Engineer of derailed train in NYC suspended
Print Edition
The engineer driving the speeding commuter train that derailed in New York City last weekend, killing four people, has been suspended without pay, a railroad spokesman said yesterday.
William Rockefeller is “out of service, and not being paid,” the spokesman for Metro-North Railroad said.
According to his lawyer and union representative, Rockefeller experienced a momentary loss of awareness as he zoomed down the tracks. They called the episode a “nod,” a “daze” or highway hypnosis.
Their accounts raised questions about just how widespread the problem is in the transportation industry and what can be done to combat it.
At the time of the crash, the train was going 132kph into a sharp turn where the speed limit drops to 48kph. That’s when the engineer says he snapped out of it and hit the brakes, but it was too late. The train hurtled off the tracks, leaving a chain of twisted cars just inches from a river in the Bronx. Four people died and more than 60 were injured.
While the term highway hypnosis has been around for decades, there’s no technical definition of it and scant specific medical study of it, although multiple studies have found that long driving times on straight roads can cause people to lose focus.
Some experts equate highway hypnosis with a sort of autopilot state — performing a task, usually competently, without awareness of it.
Sleep experts say the daze could really be a doze, especially if a driver has undiagnosed sleep problems.
Nearly every bus or train driver has experienced the feeling of being momentarily unaware while driving long hours, said Larry Hanley, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union.
The National Transportation Safety Board has yet to determine the cause of the crash.
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