What's happening
This bill requires New York locomotive engineers to be screened for sleep apnea and mandates treatment compliance for those who test positive.
Why it matters
Aims to improve rail safety by addressing a major cause of operator impairment. sleep apnea has been linked to accidents where fatigue was a factor, so systematic screening could help prevent incidents caused by drowsiness or sudden sleep.
Imposes new responsibilities on rail employers. who must not only screen engineers but also ensure those diagnosed with sleep apnea are actively treating their condition and compliant with medical recommendations, potentially impacting staffing and operations.
Protects public and worker health. by emphasizing that only medical professionals unconnected to the engineer (not their personal physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant) can conduct the evaluation, reducing the risk of conflicts of interest or lenient screening.
May set a precedent for other safety-sensitive industries. in New York and beyond, signaling a broader move toward mandatory health screenings where public safety is at stake.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Test Train Engineers’ Sleep
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 38
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to transportation
- Referred to transportation
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Test Train Engineers for Sleep Apnea
In Assembly Committee · Transportation · Sponsor Sandy Galef
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
136
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
Introduced by Sen. CARLUCCI -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the railroad law, in relation to sleep apnea testing for locomotive engineers
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The railroad law is amended by adding a new section 97-b to read as follows:
§ 97-b. Medical examinations. 1. To operate an intrastate locomotive in the state of New York, locomotive engineers shall be required as part of their current training to be screened for sleep apnea, as defined in subdivision nine of section two hundred sixty-two of the public health law, by a physician, a certified nurse practitioner to the extent authorized by law and consistent with subdivision three of section sixty-nine hundred two of the education law, or a registered physician assistant who is not the personal physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant of the locomotive engineer.
2. Locomotive engineers who test positive for sleep apnea shall be required by their employer to attain documentation of compliance with treatment for sleep apnea as qualification to be employed as a locomotive engineer.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05338-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the railroad law, in relation to sleep apnea testing for locomotive engineers
Purpose
The purpose of this legislation is to require sleep apnea screening for locomotive engineers and treatment for those who test positive.
Summary of provisions
Section one adds a new Section 97-b to the railroad law to require loco- motive engineers to be screened for sleep apnea and for those who have sleep apnea to attain documentation of compliance with treatment as qualification to be employed as locomotive engineers.
Section two is the effective date.
Justification
The National Transportation Safety Board recently confirmed that two major train accidents were the result of sleep apnea. In September of 2016, a train crash in Hoboken, New Jersey was the result of the conduc- tor's undiagnosed sleep apnea. The following year a Long Island Rail Road train failed to stop and crashed, leaving more than 100 people injured. That accident too was the result of sleep apnea. The federal government has failed to address this problem.
Another example of an accident caused by sleep apnea was the tragic December 2013 derailment of a Metro-North train in the Bronx. That acci- dent, which took the lives of four people and injured sixty-one others, was also caused by sleep apnea.
This legislation will require that train conductors be screened for sleep apnea. Further, it will require that those who are diagnosed as having sleep apnea receive treatment, in order to operate a train in New York State.
There is simply too much at stake to risk conductors falling asleep while operating a train. New Yorkers deserve to be secure in the know- ledge that those we trust to operate our trains are alert and awake.
Legislative history
2017-18: S7699 - TRANSPORTATION
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it shall become law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.