Abstract
Criticism from several scientific fields have been raised against the Report of the Committee on the Relationship between the Number of Drivers and the Safety of Electric- and Diesel-Locomotives. This is so-called Oshima Report, named for the Committee chairman. The report has been influential in introducing "a single driver (without an assistant driver)" to electric- and diesel-locomotives (EL and DL) of the Japanese National Railways (JNR), without consideration of the exact working conditions of the drivers. The authors discussed the recent changes in some working conditions of the EL-drivers working at Okayama Station during the last decade. The Committee considered only the physical examination of the drivers and did not investigate working conditions. The results are as follows: 1) A tendency was observed that the total time spent in working had increased despite a slight reduction in actual working time. Moreover, the recent increase of driving distance per working day and the increased speed of El have resulted in increased work-load and intensity of labour among the EL-drivers. 2) Evening and night work has disrupted the daily living pattern of drivers, causing disturbances in eating and sleeping habits. 3) The working conditions described above cause fatigue and constitute a hazard for safe driving conditions. 4) Due to a shortage of EL-drivers, the JNR management has often rejected the drivers' request for sufficient time off. Thus, drivers have a difficulty in getting adequate rest and relaxation. 5) Most drivers are concerned about the introduction of "a single driver (without an assistant driver)". They believe that no safety instrument can take the place of an assistant driver, especially since even safety instruments such as ATS and EB sometimes do not function properly. 6) The drivers pointed out that many of the present working conditions of EL-drivers need improvement.. 7) A lack of discussion about the changing working conditions of EL-drivers in the Oshima Report has been a serious mistake which we should not overlook for the safety of both drivers and passengers.
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