NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
THIRD DIVISION Docket Number SG-21888
George S
. Roukis, Referee
(Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen
PARTIES TO DISPUTE:
(Southern Railway Company
STATEMENT OF CLAIM: Claim of the General Committee of the Brotherhood
of Railroad Signalmen on the Southern Railway
Company et al.:
That Mr. R. A. Stults, Signal Maintainer, headquarters Mount
Vernon, Illinois, be paid for time lost while suspended November 3-7,
1975, account of accident involving Company truck No. 71311 on
September 11, 1975, and that his record be cleared of all charges placed
on him account of the accident, /Carrier file: SG-134/
OPINION OF BOARD: Rule #5 - Vehicles must always be operated at
a reasonable and prudent
speed with due
regard
to existing speed regulations, weather traffic,
road, vehicle, type of load, and other existing
conditions.
Rule #21 - Drivers must always maintain a safe
stopping
distance between
Railway vehicle and
the vehicle ahead. Drivers must stay far
enough behind any vehicle being followed to
enable a vehicle overtaking and passing Railway
vehicle to swing back to line ahead of it
without danger.
Rule #28 - Vehicle must not be driven recklessly,
or in a manner that may endanger persons or
property.
Claimant was charged with violating Rules 5, 21 and 28 of
Southern Railway System Rules and Instructions Governing the Use and
Operation of Highway Motor Vehicles in connection with an accident on
September 11, 1975 at Mt. Vernon, Illinois.
Consistent with the requirements of Rule 23 of the Agreement,
Discipline and Differences, claimant was provided an investigation
regarding the particulars and bona fides of the charges brought against
him. The facts are undisputable that claimant was operating company
truck 71311 which ran into the rear of a passenger vehicle that had
stopped for traffic. The ensuing damages amounted to approximately $900.00.
Award Number 21716
Docket Number SG-21888
Page 2
The record indicates that while it had been raining
intermittently during the day, claimant had been on duty more than
four hours prior to the accident. It is clearly established by the
aforesaid rules that operators must be fully aware of the relationship
between weather, traffic and driving conditions. The record indicates
that despite claimant's assertion that the brakes did not function
properly immediately prior to impact,
claimnt
had not reported any
previous difficulty with the brakes. Moreover, no repair or corrective
work on the vehicle's brake system was necessary subsequent to the
accident. Testimony was presented which showed that claimant continued
to drive the same vehicle and that no brake repair work was necessary
for the proper functioning of said vehicle is either wet or dry weather
conditions.
Considering the entire record, the Board concludes that
claimant was not operating vehicle _71311 pursuant. to the requirements
and specifications delineated in Rules 5, 21, and 28.
The claim will be denied.
FINDINGS: The Third Division of the Adjustment Board, upon the whole
record and all the evidence, finds and holds:
That the parties waived oral hearing;
That the Carrier and the Employes involved in this dispute
are respectively Carrier and Employes within the meaning of the Railway
Labor Act, as approved June 21, 1934;
That this Division of the Adjustment Board has jurisdiction
over the dispute involved herein; and
The Agreement was not violated.
A W A R D
Claim denied.
ATTEST:
Executive Secretary
OCI 2 7 19977
J J BER1
P
NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
By Order of Third Division
Fated at Chicago, Illinois, this 29th day of September 1977.