That was a very sad day for us in St. Louis. But to clear things up, the cameras were not installed at the time of the accident, so there was no video. The management said that mechanical failure was ruled out almost immediately (I don't know how). Unfortunately we don't know what caused the accident and probably never will.
We do work 65~70 hours in five days, and most of us average 5 hours of sleep each night during the week. I kind of doubt he fell asleep because he was running downtown with short hops between stops.
I think the cameras we have now are a great idea in theory, in terms of the liability issues when an accident occurs. But in the hands of management, who collectively has "a weeks worth of driving experience" according to our shop steward, they are just another tool for harassment. Drivers have been suspended for smoking, fired for not wearing seat belts (when maneuvering in a parking lot), and written up for some stupid thing every time we have to brake hard.
Much like Seattle, the only thing separating the job from slavery is the paycheck.