There Oughta Be a Regulation
In the summer of 1976 I embarked on a mission. The bus sales company I worked for handed me a one-way plane ticket to Fayetteville, NC, told me an FBI Agent would meet me, and take me to repossess a coach that had been stolen.
The FBI had found a 4104 that had been snatched from our facility, and been sold to an unsuspecting Indian tribe's Gospel Group in Lumberton, North Carolina..
Folks… you can't make this stuff up.
Apparently my chief qualification for this mission was a unique combination of youthful naivety… and ignorance. I leaped into the drivers seat, fired up that 20 year old jewel… and drove it 500 miles on I95, through 3 major cities, to our office in New Jersey. Bear in mind, this was a coach that was listed in the FBI's computer as stolen, had no license plates, no inspection or fuel stickers, and a decorative coating of dirt. Did I mention.. no log book?
I never thought about what would happen if law enforcement took a look at me.
There are tons of laws and regulations out there, and every time there's a visible incident, folks agitate for more. Maybe if we had fewer rules, well thought out… and enforced them….
Several years ago Bus & Motorcoach News ran a story headlined “Serial Bus Thief Arrested… but Remains Free”. Boiled down, this gentleman is so determined to operate coaches that he steals them regularly… and no one has found a way to actually put him in jail. Call me naive, but it seems certain that there are already laws against stealing buses… but enforcement appears lax.
Forget about theft… could there be a safety issue here? Is his logbook filled out properly? How DOES a bus thief get proper insurance? Wonder how he scores on the FMCSA's Safersys app?
Every time there's an accident, well intended people create new rules that make everyone feel better, but accomplish little. Good operators spend time and money trying to obey regulations that are complex and often contradictory, while bus thieves and other bad guys just ignore them, and don't seem to suffer serious consequences.
An Amtrak train derailed while traveling at twice the speed allowed on that particular section of track. 7 people died and more than 200 were injured. In addition to the effort to find out why the train was speeding… at least two alternative, competing theories were advanced to prevent this from happening again.
The union suggests a second person in the cab… to make sure the engineer doesn't speed. Other experts point to a system called “Positive Train Control” that prevents travel at speeds unsuitable for the trains location.
Golly, am I missing something here? From what you can look up… locomotive engineers make BIG BUCKS. Admittedly, they probably don't get tips, but this aint' chump change.
They don't have traffic problems, heck, they don't even need to steer. They have the choo-choo version of gas and brake pedals. It can't be rocket science to read signals and speed limit signs.
Lest you think this is criticism of engineers… it isn't. I suspect that there are some real skills involved (no one has ever let me drive their train, so I can't be certain).
Nope.. what I'm questioning is the politics of everyone piling on with new rules and technology that shouldn't be necessary. Do we really need the regulatory version of the mother-in-law back seat driver, or a technology that does things that wouldn't be necessary if the engineer is paying a modicum of attention?
Which raises the question… do we need a driver at all? It used to be fun to get on the automated trains at DFW airport and pretend to drive, but the fact is that they do quite well without human intervention.
I'm trying to make the case that we DO need drivers/engineers. We need trained responsible ones who are paying attention to safety, and what is going on around them, rather than being overwhelmed with technology and rules that are difficult to understand, let alone obey. Rules and technology that the bad actors ignore.
Too many rules overwhelm us. We can't keep track, and we're aware that it's virtually impossible to obey them all. That diminishes respect for the law in good folks, and gives excuses to bad ones. Wouldn't it be better if we simplified the regulatory burden, but held real bad guys truly responsible.?
Since no one will let me drive their locomotive… I'm going to take a ride on one of the new double deck motorcoaches. The plan is to sneak aboard with a steering wheel, sit in the front seat of the upper deck… and pretend I'm driving. When the bus goes left, I'll turn right, and see how the passengers react.
