Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
I don’t intend to suggest that this faulty statement on the U.P. website has anything to do with excusing the truck driver in the Nevada crash.  The U.P. website issue is only obliquely related to the Nevada crash by the fact that both involve grade crossings.  I stumbled across the website in researching the Nevada crash.   <o:p></o:p> I also happened to find a very interesting study by the state of North Carolina concerning the discovery of patterns of driver misunderstanding of the law and what leads to that misunderstanding.  That NC study is actually closely related to the faulty statement on the U.P. website.  <o:p></o:p> The NC study finds that crossings pose many variables that accustom drivers to deal directly with those variables rather than consulting their copy of the crossing law.  The study finds that many drivers are following their own belief system without realizing that it is contrary to the law.  The study explores the crossing contingencies that lead to such beliefs.  <o:p></o:p> The centerpiece of this errant belief system is the drivers’ assumption that the crossing protection system is merely advisory rather than regulatory as the law says.  Based on the discovery of this misinterpretation, groups such as Operation Lifesaver and railroad companies such as the U.P. are focusing effort on dispelling this driver misconception about the signals being advisory.   <o:p></o:p> I realize that the U.P. website does not have the force of law, but the U.P. dedicates part of their website to this effort to educate drivers.  So it hardly seems irrelevant that their website makes a statement that conveys information that directly conflicts with their effort to inform drivers about the meaning of the crossing protection system.  <o:p></o:p> I agree that the website will not reach many people, but U.P.’s point of it is to reach as many people as they can.  So, I would think they would not want to accidentally say something on the site that conflicts with their basic purpose in having the site.
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag