The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) recently published a Safety Advisory in the Federal Register. This Advisory was issued to emphasize the importance of safety rules and procedures for railroad workers who operate roadway maintenance machines (such as ballast regulators, excavators and sidebooms) or work near them, such as in a “red zone.”
The FRA investigated two different fatalities in 2024 where maintenance machinery struck a worker on the ground. In one instance, a crew was flagging a highway grade crossing for a ballast regulator. Because of the sight lines on the ballast regulator, the operator was unable to see that a worker was standing approximately 17 feet away on the track. The machine operator proceeded forward, striking the worker, who passed away.
The second incident involved a roadway worker-in-charge, who was directing operations for ballast dumping. That worker was also in the blind spot of the operator and was fatally struck by the bucket of the machine when the operator retracted the bucket. We previously covered this accident and the resulting safety bulletin on our blog.
Viewing the two incidents together, the FRA issued a Safety Advisory, and recommends that the railroads and railroad contractors:
- Address differences in sight distances and line of sight for different machines;
- Prohibit roadway workers from entering the “red zone” of any machine unless communication is established and maintained;
- Ensure proper job briefings;
- Increase monitoring and operational testing of workers, employees and contractors;
- Conduct safety briefings to raise awareness of the hazards of operating and working around maintenance machines;
- Review safety advisories on the importance of clear communications from 2023.
Railroads have a duty to provide workers with a reasonably safe workplace. Part of that duty includes properly training workers on how to work safely around machines where the operators have limited sight lines. It is easy for railroads to blame individual workers for accidents, but these two incidents on two different railroads in the same year demonstrate the railroads are not providing adequate training and means of communication for the workers on these crews.
If you or a loved one have been injured on the railroad, contact the lawyers at Doran & Murphy today.
