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Re: Responding To Hogger
Author: Dr Zarkoff
Date: 03-06-2009 - 11:26
>>So jamming cell phones on the train is a good idea?
>Yeah, I think so.
OK, then if I go by on a train (the locomotive), and see you in a major wreck on a freeway or some other disaster like a fire, then I won't call 911 on your behalf. I will have to call the DS, and you will have to sit there and stew for the aforementioned 45 minutes.
>You have to remember that a lot of employees are addicted to the damn things ?
No. A lot of /people/ are addicted to the telephone, not just cell phones in particular. Using the phone isn't the problem; setting one's priorities properly while on the phone is. A great many people can't set and/or adjust their priorities as their situation changes.
>>What about an emergency situation where the radio communication fails. (Or more likely the dispatcher is out on a smoke break.)
If the DS is out on a smoke break, then the trains sit there and stew. BTDT many times.
>>I've been in emergency situations where the person on the other end of the radio went up the chain of command before calling 911. I carry a cell phone at work--turned of--at the ready in case of serious injury or hazmat spill. I'll make the call to 911 myself and will eliminate the middleman. I've seen too much delay and misinformation when using one or more go-betweens.
You need to read the FRA's EO because this is what is specified therein for incidents not directly related to the train/railroad you're on-->going up the chain instead of calling 911 directly.
>I agree with some of what you're saying. Here's an idea: They could install a cell phone jammer in a locomotive or cab car and, in the case of an emergency, the operating employee could break a seal that prevents its use. This would be similar to the seals that protect speedometers, overspeed prevention mechanisms, whistles, bells, headlights, etc. Once the seal is broken, he would be able to use his cell phone. But, later on, he would have to account to Management his reason for breaking the seal.
It would also interfere to varying degrees with the locomotive radio, computers, electronic controls, and electronic air brake system.
>>Also the rules allow the use of cell phones (to contact the dispatcher for a track warrant for example) when radio communication fails. How would this work with a jammer in place? Stop the train and walk out in a field to clear your warrant?
>See above.
Precisely where?
>>Forty five minutes to call 911 after a major hazmat spill in a city that later warranted evacuations in not acceptable. I should have called 911 myself.
>See above.
Cop-out.
>>I agree there is (was) way too much idle cell phone use by engineers operationg locomotives but let's not over react.
>The time to "overreact" (your words) is now. Did you take note of the testimony of the UP official at the NTSB hearings who stated that, in 2008 alone, there were 643 cellphone violations on that railroad? These involved employees, like Robert Sanchez, who willfully violated rules they knew were on the books and in effect.
643 violations out of how many thousands of trains and switch engines? 643 isn't a very high percentage.
>>Hire good people, train them well, enforce the rules and you'll have a safe railroad.
>Easier said than done.
Spoken like a true armchair expert. Or are you a graduate of the Wharton or Harvard Schools of Business?
> --snip--do you think that 643 violations on the UP railroad ALONE in 2008 is an acceptable number?
As you frequently say, "see above".
>It's time for some "outside-the-box" thinking.
So, we probably need outside the box thinking on how a brain surgeon does his job?
> --snip-- For example: Look at the number of employers that prohibit smoking in the workplace. What do the employees do? They step out on the sidewalk for a few minutes to smoke.
Being out on the sidewalk isn't "in the workplace".
>What they DON'T do is quit smoking.
Nor will they because nicotine is so addictive. You won't wish it out of existence. At this point I refer you to the situation created by the Volstead and the 18th Amendment Act (if you don't know what these are, google is your friend).
>Yeah, I think so.
OK, then if I go by on a train (the locomotive), and see you in a major wreck on a freeway or some other disaster like a fire, then I won't call 911 on your behalf. I will have to call the DS, and you will have to sit there and stew for the aforementioned 45 minutes.
>You have to remember that a lot of employees are addicted to the damn things ?
No. A lot of /people/ are addicted to the telephone, not just cell phones in particular. Using the phone isn't the problem; setting one's priorities properly while on the phone is. A great many people can't set and/or adjust their priorities as their situation changes.
>>What about an emergency situation where the radio communication fails. (Or more likely the dispatcher is out on a smoke break.)
If the DS is out on a smoke break, then the trains sit there and stew. BTDT many times.
>>I've been in emergency situations where the person on the other end of the radio went up the chain of command before calling 911. I carry a cell phone at work--turned of--at the ready in case of serious injury or hazmat spill. I'll make the call to 911 myself and will eliminate the middleman. I've seen too much delay and misinformation when using one or more go-betweens.
You need to read the FRA's EO because this is what is specified therein for incidents not directly related to the train/railroad you're on-->going up the chain instead of calling 911 directly.
>I agree with some of what you're saying. Here's an idea: They could install a cell phone jammer in a locomotive or cab car and, in the case of an emergency, the operating employee could break a seal that prevents its use. This would be similar to the seals that protect speedometers, overspeed prevention mechanisms, whistles, bells, headlights, etc. Once the seal is broken, he would be able to use his cell phone. But, later on, he would have to account to Management his reason for breaking the seal.
It would also interfere to varying degrees with the locomotive radio, computers, electronic controls, and electronic air brake system.
>>Also the rules allow the use of cell phones (to contact the dispatcher for a track warrant for example) when radio communication fails. How would this work with a jammer in place? Stop the train and walk out in a field to clear your warrant?
>See above.
Precisely where?
>>Forty five minutes to call 911 after a major hazmat spill in a city that later warranted evacuations in not acceptable. I should have called 911 myself.
>See above.
Cop-out.
>>I agree there is (was) way too much idle cell phone use by engineers operationg locomotives but let's not over react.
>The time to "overreact" (your words) is now. Did you take note of the testimony of the UP official at the NTSB hearings who stated that, in 2008 alone, there were 643 cellphone violations on that railroad? These involved employees, like Robert Sanchez, who willfully violated rules they knew were on the books and in effect.
643 violations out of how many thousands of trains and switch engines? 643 isn't a very high percentage.
>>Hire good people, train them well, enforce the rules and you'll have a safe railroad.
>Easier said than done.
Spoken like a true armchair expert. Or are you a graduate of the Wharton or Harvard Schools of Business?
> --snip--do you think that 643 violations on the UP railroad ALONE in 2008 is an acceptable number?
As you frequently say, "see above".
>It's time for some "outside-the-box" thinking.
So, we probably need outside the box thinking on how a brain surgeon does his job?
> --snip-- For example: Look at the number of employers that prohibit smoking in the workplace. What do the employees do? They step out on the sidewalk for a few minutes to smoke.
Being out on the sidewalk isn't "in the workplace".
>What they DON'T do is quit smoking.
Nor will they because nicotine is so addictive. You won't wish it out of existence. At this point I refer you to the situation created by the Volstead and the 18th Amendment Act (if you don't know what these are, google is your friend).
