Re: ASR to employ loco drivers

[Barry Walding <locopads@senet.com.au>]

arthur marsh wrote:
> 
> OK, there is one matter I'd like you to address publicly though, a matter
> that Andrew Kitto of Transport SA failed to comment on in his reply to my
> letter of concern about some rail safety issues:

Well, here goes ..........

ASR is concerned about public safety, but should we pay for the mistakes
of 
others - some of whom, argue for a right to be on a property to which
they 
simply have no right of access?

> In the "old days", the then State Transport Authority and Australian
> National produced a booklet for children about rail safety, which was a
> very positive way of encouraging safe behaviour in crossing tracks and the
> like. 

Which you, and I and other selected taxpayers paid for .... in the
'public
interest' (Wonderful term that, Eh??).

With the advent of multiple owners and operators, only TransAdelaide
> has continued with any kind of rail safety education for children, with
> only informal contact with one other operator (NRC).

These are, of course, the last public owned rail operators (Freightcopt 
excepted) in SA.
 
> Shouldn't all owners and operators be contributing to such safety
> education? Or do the public liability insurers only insist on rail owners
> and operators doing what is required by Australian Standards (which cover
> operations and signs but not anything to do with public awareness and
> education), therefore educating the public is seen as an unjustified
> expense?

No. Not unjustified - but one which is not top priority at this very
moment.
It took YEARS before the US Operation Lifesaver came into being.  (See
the 
webpage at >>http://www.oli.org/ << ).  ASR's long term intention is to 
engage in an operation of this nature - not necessarily the US Operation 
Lifesaver program ( but very likely, in view of its successes and
resources ).
Anyone who is in business, reading these pages will be too aware of the 
bottom line in business - we all hear about it - but it really is so
very 
important.  We, and indeed any company who is self supporting, must ask 
"what will this investment do for the bottom line?" when considering
spending.  
In my area of responsibility I might well ask "who's job might this
cost?"  
If you think this is over dramatising things - think again.

(Snip)

> It just seems rather discouraging that the new owners and operators are
> not working together on public awareness of rail safety issues.
> 
> Arthur.

Possibly not - but do Finemores, or Linfox, or Scotts, or Ipec, or TNT,
or 
any other trucking company, really, truly, work together to pay for the 
traffic signals to help aged or handicapped pedestrians across the main 
roads, or to build a truck-friendly highway system, or to educate us - 
the public - of the dangers of mixing it with heavy transports on the
road?

No they dont!!  

You and I and every taxpaying reader of this newsgroup does,  Arthur. 
You and 
I and every taxpayer pay, because Governments have seen fit to protect 
us from the needs of the freight roadways of the country.  

You and I and every other taxpayer also paid for years to support a rail 
industry that was not paying its own way.  And now that sections of it
ARE 
paying their own way, don't think for a minute, that those companies are 
going to immediately spend their earnings to finance a project, ON THEIR
OWN, 
to protect the public from their own inability to keep out of the way of
the 
train that can't stop, can't steer away, and can't otherwise avoid a
collision 
with some fool, that thinks he/she has every right to be there.

Don't moan that the operators won't pay - because they will probably and 
eventually be forced by Government (and public) apathy to do so.  

I hope you've hassled a politician today !!

"Level Playing Field ??    I'd like to see that!"

CYA


(Any opinions expressed are not necessarily the official opinions of
Australia 
Southern Railroad, its employees, management, or agents)