Pilots need sleep too

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2010-09-17-editorial17_ST_N.htm 
 I read this article about the amount of sleep pilots were getting due to their long work schedules and commutes to work. There have been crashes due to pilots that were asleep or pilots that were exhausted and people have died because of this. Pilots are currently allowed to work 16 hour shifts and when they do get their required 8 hours of 'sleep' time, this 8 hours includes getting to the hotel, eating, sleeping, and dressing before they are back to work. The Federal Aviation Administration is trying to pass an ordinance that would force pilots to take a minimum of 9 hours of sleep time starting when they get back to thier hotel. They would also only be allowed to work 13 hour shifts and those that worked overnight could be limited to nine hours a shift. They also would force the airlines to keep records of the pilots commuting because those flying hours could count against thier shifts. Pilots and airlines oppose these new proposed regulations and the author of this article believes that if these regulations don't get passed, more lives will be at risk. I agree with the author on this article because there have been several plane crashes and hundreds of deaths due to pilot fatigue. Just because it makes it inconvienient for pilots or it makes scheduling harder for airlines doesn't mean that these people being annoyed is worth sacrificing more passengers. In my opinion, public saftey has to come first because when you are flying on a plane, you are basically intrusting your life in the pilot's hands. I certaintly would not want my pilot falling asleep if I were a passenger on a plane. I think that these new regulations would really help to make sure that the pilots are not overworked or fatigued. I hope that the FAA works with pilots and airlines to make sure that the passengers of these planes are safe and also that it is something that the pilots and airlines can be comfortable with. I think that each side will have to make changes and small sacrifices in order to make a new regulation pass but those sacrifices should be made for the greater good.