Safety of Railroad Employees’ Use of Personal Electronic Devices

This report describes two studies sponsored by the Federal Railroad Administration that examined distraction from personal electronic device (PED) usage among safety-critical railroad employees. Study I considered railroad rules, railroad efficiency testing results and accident databases, as well as first-hand accounts of PED usage and the safety issues that can result from the distraction that they can cause. The Study I participants were non-operating employees, specifically maintenance of way employees and signalmen. Study II expanded upon Study I to gather a wider “snapshot” of PED usage among operating and non-operating safety critical employees, specifically locomotive engineers, conductors, car inspectors, and dispatchers. In both studies, the researchers listened to input from employees about both PEDs and company-issued electronic communication devices. The findings provide a qualitative baseline for education and outreach programs that are intended to reduce distraction related to PED use in the workplace and address the extension of existing FRA regulations that prohibit or restrict their use to non-operating employees.

• Record URL:
  https://www.fra.dot.gov/eLib/details/L05272#p1_z50_gD_lRT_y2014
• 
• Record URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/12073
• Corporate Authors:

  Research and Innovative Technology Administration

  Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, 55 Broadway
  Cambridge, MA  United States  02142

  Federal Railroad Administration

  Office of Research and Development, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Guthy, Catherine
  • Rosenhand, Hadar
  • Bisch, Alison
  • Nadler, Eric
• Publication Date: 2014-6

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 114p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Distraction; Maintenance personnel; Personal communication devices; Railroad crashes; Railroad safety; Railroad transportation; Regulation; Train crews
• Subject Areas: Railroads; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01530958
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: DOT/FRA/ORD-14/16, DOT-VNTSC-FRA-13-03
• Contract Numbers: RR04A3/KT250
• Files: NTL, TRIS, RITA, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Jul 24 2014 3:15PM