What does a NO TRESPASSING Sign Mean?
Railroad tracks and crossings are very dangerous places if warnings are not heeded. Railroad companies spend time and money to make a person’s time at a crossing or around trains as safe as possible. Warning signs, flashing lights, crossing gates, bells, pavement markings, etc. along with NO TRESPASSING signs are put into place for a reason – to keep you physically safe and to keep train crews from having to deal with the aftermath of a tragic accident that was not their fault. (Remember, trains can’t steer and it often takes them more than one mile to stop.)
So, what does a NO TRESPASSING sign mean?
Choose the correct answer:
A. If I cannot see a train, then I can walk on or along the tracks.
B. Those signs are for other people, not me.
C. I can get out of the way of a train before it gets to me, so I can go on the tracks anyway.
D. Trains hardly ever come on these tracks – there won’t be one now.
E. Stay off tracks and bridges, out of tunnels and out of the railroad right-of-way,
which extends approximately 50 feet on both sides of the track.
Unfortunately, most people may agree that E is correct, (Stay off tracks and bridges, out of tunnels and out of the railroad right-of-way, which extends approximately 50 feet on both sides of the track.), but they act like A, B, C and D are correct.
What is your response to a NO TRESPASSING sign? Do your actions look like answer A, B, C or D above? Or do you obey the NO TRESPASSING sign?
In Verdi, NV there is a location that we call our “fishing hotspot”. This is a narrow train bridge across the Truckee River in which fishermen consistently ignore the very visible NO TRESPASSING sign at each end of the bridge. Why? Because it is a shortcut to their favorite fishing hole. A shortcut I say, because there is a correct way to cross the river that is just a few steps longer. Is the convenience of a shortcut worth the risk of getting hit by a train? NO!
Remember, your life is worth obeying any railroad warning signs!
