Feb 21, 2008

Hours of service issues on the railroads: part VI, train control technology

[Our series on Dr. Martin Moore-Ede's testimony before Congress continues]

4. What is the most effective way of reducing fatigue risk? (continued)

Train control technology?
There is progress being made in train control technology, which keeps trains automatically monitored and separated, but we are a long way and billions of dollars from implementing this across the entire US railroad system. Such technology holds great promise in preventing certain types of collisions, but it is not a satisfactory substitute for fatigue management.

The ultimate safeguard is an alert operator who can detect and respond to unforeseen events. From the aviation industry we know that as systems are put on “autopilot,” it is human nature to rely excessively on such systems, and vigilance can therefore become impaired. As a result, when emergencies do arise, pilots can be unprepared and de-skilled due to fatigue and inattention.



Related Posts:
* Hours of service issues on the railroads: part I
* Hours of service issues on the railroads: part II, sleep deprivation and alertness
* Hours of service issues on the railroads: part III, safety threat?
* Hours of service issues on the railroads: part IV, increasing risk?
* Hours of service issues on the railroads: part V, hours of service rules
* Hours of service issues on the railroads: part VII, alertness monitoring technology
* Hours of service issues on the railroads: part VIII, risk-informed fatigue management
* Hours of service issues on the railroads: part IX, parallel models
* Hours of service issues on the railroads: part X, how to proceed

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