http://www.fra.dot.gov/roa/press_releases/fp_DOT70-12%20.shtml
Of course, this is all confidential, right up to the time there is an accident, then “guess what we found”…
Yup, I am cynical.
Yes, If I worked for a railroad, I would be very leery of that website and test.
Try to remember that some years back the FAA, NTSB & NASA did a safety project with confidentiality and anonymity. At the begining they did not get much but as people developed confidence in the reporting system the reports started getting a lot more candid and frequent.
It did quite a bit to identify real problems. example within 50 miles the confusion over waypoints with like sounding names. In Pennsylvania they had several waypoints with like sounding names “Artoo” & “R Twenty Two” & “R Two” & " Two R" . Or in California “Thousand Palms” & Palm Springs & Desert Palms & two or three close sounding.
After a few years the FAA started cutting back on the blanket amnesty of the program and started to “counsel” people who reported their own violations. The program is still in place but no guaranty of amnesty.
It took an act of congress thou to get the program started.
Rgds IGN
The big difference between the FAA, NTSB and NASA is they all have to function under an oversight committee, and are held accountable for their action.
The FRA pretty much can do as it pleases, when it pleases, with no consequences to the agency besides a little bad press if it gets it wrong.
While I am often outspoken, and normally don’t hide, you can bet your bottom dollar that test and program will never see my ISP address!
Reportable numbers are massaged all the time, the FRA knows this, does nothing.
Trust them to keep any of this info confidential, not an ice cubes chance in…
While I didn’t take the test, I looked a bit at the site. It says those who already have been diagnosed and are being treated for a sleep disorder should still take the test. They say that you could have another sleep disorder/condition that hasn’t been detected.
Why do I have the feeling that everyone who takes the test will be told that they possibly have a sleep disorder and should see their doctor?
Jeff
It is a very odd survey…asks for ht, wt, that type of thing then goes into whether you have difficulty going to sleep at night, on vacation, after working a ate night shift…whether you can/do/have fallen asleep while driving…that type of thing[%-)]
So, even after I reported my weight as being 170lbs at 5 foot 7 inches and having had high blood pressure…which is now gone since I lost a ton of weight…it found nothing indicating I have a sleep disorder…
I could see that happening all right.
My main point of bringing this up in the two locked sleep disorder threads was that I believe that the industry finds itself backed into a corner on the sleep disorder hazard. If you believe the science and medicine, they have found a problem that must be solved. And yet, both the problem and the solution (if there even is one) appear to be highly nebulous.
There are deep pockets and a gigantic need for funding the research and development for a solution to a problem that must be solved. This kind of dynamic can create a money-generating engine of funding to seek a solution. So, the search
I’m sure there are many parallels between aviation and railroading, so I have developed many similar conclusions.
12 hours of “uninterrupted” crew rest before a flight is never truly a full rest. Throw in extra time after or before that, and then there is no way to not be sleepy later in the shift.
Whats the longest anyones been up workin? I finally punched out passed out on a jet after three back to back fixes and flights around Iraq at 52hours straight.
Adrianspeeder
http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/06/25/hlsb0626.htm
Study links statin use to fatigue
We may need to check this out…how many of us are on statins as well?