When faced with something that seems foolish, it is helpful to consider that sometimes there is a reason why things are the way they are. With all the current federal training requirements (and many more on the way) would you want to sit through weeks of training about FHWA rules or how a labor / management team studied fatality reports? Communication in a large organization is always a challenge and those that are given direction without knowing all the detials can be understandably puzzled.

High-Visibility Vests?
In §634.2 effective November 2008 the FHWA requires all workers within the right-of-way of a federal-aid highway who are exposed either to traffic (vehicles using the highway for purposes of travel) or to construction equipment within the work area shall wear high visibility safety apparel. This is interpreted to include such railroad employees as crews flagging malfunctioning crossings (per an applicable FRA rule), signal and maintenance personnel. A "federal aid highway" is not just an interstate but all sorts of other roads that receive federal funding.

Job Briefings
If a railroader is tired of endless briefings, don't automatically blame your carrier. The Switching Operations Fatality Analysis (made up of representatives of BLET, Carriers, FRA and UTU has reviewed scores of T&E fatalities over the years and concluded that a number of people have died becasue they did not understand the game plan. Knowing what is coming up can save your life. You can read more about this starting on page 5 of the following link.

SOFA