3 ms·

> I can't imagine being the only person on a train in the middle of nowhere in the middle of winter and something goes wrong. I can imagine it - do a shutdown,

> I can't imagine being the only person on a train in the middle of nowhere in the middle of winter and something goes wrong. I can imagine it - do a shutdown, call it in, and put a coat and hat on. There are lots of bad jobs that tech folks can't imagine. Go repair a rock crusher / screen / wheel loader by yourself after hours at a mine site, and hope Ms. MSHA doesn't show up and see you not tied off from above the equipment. All the warnings and signage don't apply to the mechanic fixing the equipment, but MSHA fines still apply. Some people don't have a lot of career choices.

michaelwww 4y ago
I'm a programmer yes, but I've also driven trucks and buses for a living. I've also done road trips across America and seen how empty most of it is. Being all by yourself in the middle of nowhere in a blizzard and having to walk the train seems like a safety issue to me.
- landemva 4y ago
  Fixing and testing a large excavator by myself, then being on boom while hydraulic hose breaks in engine bay could have been a situation. I noticed old faithful shooting out of engine bay because boom that I was on dropped the inches to dirt when hyd hose broke. Climb down, climb up to cab, key off, call boss, clean up the mess. I have been a mechanic on a crusher at night when it was snowing and it was a thirty minute drive to cell phone reception. This is the world we, or some of us, live in. There is risk. Mitigate risk and then do the job. If a train is on the ground and stopped and dispatcher knows then there is little danger to anyone. Mines in Australia are big users of autonomous haul trucks and autonomous trains initially because of lack of workers. Now they find there are zero driver injuries. Will those people who were driving be capable of learning a keyboard career? My experience and your speculation could have a meaningful article of why there is such polarity of views in USA. Instead of speculating what-about-broken-legism, look at MSHA miner fatality reports or OSHA train track walking injury reports.

michaelwww 4y ago

I'm a programmer yes, but I've also driven trucks and buses for a living. I've also done road trips across America and seen how empty most of it is. Being all by yourself in the middle of nowhere in a blizzard and having to walk the train seems like a safety issue to me.

landemva 4y ago
Fixing and testing a large excavator by myself, then being on boom while hydraulic hose breaks in engine bay could have been a situation. I noticed old faithful shooting out of engine bay because boom that I was on dropped the inches to dirt when hyd hose broke. Climb down, climb up to cab, key off, call boss, clean up the mess. I have been a mechanic on a crusher at night when it was snowing and it was a thirty minute drive to cell phone reception. This is the world we, or some of us, live in. There is risk. Mitigate risk and then do the job. If a train is on the ground and stopped and dispatcher knows then there is little danger to anyone. Mines in Australia are big users of autonomous haul trucks and autonomous trains initially because of lack of workers. Now they find there are zero driver injuries. Will those people who were driving be capable of learning a keyboard career? My experience and your speculation could have a meaningful article of why there is such polarity of views in USA. Instead of speculating what-about-broken-legism, look at MSHA miner fatality reports or OSHA train track walking injury reports.