Earlier this week the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) confirmed that the probable cause of the December 2013 derailment of a Metro-North train in Bronx, New York, “was the engineer’s noncompliance with the 30-mph speed restriction because he had fallen asleep due to undiagnosed severe obstructive sleep apnea exacerbated by a recent circadian rhythm shift required by his work schedule.” The report also noted that a contributing factor “was the absence of a Metro-North Railroad policy or a Federal Railroad Administration regulation requiring medical screening for sleep disorders.” The derailment killed four people, injured at least 61 others, and caused more than $9 million in estimated damages.
