On March 5th, 1997, Brent Hershman, the second assistant camera person on the movie Pleasantville drove an hour from home to work in Long Beach for a 6:30 AM call. He worked for nineteen hours. After helping to wrap three cameras and a Power Pod, he reminded his co-workers on the camera truck to drive carefully and left for home. He was exhausted but his eight year old daughter, Ariel, had been sick and he wanted to be with her when she woke up. Midway through his trip, the exhaustion overcame him. He drove his car off the road and was killed. He leaves behind another daughter, Hannah, who is three and a half, and his wife, Deborah.
We believe it is our responsibility to ourselves, our families, and the innocent drivers of other vehicles to prevent this from happening again. According to insurance industry research, driving while fatigued is as dangerous as driving while intoxicated. Working exhaustive and excessive hours has become an industry standard and we all share blame for accepting it. We all know at least one person who has been in an accident trying to return home after a brutally long day. Productions should strive to keep exhausted drivers, impaired by fatigue, from getting behind the wheel instead of contributing further to this clearly tragic situation.
We petition all production companies, all movie studios, and this industry to limit our work day to fourteen hours beginning at the call and ending when the last person has wrapped. This standard will improve our working efficiency and morale and certainly allows for a sufficiently productive work day, far in excess of the national standard. The work force in our industry has persevered for too long without such a vital safety guideline in place.
In Brent Hershman's memory, and for all of our safety, we call for urgent and definitive action.
Signature Name (print) Union or Guild or Job Title
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