NJT Addresses Sleep Apnea Concerns In Wake Of Hoboken Accident
NEWARK, NJ (CBS) -- New Jersey Transit train engineers are being checked for signs of sleep apnea, in the wake of last year's deadly accident in Hoboken.
That accident in the train station left one person dead and dozens hurt.
The agency, in a statement to KYW Newsradio, says it has had a sleep apnea policy in place since 2005. But after the mishap in Hoboken, NJT's physician reviewed it and "additional preventative measures relating to the screening process were instituted."
Among them, removal of any "safety sensitive" rail worker showing symptoms of fatigue until they can produce documentation showing the problem is corrected, controlled or not present.
No explanation beyond that, and the General Chairman of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, James Brown, declined to discuss the issue, saying he's "working on it."