Blumenthal Statement On Metro-North Announcement Of Sleep Apnea Tests For Engineers

(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) today released the following statement after Metro-North Railroad announced the beginning of a new pilot program to screen all locomotive engineers for sleep apnea, which played a critical role in the crash at Spuyten Duyvil in December 2013.

“This step is progress – an urgently needed safety system that I've repeatedly urged. The testing needs to be more than temporary, so I call on Metro-North to commit to and implement immediately a permanent, effective testing regimen as recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board. Sadly, had this type of testing been in place the medical condition that caused a train engineer to fall into a sleeplike ‘daze’ and crash at Spuyten Duyvil in December 2013 likely would have been caught – and lives would have been saved. I also renew my call that the Federal Railroad Administration move forward immediately with implementing a Fatigue Risk Management System for railroads, which will further help curb dangerous conditions tied to sleep disorders.”