A problem that became immediately obvious after UP initiated "Red Zone/Set and Centered" was that many trainmen - particularly new hires - were under the mistaken impression that this would prevent equipment from moving while they were under or in between. It doesn't. Delayed slack action was something they hadn't thought of, or (apparently) hadn't been taught in their Choo Choo U classes. It was especially hard to grasp by those who lacked common sense - someone christened them "NUG's". So I took it upon myself to add "slack will roll towards you" (or "towards me," as the case may be). Of course, this upset some of the low-level managers (many of whom had little or no actual railroading experience). Oh, well. Can't please everyone.

Of course, "Red Zone/Set and Centered" isn't about safety. Safety is a budget item, and a FELA jury award item, and an efficiency testing item . . . and most importantly, it affects the manager's bonus and "grade." It's all about the money.