Railroad crew members may be banned from texting and making cell phone calls while on the job, under regulations proposed Monday by the Federal Railroad Administration. Engineers, conductors, switchmen and other key crew members would be affected by the new regulation.
In a post on his official blog, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood emphasized the need for such restrictions in the wake of the 2008 collision of a Metrolink commuter train and a Union Pacific freight train in Southern California. The engineer operating the commuter train was texting a friend at the time of the crash, in which 25 people were killed. From LaHood’s blog:
We can’t allow that to happen again. Operating a passenger or freight train demands the full and undivided attention of railroad crewmembers at all times. Lives depend on it.
So we want to make sure that railroad employees–particularly what we call “safety critical employees”–know not to use hand held devices on the job. If you do that, you’re jeopardizing safety, and that is simply unacceptable.
The proposed rule is the latest in a string of official actions to increase safety on the road following last September’s federal Distracted Driving Summit.
Old news my friend.
The FRA issued E.O. 26 in 2008 banning the use of all electronic devices while on duty.