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U.S. NEWS Wednesday 9 august 2017
Experts:

Lives at risk if no sleep tests for train engineers

time drowsiness. Treatments cies decided to scrap the
include wearing a pressur- “much-needed rulemak-
ized breathing mask, oral ing.” “Obstructive sleep
appliances or nasal strips apnea has been in the
to force the airway open probable cause of 10 high-
while sleeping. Severe cas- way and rail accidents
es require surgery. investigated by the NTSB
“It’s very hard to argue that in the past 17 years and
people aren’t being put at obstructive sleep apnea is
risk,” said Sarah Feinberg, an issue being examined
the former administrator of in several, ongoing, NTSB
the FRA, who had issued rail and highway investi-
the safety advisory in De- gations,” NTSB spokesman
cember. “We cannot have Christopher O’Neil said.
someone who is in that The NTSB has long recom-
condition operating either mended sleep apnea
a train going 70 mph or testing for engineers, and
operating a multi-ton truck Metro-North and the Long
traveling down the inter- Island Rail Road started re-
state. It’s just not an appro- quiring it after finding the
priate level of risk to be ex- engineer in a 2013 Metro-
posing passengers and the North crash had fallen
traveling public to.” asleep at the controls be-
The National Transportation cause he had a severe,
Safety Board said it was undiagnosed case of sleep
disappointed the agen- apnea. q

In this Dec. 1, 2013 photo, a Metro-North passenger train lays on
its side after derailing, killing four people, in the Bronx borough
of New York. Safety experts say millions of lives will be at risk
now that U.S. officials have dropped plans to require that truck
drivers and train engineers be screened for sleep apnea.
(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
By MICHAEL BALSAMO Donald Trump’s campaign
MICHAEL R. SISAK to drastically slash federal
Associated Press regulations. The Trump ad-
U.S. officials are abandon- ministration has withdrawn
ing plans to require sleep or delayed hundreds of
apnea screening for truck proposed regulations since
drivers and train engineers, he took office in January
a decision that safety ex- — moves the Republican
perts say puts millions of president has said will help
lives at risk. The Federal bolster economic growth.
Railroad Administration Late last year, the FRA is-
and Federal Motor Carrier sued a safety advisory that
Safety Administration said was meant as a stopgap
late last week that they are measure urging railroads to
no longer pursuing the reg- begin sleep apnea testing
ulation that would require while the rules made their
testing for the fatigue-in- way through the regulatory
ducing disorder that has process. Without a regu-
been blamed for deadly lation mandating testing,
rail crashes in New York City which would have needed
and New Jersey and sever- approval from Congress,
al highway crashes. regulators couldn’t cite
The agencies argue that it trucking companies or
should be up to railroads railroads if a truck or train
and trucking companies to crashed because the op-
decide whether to test em- erator fell asleep at the
ployees. One railroad that helm.
does test, Metro-North in Sleep apnea is especially
the New York City suburbs, troubling for the transpor-
found that 11.6 percent of tation industry because
its engineers have sleep sufferers are repeatedly
apnea. awakened and robbed of
The decision to kill the rest as their airway closes
sleep apnea regulation is and their breathing stops,
the latest step in President leading to dangerous day-