Long Island RR Worker Made Over $400000

[mariomike]

The trucking industry in the US for safety require max hours allowed to work with mandatory rest periods.

Ontario has "Hours of Service" legislation,

During the 24-hour period "day,” a driver cannot drive after having been on-duty more than 14 hours. During the 24-hour period "day,” a driver must be off-duty for 10 hours, which must include two hours that are not part of a mandatory off-duty period and are at least 30 minutes long.
http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/trucks/commercial-vehicle-operators-safety-manual/module-9.shtml

Speaking of the Long Island Rail Road, they put up suicide prevention posters at the stations with a contact number ...they eventually realised it was the wrong number and needed to come back and paste the right number on to the posters. 

 

[AbdullahD]

Also, for railway crews ( and certain other occupations ), for safety reasons, there are limits to the number of hours an employee can be required or allowed to work.

Generally.. yes... we are only allowed 12hrs a day. 60 hrs of work in any 7 day period, then forced 24 hrs off.

We are supposed to file rest, when we feel fatigued so we can get recrewed or put to bed for safety reasons.. instead of being forced to work our full 16 oops ill explain that in a sec.. but err 12 hrs.. guess how many times I've been recrewed or put to bed due to filing rest in my career lol.

But, all of this Does. Not. Matter. If you are on a work train, if you are on a worktrain you are good for 16hrs of duty, with 6hrs of rest for 10 days. Under what is called a fatigue management plan.. which the employees have no say in and can be changed, without input from said employees at any time. Also they can keep you on duty in excess of 16hrs, but just not operating equipment pass our 16th.

Changing of our fatigue management plans, working past my 16th hour, has happened more then I can count in my career so far. Ive had weeks were I'd average 19hrs on duty for 7 days straight.

It is one thing to sign up, to defend our country, our rights, liberties and way of life and deal with these issues of chronic fatigue. It is a completely different situation, as a civilian, being forced to work these hours.

Right now transport Canada is looking at fatigue in the railway industry and coming out with new work, rest, rules. I hope, sincerely, that the unions and individual employees have made their concerns known and they get addressed. But sadly, many railway employees feel that will not happen.

Also speaking to suicides, a buddy, well more of an acquaintance at work comitted suicide a couple months back.. their is a very serious issue of mental health problems on the railway, which sadly, has not been or does not seem to be getting discussed. The chap we lost, was a damned fine fellow and a damned good railroader, helped train me as a conductor, I owed him a lot. Then another buddy died in a work place accident, then in my opinion I nearly killed a veteran at work because, actually screw it. Any rate yeah. Railroaders, kids with money who were never taught to manage it, divorce, debt and drugs are rampant at least here.. what do you expect when you give a kid a 6 digit a year job.

I can't wait till the rest rules come in, sincerely. I may actually make my kids birthdays next year, hell maybe even get to do the school events too.

Everyone needs a pipedream.
Abdullah

 

[mariomike]

It is a completely different situation, as a civilian, being forced to work these hours.

It's a matter of public safety. Take Larry Krupa, for example. Mississauga, 1979.

The derailment also ruptured several other tankers, spilling styrene, toluene, propane, caustic soda, and chlorine onto the tracks and into the air. A huge explosion resulted, sending a fireball 1,500 m (5,000 ft) into the sky which could be seen from 100 km (60 mi) away. As the flames were erupting, the train's brakeman, Larry Krupa, 27, at the suggestion of the engineer (also his father-in-law), managed to close an air brake angle spigot at the west end of the undamaged 32nd car, allowing the engineer to release the air brakes between the locomotives and the derailed cars and move the front part of the train eastward along the tracks, away from danger. This prevented those cars from becoming involved in the fire, important as many of them also contained dangerous goods. Mr. Krupa was later recommended for the Order of Canada for his bravery, which a later writer has described as "bordering on lunacy."
Train Wreck: The Forensics of Rail Disasters

All I know for sure is that my father, and his father, loved being Locomotive Engineers with CNR / VIA on high speed passenger trains. Dad must have loved it. Worked there from age 20 to 65. Soon as he got his discharge from the RCN in 1946.

The plan was for me to join too. But, in my last year of high school a new TV show came out. It was called "Emergency!". It was about Los Angeles paramedics. It looked like a job with a future, exciting, and far from routine. No regrets. But, whenever I hear a train, a part of me wishes I was running it.