2007•Digital Commons - DU (University of Denver)Open access
Hours of Service Regulations in the US Railroad Industry: Time for a Change
Patrick J. Sherry, Gregory Lucas Belenky, Simon Folkard
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Abstract
Several factors indicate that rail Hours of Service (HOS) regulations should be reviewed and possibly revised. The rail industry operates continuously, and there have been traffic and workload increases in freight rail because of its success. Customer service focus and highly flexible scheduling have required employees to have flexible schedules, and to often work long hours - average shifts are 9 1/2 hours, peak shifts may be up to 18. The National Transportation Safety Board lists operator fatigue as a top ten safety concern. High profile accidents have also been attributed to operator fatigue. Although most experts agree that current HOS regulations do not conform to recent sleep and fatigue science developments, they have not been significantly revised since they were implemented in 1907.