operating railroads to identify, mitigate,

and continuously reduce fatigue-related risks for personnel

performing safety-critical tasks, with particular emphasis

on biomathematical models of fatigue.(R-12-17)

Conduct research on new and existing methods that can

identify fatigue and mitigate performance decrements

associated with fatigue in on-duty train crews. (R-12-18)

Require the implementation of methods that can identify

fatigue and mitigate performance decrements associated with

fatigue in on-duty train crews that are identified or

developed in response to Safety Recommendation R-12-18. (R-

12-19)

Require the use of positive train control technologies that

will detect the rear of trains and prevent rear-end

collisions. (R-12-20)

Revise Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations Part 229 to

ensure the protection of the occupants of isolated

locomotive operating cabs in the event of a collision. Make

the revision applicable to all locomotives, including the

existing fleet and those newly constructed, rebuilt,

refurbished, and overhauled, unless the cab will never be

occupied. (R-12-21)

Revise Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations Part 229 to

require crashworthiness performance validation for all new

locomotive designs under conditions expected in a collision.

(R-12-22)

The NTSB also reiterates the following safety

recommendations previously issued to the FRA:

Develop a standard medical examination form that includes

questions regarding sleep problems and require that the form

be used, pursuant to Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations

Part 240, to determine the medical fitness of locomotive

engineers; the form should also be available for use to

determine the medical fitness of other employees in safety-

sensitive positions. (R-02-24)

Require that any medical condition that could incapacitate,

or seriously impair the performance of, an employee in a

safety-sensitive position be reported to the railroad in a

timely manner. (R-02-25)

Require that, when a railroad becomes aware that an employee

in a safety-sensitive position has a potentially

incapacitating or performance-impairing medical condition,

the railroad prohibit that employee from performing any

safety-sensitive duties until the railroad’s designated

physician determines that the employee can continue to work

safely in a safety-sensitive position. (R-02-26)

Require the installation, in all controlling locomotive cabs

and cab car operating compartments, of crash-and fire-

protected inward-and outward-facing audio and image

recorders capable of providing recordings to verify that

train crew actions are in accordance with rules and

procedures that are essential to safety as well as train

operating conditions. The devices should have a minimum 12-

hour continuous recording capability with recordings that

are easily accessible for review, with appropriate

limitations on public release, for the investigation of

accidents or for use by management in carrying out

efficiency testing and systemwide performance monitoring

programs. (R-10-1)

Require that railroads regularly review and use in-cab audio

and image recordings (with appropriate limitations on public

release), in conjunction with other performance data, to

verify that train crew actions are in accordance with rules

and procedures that are essential to safety. (R-10-2)

The NTSB reclassifies the following previously issued

recommendation to the FRA:

Require railroads to ensure that the lead locomotives used

to operate trains on tracks not equipped with a positive

train control system are equipped with an alerter. (R-07-1)

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http://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/recletters/2012/R-12-016-022.pdf

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The complete recommendation letter is available on the Web

at the URL indicated above.

The letter is in the Portable Document Format (PDF) and can

be read using the Acrobat Reader 5.0 or later from Adobe

(http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html).

An archive of recommendation letters is available at

http://www.ntsb.gov/recs/letters/letters.htm.

Electronic versions of letters may or may not include

enclosures; however, related publications, accident

briefs, and aviation accident synopses may be found

on the NTSB website.

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