Railroaders' Nostalgia > California DMV Exoneration Card'

I carried one in my Wallet!
Maybe someone can add comment to this.
There were occasions when the Police, "the cops" got on your engine and demanded your driver's license after a vehicle incident at a road X-ing. 
Some of the Cops were quite forceful about the subject.
A few engineers actually had their driving records mistakenly tagged!
This got back to management. I think sone hoggers might have ben threatened with arrest!
So a card was issued with a Calif Vehicle Code number stating unequivecally that the engr was not required to show his/her drivers license.
But it went on for awhile. Some Cops apparently never wised up to the card.
"Get your Butt off my power"!!
 This all took place in the LA area but maybe it was widespread.


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Some of the Cops were quite forceful

I had an issue with two police departments. One was at the wye at Montalvo. A drug teenager ran his tiny Honda into the train. It was a large white tank car that was pulled from NitroShell on the Ojai branch. The cop got on the engine and demanded my drivers license. I told him I dont have to because am not driving a motor vehicle. I quoted the section of the DMV code he told me me I dont care. Told him to get his a$$ off the engine. He said you are under arrest. I laughed and repeated to him get off the engine. His sergeant showed up and explained the situation to him. He agreed and told the other officer to get off the engine.
The reason why this was enacted because of issues with insurance companies and driving records. I knew an engineer that worked in Ohio and resigned and hired out on the SP in Los Angeles. He applied for car insurance. The agent told him my company will not insure you because you have a fatality on your record. This engineer had to get a copy of the police report and had to forward to the company. Once the copy was scrutinized by the company he was granted insurance.
Had two collisions in Gardena. The same issue with the cops. Demanding my license. Told them to take a hike. Again was threatened with arrest. I said do you have a copy of the DMV code? I showed them the section and deflated their egos.

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Cops I dealt with (Co. Sheriff) was professional and cool. Never asked for anything from me or my conductor. He did show me the expired license of the guy we hit.

Regards

Posted from iPhone

We still have the cards, the unions distribute them periodically. And yes, there are still overzealous LE officers who think they can cite train crews for crossing accidents.
 

I have the text of the relavent codes in my grip somewhere....but my standard reply will be "I have a locomotive engineer's license, here you go." 

engineerinvirginia Wrote:
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> I have the text of the relavent codes in my grip
> somewhere....but my standard reply will be "I have
> a locomotive engineer's license, here you go." 

Just when we thought they couldn't get any cheaper, BNSF discontinued the practice of issuing physical 240 and 242 cards. It's now a cheesy PDF file you have to download and keep on your company iPad. 

trainjunkie Wrote:
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> engineerinvirginia Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I have the text of the relavent codes in my
> grip
> > somewhere....but my standard reply will be "I
> have
> > a locomotive engineer's license, here you
> go." 
>
> Just when we thought they couldn't get any
> cheaper, BNSF discontinued the practice of issuing
> physical 240 and 242 cards. It's now a cheesy PDF
> file you have to download and keep on your company
> iPad. 

Low class wooden axle.

Regards

Posted from iPhone

Never personally heard about guys having trouble with the law after a crossing accident. I have heard of guys taking the reverser or waybills (as appropriate to the craft) with them when they got jailed over blocking a crossing.

I figure the carrier can come up with a reverser. But (before computer generated hazmat paperwork) the conductor that said the bills aren't leaving the jail until he does had some leverage.

I've been involved in a plethora of pedestrian/vehicle vs train incidents over the years and never have had any issues with the responding police/sheriff officers.

During one of the incidents I did deal with a younger police officer who right off I could tell was unsure of the proper procedure to follow in this type of incident. Initially he wanted my drivers license and I told him per the vehicle code we don't do that. At that point he said let me talk to my superior to see how to handle this. A few minutes later he returned with a binder from his superior that listed the proper procedure to follow in a train/pedestrian incident and all was well from that point forward. It was a learning experience for him, but he stayed cool and professional the entire time.

And for those curious, in California it is vehicle code 12953...

12953 CVC

When I first hired out my railroad ID had 12953 CVC printed right on the back of it. They stopped doing that at some point, but I still keep it with me to this day. It's good information to have. And I get to laugh at the picture I took decades ago when I was young and the only thing gray on me was my t-shirt.

I was on the hottest train in the mid 1980's on the Southern Pacific Sunset route... the MBSMF (the Blue Streak). I caught it off of the Engineers Extra board in Tucson going to Yuma, a 253 mile pool. Track speed I believe was still 60mph max then (1984), the rebuild of the Sunset to 70mph was still a year off or so. The first siding past the half way point of Gila Bend was a siding called Theba. There was/is a corporate farm there on the left of the railroad going west while interstate 8 is to the right of the mainline. A dirt crossing just west of the west switch which goes to the highway gets traffic in and out of this corporate farm. An 18 wheeler was departing from the farm property was stopping at the highway and attempting to turn left and go west. This put the rear duels right on the mainline, needless to say I plugged it and me and Pete Fletcher, my head brakeman gathered at the electrical panel of the recently Sacramento Rebuild SP7425, an SD45. Not too long later two Maricopa County Sheriffs show up, they probably were right out of the academy, The front of the locomotive is pretty much destroyed with all of the glass blown in and one of the windows fell on me. It did hit my Bulova Accutron and messed it up and the claims department was only to happy to buy me a new RR Seiko which had just become RR authorized. Anyway these two rookies try and climb up the front of the engine with an inoperable smashed front door. I tell them they will have to come in the door that is behind my seat. One of them pulls out a form to fill out as if I just hit this guy with my personal vehicle. License please, no I am not operating a vehicle so that does not apply in this situation. Much discussion between the two young officers. Then he asks then I will need to see your Engineers license. I promptly tell him there is no such thing, a whole lot of more discussion between the two officers. Much more confusion as his form is not getting any information filled in. This goes back and forth for another 20 minutes or so. I explain to them that by the mere fact that I am sitting in this seat is what qualifies me to run this train! Thankfully at this point an Old Head Maricopa County Sheriff shows up and has a talk with both rookies, he has obviously been through this before. That pretty much ended the whole thing with the County Mounties, no threats of going to jail or anything of that nature.

I believe there is a picture of the SP7425 on Trainorders in Roseville that was a quick stop over on its trip back to Sacramento for repairs. It was  was still under warranty I'm sure and the insurance company of Zip Trucking Company was going to get the bill.
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/01/23 19:33 by sp3204.

sp3204 Wrote:
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> I believe there is a picture of the SP7425 on Trainorders in Roseville that was a quick stop over on its trip back to
> Sacramento for repairs It was  was still under warranty I'm sure and the insurance company of Zip
> Trucking Company was going to get the bill.

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,1878045,1878045#msg-1878045

I remember very well the issues with the police in grade crossing accidents.  I was an assistant trainmaster at Pico Rivera in 1974.  As the junior man, of course I worked the midnight shift.  The big challenge at Rivera Yard was to get the empty Ford train made up and on it's way before the Westbound manifest trains with "hot" spot cars started showing up.  We had all but one of the 45 cars Ford wanted inside their plant at 500am.  That car was on a 328 ( KC to LA ) hotshot due about 300am.   About 200am, the 328 train reports hitting a car at a crossing about 3 miles East of Pico Rivera.  Wham!  I am in the car and on my way there quick.  When I arrive, the sheriff is questioning the engineer, but the discussion is rather animated with some hand waving and gesturing.  The sheriff is demanding the engineer's driver license, and the engineer was telling him that he didn't have one, "He rode a bike to work!".  "Turn around," the sheriff said. and he put his cuffs on the engineer over my protests.  The engineer was also a legislative representative for the engine mans union, and as sat in the back seat of the sheriff's car. the grinned and winked at me.
The sheriff's sergeant has arrived, and he soon said the train was released, and that I could take the train to Pi co.  "I'm not a qualified engineer" I told him.  "I will call our crew office in LA and they will summon another engineer, but that will take about two hours, plus time for him to get out here,
and, you know, all these road crossing may be blocked until 7 or even 800am!
A hurried conference, with lots of 10-4's and 10-20's, and a few minutes later, our engineer is back, grinning ear to ear.  The young sheriff was not happy as I thanked him for his fine work......The Ford plant was spotted and the gates were closed at 445am, thank heaven .

TOGA PASS

Norman Orfall
Helendale, CA
TIOGA PASS, a private railcar



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/15/23 12:06 by aronco.

Sadly there are too many Eric Carmans in law enforcement.

Regards

Posted from iPhone

Speaking of Eric Cartman LEOs/

Many years ago there was an unfortunate incident in East TX with a Sunset Ltd. #2.
It was either at Rosenberg or Schulenberg (i cannot quite remember) where a new hire
Sheriff had decided that the Sunset was "speeding." He placed his Squad at a Grade X-ing,
his Gumballs burning red and blue in full authority. Sunset was doing the track speed/ 70. 
Yep- the Squad car was T boned. Good learning event for the Rookie. Back in the '70s.
He was out of the car, watching it happen. So the old Sunset heads related to me back then. 

I remember hearing about that back then.  It was Rosenberg, Texas.  A decade or so later while chasing 4449 through the area hauling the 1984 New Orleans World's Fair Special, a Rosenberg cop came blasting through the foamer motorcade following alongside on Highway 90.  We thought we were going to get busted for passing through town above the posted speed limits while following the train, but the officer plowed through the pack, got ahead of us, then pulled over and started taking pictures of the train with this Kodak Instamatic!  He did this several more times in a couple of nearby towns out of his jurisdiction.  I managed to catch this on video, but that VHS tape has probably de-magnetized itself by now.

Tom Kline
Houston, Texas

A Campbell, California police officer, many years ago, "pulled over" the Peranente Turn for not sounding his horn for a grade crossing within the city and gave the engineer a ticket for the alleged violation.  Fortunately the engineer was able to stop the train before making contact with the officer's patrol car.  For yaers afterwards SP engineers sounded their horn continuously when passing through Campbell.  I am not sure how accurate this story is.  It came from an old rail I was acquainted with in San Jose. 

donnerpass Wrote:
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> A Campbell, California police officer, many years
> ago, "pulled over" the Peranente Turn for not
> sounding his horn for a grade crossing within the
> city and gave the engineer a ticket for the
> alleged violation.  Fortunately the engineer was
> able to stop the train before making contact with
> the officer's patrol car.  For yaers afterwards
> SP engineers sounded their horn continuously when
> passing through Campbell.  I am not sure how
> accurate this story is.  It came from an old rail
> I was acquainted with in San Jose. 

I just checked the CA VC..couldnt find a section that covers horns after doing a search.. Curious what the citation was under what section ?

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