I read with much interest the lead article in the Nov. 30 Mustang Daily, which wrung hands and gnashed teeth, about safety responsibility for students trespassing on private property when walking along or crossing the railroad tracks.
The Union Pacific Co., city and county of SLO and, to a lesser degree, Cal Poly administration, were identified as being culpable for responsiblilty. NOTHING was written that would suggest that the students were responsible for their own safety. Diesel locomotives and the trains they pull/push make a lot of noise, the ground shakes near the track when they are nearby, a light rotates on the front of the locomotive and the engineer sounds an air horn (maybe not often enough!).
Bill Watton commented on alert mechanisms that are activated when a train is passing. DUH! Shouldn’t a passing train be a pretty good signal in itself? For someone to walk on or too close to the tracks or have a rear wheel of his bicycle clipped by the looming oncoming locomotive is sad, but has to be categorized as dumb, yes dumb, or under the influence of something other than common sense.
Fences and crossing arms won’t solve the problem for the likes of them. I respectfully suggest that the responsibility for student safety on and near the tracks rests entirely with the student. That is where the Mustang finger sould be vociferously pointing.
Bill Carley
Paso Robles resident