20
   

Mo and I get hassled by the Man.

 
 
Reply Wed 19 Nov, 2008 09:21 pm
Today I took Mo to his drum class. The school is close to the train switching yard and the tracks run right by the school. Since we arrived just a bit early and because Mo adores trains we walked to the tracks to take a look. We do this ALL the time. Sometimes we even wander down the tracks a block or two.

Today we were standing about three ties from the street when the cops arrived and informed us that we were breaking the law and that they could arrest us! It seems we were trespassing.

Wow! I'm a trespasser. A common criminal!

I didn't tell Mo we were being hassled by the man but that the police just wanted to make sure we stayed safe because I believe in being a good role model.

Anyway....

Now I'm curious to know how you tell if you are trespassing.

What are the rules?

Thanks!

 
mismi
 
  2  
Reply Wed 19 Nov, 2008 09:40 pm
@boomerang,
I would think there should be signs up...
I found this...

http://www.citizensforrailsecurity.com/law_enforcement.html
0 Replies
 
Robert Gentel
 
  1  
Reply Wed 19 Nov, 2008 09:47 pm
@boomerang,
boomerang wrote:
Now I'm curious to know how you tell if you are trespassing.

What are the rules?


As far as I know, the rules are that you aren't allowed on the tracks. I was kicked off as a teenager once, and had a friend arrested for being on the tracks. The reasoning goes something like this...

PSA



Conductors call police if they see people on the tracks because they aren't fond of hitting them. There are a bunch of youtube clips they've uploaded of near misses like this:



Of course, on some of these tracks, it seems a bit silly (especially the ones where you never ever see a train) but I think he was technically correct.
Butrflynet
 
  1  
Reply Wed 19 Nov, 2008 10:55 pm
Regardless of what the law says, I think it is a good thing to give Mo a healthy respect for the dangers around railroad tracks.

I still remember the time when my dad took my brother and I out to fish on the shores of Port Costa in the San Francsico East Bay in the early 60's. There were railway tracks 6 to 8 deep and constant heavy rail traffic. You had to take your chances and dash across the tracks between trains to get to the fishing piers.

All I remember is being scared to death as we ran across all the tracks and had a narrow miss when one of us stumbled.

They are not places for kids to hang around anywhere nearby.
0 Replies
 
dlowan
 
  1  
Reply Wed 19 Nov, 2008 11:22 pm
@Robert Gentel,
That not seeing the second train thing happened to me once....but I managed to jump back....the end of the first train and the beginning of the second train were perfectly aligned, so basically I almost walked INTO the second train, rather than have it hit me as I crossed the tracks.

Put a tingle in my step I can tell you.


PS: Those both being Australian videos makes me wonder if lemming-like behaviour around trains is an Australian thing.
0 Replies
 
OmSigDAVID
 
  1  
Reply Thu 20 Nov, 2008 02:00 am
@boomerang,
Did thay give Mo his Miranda rights ?
Intrepid
 
  1  
Reply Thu 20 Nov, 2008 04:23 am
@OmSigDAVID,
Why would they? They were only informed to leave...not taken into custody. A lawyer should know that.
shewolfnm
 
  1  
Reply Thu 20 Nov, 2008 05:36 am
I have a criminal record for this.

I was .. maybe 21.. and me and first husband were fighting , but what was new.
We lived in Crosbyton texas.... a city where.. of every single person had a visitor the city population may reach 1000.
Hick town, surrounded by cotton fields , at 21 there was nothing to do but get drunk with the other farm kids in the field and light fires to cotton . Weeee!

Any-who

Him and I were fighting, so I decided to leave and take a walk. 5-7 blocks away was the park with the public pool.
The public pools fence was only about waist high so , stepping over it, i go to sit next to the pool and put my feet in the water.
You can see me from all corners of the park and I have nothing with me, regular clothes on me and I am not going anywhere.
My back is to the parking lot for the pool and I am facing into the trees.
Im crying ... , im pissed , and the last thing I want is to be bothered.

Our local police woman pulls up and turns on her lights , using her boomhorn starts yelling for me to get out with my hands up . Rolling Eyes
She makes a HUGE production about this.
Hauls me to jail and there I sit over night waiting for the one lawyer and one judge to have breakfast and get to work in the morning.
The judge , when he sees me , asks police officer what the situation is. The lack of formality in that court room was extremely odd.. and Miss Hick with missing yellow teeth, bad breath and messy hair starts " tellin yew judge sir, she was tresspissn at dere park and cound been responshubile for who ever put them chairs in the water last weekend judge sirs'.

He asked her what I did, then asked me... snorted.. asked me to leave.
About 2 hours later I am called back into the chambers and it is obvious they have not left. Police officer woman is in tears, lawyer man was still rosey in the cheeks from laughing and the judge was giggling almost every other word.

He says to me-
This is ridiculous and a waste of city time to have you here. I believe you did nothing wrong other then be at the park when you knew it was closed. But technically that is tresspassing. Police officer woman ( he said her name but I dont remember it) wants to also get you for theft because everyone else has to pay to be in the pool, so should you, but I dont agree with that. I also dont think you were the person who pushed all the lawn chairs in to the pool either. So I am going to give you a class C for tresspassing with a 200.00 fine.


ugh.
farmerman
 
  1  
Reply Thu 20 Nov, 2008 05:44 am
There are certain things , like grabbing a downed elctrical wire, or smoking next to a gas pump, and , Ill include crossing RR tracks, that we, as sentient beings, should have developed a healthy fear and respect for.

The "hassling" was actually a kind of favor for your protection. The fact that you somehow dont see this as a safety hint, is kind of irresponsible to impart to a kid.
Im raised a RR brat and , even though my pap is gone, Ive raised my kids with an almost genetic memory to fear and respect trains. We have a lot of low grade crossings in the countryside where trains come screaming by, and often (maybe once a year) some douche bag tries to play "Baldwin-2464" chicken with a freight or "lectric chicken" with amtrak passenger, and of course , the Trainmen have a name for it, tthey call it "doing a big hole" on a car or truck. Usually, afetr hitting by a train , considering the relationship of MassX velocity (squared), there is very little left to identify and funerals can use a cigar box for the remains.

I hope you didnt impart a sense of entitlement to your kid re: "walking near RR tracks" because , IMHO, youd be quite wrong and you should maybe undo the attetude so your kid, when on his own, doesnt take to crossing tracks just to tug on SUpermans cape. CAuse he could lose big time. Think about it.
0 Replies
 
farmerman
 
  1  
Reply Thu 20 Nov, 2008 05:50 am
@shewolfnm,
City parks wont flatten you and tear you apart like a rag doll. The second YouTube that RG put up was seen from the trainmans eye.
"Bloody Fuckin Diots" was the term.

I remember as a kid when my dad had to attend a series of hearings and then the funeral of an engineman who ran down a panel truck that was racing the train to a grade crossing (the engineman couldnt really see the event leading up to its climax). Well he hit the truck, wiped it out and the several kiuds who were inside. It affected the guy so much that, even when he was cleared and restored by the "Information" board, he commited suicide. Many lives were lost due to that incident and the engineman became te final victim.
0 Replies
 
Walter Hinteler
 
  1  
Reply Thu 20 Nov, 2008 06:00 am
I don't know about the laws in the USA, but here in Europe, it's generally forbidden to walk along rail tracks. Certainly, because it's private land. But as well as it ... just is terribly dangerous.

It attracts a lot of young people - anything forbidden does - but since quite a few get killed every month ...
0 Replies
 
chai2
 
  1  
Reply Thu 20 Nov, 2008 06:46 am
I gotta agree with others here that I don't honestly think the cop was hasseling you, but really making a safety statement.

Like Roberts video stated, trains are deceptively fast, and it is scary how quickly one can get into a bad situation.

I grew up next to a set of railroad tracks, and would sometimes stand by the tracks to wave at the conductor as he went by.

On day I was looking down the track, watching the train coming. The lights were blinking, but at that time there were no gates that went down.

This woman came driving up and I looked over at her. She was totally starting at me with this mean look on her face. I'm sure she thought I was standing there getting ready to throw a rock at her.
She didn't see what I saw, because she wasn't looking the other direction down the track.

God, thinking back, it was one of those moments when everything started going in slow motion, except for the train.
I can remember glancing at her and seeing her staring at me, then, suddenly the train that had been some distance down the track was RIGHT THERE!

Continuing to turn her head and glare at me, she never slowed down and just drove over the tracks like the bells weren't ringing or lights flashing. The conductor blasted his horn and I'm absolutely positive no more than 1/2 a second went by between the time her car cleared the tracks, and the trained roared by. It must have missed her by mere inches.

It seemed impossible to me, even being a little kid around 6 or 7, that someone couldn't hear, see that train.

0 Replies
 
Walter Hinteler
 
  1  
Reply Thu 20 Nov, 2008 06:51 am
I've tried to find some numbers (in Austria, until September, 14, this people were killed while walking on railway tracks - 8 were children/minors).

I couldn't find a number for all Germany - but alone on my part of our state, it has been more than 20 this year, including ten below the age of ten.

The Federal Police (which is our railway police) is going from school to school to show the deadly dangers of walking on railway tracks.
0 Replies
 
cjhsa
 
  2  
Reply Thu 20 Nov, 2008 06:55 am
Put a nickel on the tracks for the train to run over. Then you'll be tresspassing, destroying public property, and, have a really cool nickel.
0 Replies
 
shewolfnm
 
  3  
Reply Thu 20 Nov, 2008 07:10 am
I guess this is not the place for me to say how I dont see too much of a danger if one employs common sense eh?

I have spent a lot of time on railroad tracks. Camping, riding, and just plain hanging out.
I too never understood how people could not see or hear that big ole thing coming. Even some of the ruthless drunks I used to be around, knew, no matter how much they had to drink, to stay away from the tracks and what a train sounded like.

Sorry, I dont think Boom is doing anything wrong.
Intrepid
 
  1  
Reply Thu 20 Nov, 2008 07:21 am
@shewolfnm,
IMHO, one is not employing common sense hanging around train tracks. The dangers are just too great and, as Farmerman pointed out, children especially should be made very aware of the fact that train tracks are no place to be.

I don't don't advocate that Boomer was doing anything wrong, I just think that she was not giving the best message to the young one, in this instance.
djjd62
 
  1  
Reply Thu 20 Nov, 2008 07:28 am
Signs

And the sign said long haired freaky people need not apply
So I tucked my hair up under my hat and I went in to ask him why
He said you look like a fine upstanding young man, I think you'll do
So I took off my hat I said imagine that, huh, me working for you
woah!

Sign Sign everywhere a sign
Blocking out the scenery breaking my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign

And the sign said anybody caught trespassing would be shot on sight
So I jumped on the fence and yelled at the house, Hey! what gives you the right
To put up a fence to keep me out or to keep mother nature in
If God was here, he'd tell you to your face, man you're some kinda sinner

Sign Sign everywhere a sign
Blocking out the scenery breaking my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign

Now, hey you Mister! can't you read, you got to have a shirt and tie to get a seat
You can't even watch, no you can't eat, you ain't suppose to be here
Sign said you got to have a membership card to get inside.
Uh!

And the sign said everybody welcome, come in, kneel down and pray
But when they passed around the plate at the end of it all,
I didn't have a penny to pay, so I got me a pen and a paper and I made up my own little sign
I said thank you Lord for thinking about me, I'm alive and doing fine

Sign Sign everywhere a sign
Blocking out the scenery breaking my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign

Sign Sign everywhere a sign
Blocking out the scenery breaking my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign
OGIONIK
 
  1  
Reply Thu 20 Nov, 2008 07:35 am
@djjd62,
when i was about 16 i used to ride the trains far out of the city and then jump off and roll into the gravel. and then ride my bike back.

i used to drag my bike under slow moving trains LOL! scurry!!

yeah, trains. very dangerous. if u die from a train, im sorry. u deserve it.

how ? HOW?!?!??!
0 Replies
 
cjhsa
 
  -1  
Reply Thu 20 Nov, 2008 07:42 am
@Intrepid,
Intrepid wrote:

IMHO, one is not employing common sense hanging around train tracks. The dangers are just too great and, as Farmerman pointed out, children especially should be made very aware of the fact that train tracks are no place to be.

I don't don't advocate that Boomer was doing anything wrong, I just think that she was not giving the best message to the young one, in this instance.


Guns are scary too, eh terdpid?
Intrepid
 
  1  
Reply Thu 20 Nov, 2008 07:44 am
@cjhsa,
cjhsa wrote:

Intrepid wrote:

IMHO, one is not employing common sense hanging around train tracks. The dangers are just too great and, as Farmerman pointed out, children especially should be made very aware of the fact that train tracks are no place to be.

I don't don't advocate that Boomer was doing anything wrong, I just think that she was not giving the best message to the young one, in this



Guns are scary too, eh terdpid?

As usual... you are changing the topic to your own idiotic topic
 

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