Thought that I / we could give Blogging a try. My e-mailing has become a chore of sorts as of late. Strange because it certainly is not because I don't want to. Maybe it is the fact we seem right now we catch ourselves coming and going a lot. The ranch at Prairie and the home place. My work on the railroad and a thousand things in between from being Pa Pa to three grand kids. I am also the Labor Member to the Idaho State Operation Lifesaver Committee.
For those of you that have never sat in on an Operation Life Saver presentation please do so. It is nation wide. In fact international now. Operation Lifesaver was started in Idaho on the Union Pacific thirty some years ago. About the same time I went to work for the railroad. It has been since its inception working in three areas.
One: education, educating people, please do not take chances around or on the railroad tracks. That is pretty simple and straight forward.
Two: engineering finding a better and safer mouse trap if you will. It might be as simple as redesigning signage or as complex as reworking a whole crossing because the basic design is flawed from the inception. Longer trucks, more traffic are hardly equal to the days when a crossing was visited by an old farm truck and the driver did not have to wait for traffic to clear because there was no traffic.
Third is none of our favorite thing and that is enforcement. If there is a location where the public refuses to be safe and considerate to themselves and others then enforcement is needed to change the mind set. This can happen with such things as adopt a crossing and or trooper on a train complete with radios and lots of man power to write tickets. They will target and area and make several runs through the area.
I really feel this is a great program. I receive no compensation for my time I spend in this. But if I can help stop one senseless death or injury I have done a lot. Be it a crossing incident or a trespasser. I hope because of my time I have donated someone, somewhere will not have a police car pull up in front if a home and the trooper making the long walk to the front door. I hope my fellow railroad workers will never experience the pain and trauma I have experienced more than once when I have watched the trooper climb up on my locomotive. I hear that big heavy door open only made heaver by what has just occurred. He enters the cab he extents his hand and introduces himself. I shake his hand I introduce myself. He looks in my eyes and and tells me, "Sir there has been a fatality."
Please friends never let this happen to you. Look Listen Live!!!
