PUBLIC LAW BOARD N0. 4431
BROTHERHOOD OF MAINTENANCE OF WAY EMPLOYES
Parties Case No. 16
to the
VS.
Dispute
· BURLINGTON NORTHERN RAILROAD COMPANY .
STATEMENT
OF CLAIM
Claim of Welder D. L. Pulse for all time lost
as a result of five-day suspension and removal
of discipline mark from his personal record.
FINDINGS
At the time of the incident that gave rise to this case, Claimant
D. L. Pulse was a Welder.at Miles City, Montana. He was assigned a
Company truck for transportation to and from the job site.- On December
10, 1986, he backed his truck up to an embankment along the right of
way at the site. Some time later, a Signalman drove to the site and
parked his truck next to Claimant's on the passenger side. The Signalman drove his truck directly in toward the track. He did not back in,
as Claimant had.
yy3~-lc~
When Claimant left the work site, he was forced to cut his wheels
to the right in order to clear a pile of brush. When he pulled out
of his parking place, the tool box on his truck struck the right rear
corner of the box on the Signalman's pickup.
Carrier cited Claimant for having an accident and damaging his
vehicle. A hearing into the matter was held on January 9, 1987. As
a result of that hearing, Claimant was found guilty of a violation of
Rule 336(k) of the Burlington Northern Railroad Safety Rules and General
Rules for failure to check around parked vehicles for obstructions or
hazards before moving forward or backwards.
This Board has reviewed the record, including the transcript of
the hearing, and we are forced to conclude that Claimant did in fact
fail to check around his vehicle before he moved it. We have looked
in this record for some facts that could mitigate against Claimant being
solely responsible for the accident. We are unable to find any. We
are therefore compelled to support Carrier in this instance.
AWARD
The claim is denied.
. `-' 2~..~'
RjE. Dennis, Neutral Member
. Glover, ploye Member M.
M.
Timberman, Carrier Member
Date of Adoption