Re: Head on in the Western district

[Reece Isaac <throttle@alphalink.com.au>]

Maurie Daly wrote:
> Its pretty certain that we will never have any sort of consistant safeworking
> or signalling on the National Network, too many vested interests in keeping
> the status quo, but at least its time to stop introducing even more State
> specific rules which rely on drivers having more and more specific knowledge
> of specific bits of the National Network.
Don't you realize that drivers will always have to have route specific
knowledge!  It's called by those that do it 'ROADS AND SIGNALS'!  Just
to drive a train on a track a driver has to be schooled on the route
(and I don't mean just the safe working systems) I mean learning the
track, the hills the dips where to power where to drift where to brake.
That is special knowledge and it has to learned.
> Training drivers and complying with all the existing specific State based
> rules is currently one of the more costly and time consuming aspects for any
> operator who wishes to traverse State boundaries, being far worse for smaller
> operators.
> We have to get out of the "This is the way things are done in (put your state
> here) mentality."
Funny you should mention that because that's exactly what ARTC are doing
now!  They have been imposing their 'standard S.A. practice' on those of
us who don't live in S.A. and without any consultation.  That have set
back relations between the S.and T. and drivers (who have to be able to
sight and react to signals etc.) at least 20 years.  There was here in
Victoria an element of consultation between these two areas in recent
years that achieved much better placement of signals that enabled
drivers to do their job most effectively.
Remember what the task of the signals is, to convey to the driver
information about the track ahead.  If those signals etc. can't be seen
in good time by the driver, then they fail in their primary task.
Besides now that ARTC are in control they spend most of their time at
any enquiry translating everything into their jargon. 
> 
> MD
Reece.