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[quote user="erikthered"]There is no requirement to provide a driver's license to a police officer or a sheriff's deputy if you aren't operating a motor vehicle at the time you are questioned. I don't know what information rail road company ID's provide, but I assume they have the basics- name, and date of birth. That's enough to verify identity. It's also enough, most of the time, to insure there are no warrants outstanding against the individual questioned. (Locomotive engineers are not any different from other human beings... sometimes even they have something to hide.) In the accident investigations I have participated in, I have seen people provide false identitites- usually because they are hiding something, like a suspended license or an outstanding warrant. Criminals do this on a routine basis. Frankly, in train vs. automobile accidents, I know enough to draw much the same conclusion this Sheriff did. Yet, to protect everyone in this case, it's important to have full and complete information on all participants. I would not be surprised if the engineer was not requested to take a Drager breathalyser test to determine if he was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident. (It's standard procedure.) He could refuse to take the test, of course; but his driving priveleges (as in automobile driving) would be suspended in this state (Alabama). I empathize with locomotive engineers in most cases. I also empathize with truck drivers involved in fatalities where the fault is clearly the other participant in the accident. As a cop, it's not going to stop me from asking questions about causes of the accident. It's not going to stop me from attempting to rule out all contributory factors to an accident. One of those contributory factors would be the state of mind (impaired or not?) of the participants. Investigators ask insensitive questions. Cops act insensitively at times. The reason is usually because the quicker information is obtained, the faster a case can be cleared. I believe the engineer had nothing to hide in this case. As Ed said, we weren't there. It IS unusual behavior to refuse to even give your name to a police officer when you have been in an accident. Erik [/quote] Erik,Don't they teach you that as a cop your ability to investigate such an accident is superceded by agencies like the FRA and USDOT and NTSB?  Outside of basic "who's dead and where can we find the relatives?" questions, it seems you are operating well beyond your authority, much as you would in investigating a mishap on a construction site...I'm sure OSHA would inform you of the investigative hierarchy. You mention something about outstanding warrants....and that is why some railroaders...myself included...would be less than cooperative with you.   Your immediate job, as you see it is to investigate this incident between automobile and train. You are coming into my work place, albeit out of doors, and acting as though I have, or may have, done something wrong.  There is a whole cadre of railroad officials, all much more polished and experienced in making railroad accusations than you ever will be, who will take care of that job, let me assure you.  My problem with all law enforcement is that, no matter what the issue at hand may be, you are always looking for something else;  the unpaid parking ticket, the contempt of a local (kangaroo) court (failure to appear)....whatever it may be, which may be your job, but is not the job at hand.  Add to that the innumerable times we hear of and see the case of two people with the same name, stolen identity, unscrupulous relatives....I can see a formula for having a very bad day because some cop decides to hold me because I have a deadbeat step-brother (with the same 1st and last name).I just don't want to deal with you, sir, and the railroad is prepared to do so.So if I hit a trespasser, you and I will be having a bit of a problem if you respond.That's just the way it is, no hard feelings.
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