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The number of elderly drivers will skyrocket across the United States, over the next 20 years. That could pose significant problems for states concerned about highway safety, according to William Neikirk of the Chicago Tribune.

Slightly over half the states have taken steps to deal with safety problems posed by older drivers but there’s growing concern that as the Baby Boom population retires, states might have to do more to prevent additional age-related accidents.

The Government Accountability Office (GOA) cited the issue in a report, in April of 2007, as a looming problem that will mean more public expenditures to help the aging Boomers stay safe, on the roads.

For those who had lost count, here’s a reminder: the oldest Boomers will turn 61, this year.

“Older driver safety issues will become increasingly significant in the future because older adults represent the fastest-growing segment of the American population”, said the GAO. “By 2030, the number of licensed drivers aged 65 and older is expected to nearly double to about 57 million”.

Nifty ideas like multigenerational households, customized public transit, home office employment alternatives, intelligently integrated proximity services, elderly-friendly neighborhood designs, drivers retraining as well as safety-enhancing car technologies might help deal with this influx of Baby Boomers driving from point A to point B.

The states that still haven’t tackled this important demographics issue should look into it promptly before they’re overwhelmed with requests they don’t know how to properly handle.

Tags: baby boomers, elderly drivers, gao, states, population, driving

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The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has granted, on March 21st, 2007, a waiver to allow for the testing of electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes on BNSF and NS locomotives and rail cars.

This new tested braking technology could significantly enhance rail safety and efficiency. It offers major benefits in freight train handling, car maintenance, fuel savings and network capacity.

With the current braking system, developed back in the 1870’s, freight train cars brake individually, at the speed of the air pressure moving from car to car, along trains that are often well over a mile in length.

This conventional braking contributes to excessive in-train forces, challenges in train handling, longer stopping distances, and safety risks of prematurely depleting air brake reservoirs. These problems are greatly reduced in the ECP brake mode of operation,
during which all cars brake simultaneously, driven by an electronic signal.

ECP systems simultaneouslyapply and release freight car airbrakes:

• Through a hard-wired electronic pathway down the length of the train;
• No delay, and no run-in of slack from the rear of the train.

Joseph Boardman, FRA’s administrator, said he believes the technology can prevent accidents, in part because ECP brakes allow the engineer to “back off” braking effort to match track grade and curvature, without completely releasing the brakes — with these significant added benefits:

• Saves fuel and reduces emissions;
• Reduces wear / stress on wheels and brake shoes;
• Reduces chance of run-away from overheating of the brake shoe / wheel interface.

Futhermore, ECP brakes provide a tool to manage in-train forces and reduce train handling derailments as well as reduce chances of runaway trains.

The FRA said the brakes are designed to allow trains to travel up to 3,500 miles without inspections which is more than double the distance normally allowed by the government.

The agency adds that the waiver allows it to gather data to be used in developing a proposed rulemaking on ECP brakes.

Several conditions were placed by the FRA on the waiver approval, including requirements that the railroads (1) clearly define a process for handling brake problems discovered en route, (2) ensure that qualified individuals perform ECP brake inspections and that (3) they provide appropriate training to crew members.

Tags: ecp, ecp braking, pneumatic brakes, train brakes, braking system, fra, bnsf, ns

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Rail carriers keeping crews on duty for over 12 hours while also responsible for wild fluctuations in start time contribute to the aggravation of the limbo time side effects, especially on the rail workers’ family life.

Workers in the rail industry are familiar with the harsh reality of limbo time where time on duty is seldom paid for and not counted towards the total hours of service. Limbo time is a carrier’s bean counter dream but the side effects can’t be overlooked.

In typical two-earner families with children, the combination of limbo time and carrier policies make it nearly impossible, for the spouse, to get a regular job. Worse, countless divorces are a direct result of the work demands imposed by the railroad carriers, in the first place. This has a profound effect on the quality of life for rail workers and their loved ones.

Let’s consider the following limbo time effects on family life:

• Limbo time keeps train crews away from home for no valid reason and in turn, fractures families;
• Crew members can’t predict, after a 12 hour shift, how much longer limbo time will keep them on the train meaning they’re often unavailable for life’s common events, like making a doctor’s appointment, attending a religious service or tending to any other important personal business;
• Limbo time, combined with hours of service and time spent preparing for and traveling to an on-duty point often result in crews being awake 24 hours… or more;
• Limbo time, combined with the carriers’ availability policies, forces crew members to consume most 24 hour periods working, eating and sleeping with no time for family or other activities required for healthy physical and mental well-being;
• Sadly, limbo time also causes children to suffer from reduced parental supervision which can have an adverse impact on society when the child grows into his or her teens and then, adulthood;

The United Transportation Union has eloquently exposed the limbo time effects on the family life of its members but that hasn’t been enough for the US Congress to take decisive actions to fix this major labour, health, security and social problem.

People’s internal clocks (also called circadian rythms) can’t be tampered without risking accumulated fatigue, stress and health issues.

Things need to change, sooner than later.

Tags: limbo time, family life, divorce, health, security, children, rail workers

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The mighty locomotives that haul hundreds of tons of material, all over the world’s railways, are usually powered by diesel engines.

Consequently, these locomotives emit toxic diesel exhaust which contains particles and gases that float in the air until they’re drawn into the lungs of anyone unfortunate enough to breath them in — namely those who work, on a daily basis, around trains.

No less than forty (40) sustances found in diesel exhaust are listed as hazardous material by the EPA. Yikes! Keep in mind that the microscopic particles in diesel exhaust are less than one-fifth the thickness of a human hair so they’re small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs where, predictably, they contribute to a range of health problems.

The rail workers are the first to suffer from diesel exhaust since the health problems multiply and become more serious the longer it is inhaled. Longer-term exposure can lead to health problems like asthma, chronic bronchitis, heart attacks, permanent nervous-system disorders as well as cancers of the lungs and the bladder.

Even if some rail workers have become accustomed to diesel fumes, they shouldn’t be taken lightly. In fact, the State of California found that long-term exposure to diesel exhaust poses “the highest cancer risk of any toxic air contaminant”.

That’s not all, The New York Times also reported that workers with long-term exposure to diesel exhaust suffered lung cancer rates up to fifty 95) times higher than other workers.

You won’t hear about those “details” from the rail carriers when they hold their career days but nevertheless, it’s something any current -and- potential worker should think about.

Tags: diesel exhaust, diesel fumes, fuel, health problems, locomotives, trains

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The United Transportation Union recently published a preoccupying report on limbo time.

For those unfamiliar with this rail industry-specific terminology, limbo time refers to the time on duty that is seldom paid for -and- not counted towards hours of service. Simply said, it’s that time when a worker is exhausted and therefore, more dangerous to himself, his colleagues and the public.

The US Congress is expected to look into this widespread problem, causing (among other things) more train collisions, caused by human factors, in 2006 than any other year in recent history. Until then, the limbo time issue continues to be a major security problem.

Obviously, limbo time or similarly named situations where workers work longer than expected to end up being a danger to themselves and others, is a problem in transportation, at large — not just in the rail industry.

While limbo time eats away at the quality of life of the employee and his loved ones, it’s the security issue that should command swift action to end this situation.

A train accident is already bad enough, per se. Learning that over 90 of them were directly caused by human errors (generally related to limbo time issues) in 2006 alone should prompt the US Congress to stop talking and start moving.

While carriers are unwilling to eliminate limbo time, mainly because they multiply their profits because of it, it’s up to the worker’s unions, the workers themselves and the general public to put some pressure on their elected leaders — it’s also very sad to see the carriers acting so carelessly about their employees’ and the public’s security.

Tags: limbo time, rail workers, rail industry, carriers, transport, utu, congress

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