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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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