MBTA Driver Caught Sleeping While Operating Green Line Train
Screen Shot via Fox25
The MBTA has launched an investigation after an employee operating one of the agency’s trains was caught on camera falling asleep on the job.
According to MBTA officials:
This employee is facing serious disciplinary action up to and including termination. While the investigation is being conducted, this employee has been suspended.
Officials said with safety as the MBTA’s “number one priority,” this type of alleged behavior “will not be tolerated.” They did not release the name of the driver in the clip.
The shaky 14-second video shows the employee’s head wobbling back and forth, with his chin touching his chest, as the train enters a tunnel. The footage was captured by a rider who was sitting near the front of the vehicle, and was later sent to Fox 25. The news station posted the video on their website, after the T issued an official statement about the employee’s actions.
This isn’t the first time the T has had trouble with sleepy drivers on the Green Line, either. In December 2012, the MBTA fired a T operator after he crashed a Green Line trolley at the Boylston Street stop, sending more than 35 people to the hospital with various injuries. After a thorough investigation of the accident, which happend in November 2012, it was revealed that the operator of that vehicle was working more than one job, and had only slept a few hours in between his shift with the MBTA and his other place of employment.
At the time of his termination, then MBTA general manager Jon Davis said the trolley driver caused more than $500,000 in damages to the agency’s property, after he slammed into the back of a docked train. Following the investigation, Davis said during a press conference that the operator had violated the T’s rules and policies regarding “fitness for duty.”
The MBTA has an aggressive fatigue awareness program that employees must take, which highlights the importance of good sleep practices and how to avoid getting tired while on the job.
