FATIGUE MAJOR FACTOR IN Indiana TRUCK ACCIDENTS

Thursday, 13 May 2010 13:20

Deborah Hersman is the Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and spoke recently in Washington D.C. at a National Press Club luncheon. Among the topics Hersman covered in her speech was the role that fatigue is playing in transportation accidents.

According to Hersman fatigue is a leading cause of accidents in the transportation industry, especially in rail and trucking accidents. Hersman went so far as to categorize fatigue as an "insidious problem for the industry." The chairman stated that when her agency investigates any sort of accident that they try to establish what the operators had been doing in the 72 hours prior to the accident. This allows investigators to ascertain if the operator had been using alcohol and drugs, and if they were working while fatigued when the accident happened. She said that fatigue is especially prevalent in the trucking industry where drivers are under pressure to pull more loads and cover more miles. Along those lines Hersman said that fatigue is a difficult area to police because the operator often doesn't exhibit signs of dangerous fatigue until it's too late.

Trucking isn't the only sector of the transportation industry that suffers from a fatigue problem. Hersman addressed a recent incident where pilots were said to be dozing when they missed their airport, and gave examples of rail accidents where tired operators contributed to deadly accidents.

Hersman explained to those gathered that her agency works to make transportation safer and does more than investigate accidents. Accident investigations are the most visible aspect of what the NTSB does, but there is far more to what the agency is about. The NTSB sets standards and regulations for the transportation industry and lobbies Congress to make laws concerning the transportation industry. She acknowledged that the press is a vital partner with the NTSB in increasing safety in the industry.

Only when the press and the NTSB work together will people become informed about these important issues and that could be what it takes to get Congress more responsive to recommendations of the agency.