Train Wreck May Prompt Review Of Work Rules
| SECAUCUS, N.J.
Work-safety regulations are expected to come under renewed scrutiny in the wake of a commuter-train collision Friday that killed three people and injured 162.
Investigators say fatigue may have been a factor. The train engineer reportedly worked 14 hours with only a 4- 1/2-hour sleep break.
John DeCurtis was making an extra round-trip run when his eastbound train sped past a track signal that was supposed to stop it before entering a junction. Another train was already passing through the junction.
Investigators say the signal was functioning.
National Transportation Safety Board chairman Jim Hall said New Jersey Transit was in compliance with federal guidelines. But Mr. Hall noted that the NTSB has recently made recommendations covering rest and hours-worked requirements in the aviation and trucking industries to prevent accidents due to fatigue.
