Family Forum / Parenting / Parenting / July 2009

Not an area I'm an expert in, but many years ago I worked as an
auditor for
the New South Wales (Australia) State Rail. As the job on occasion
required
us to walk around the maintenance workshops and railway tracks, we
received
safety training. My recollection of the training was an emphasis on
not
relying on actually hearing a train coming at you, as the sound waves
mostly
radiate sideways (not forward of the train). Hence, despite being very
big
and noisy the trains can 'sneak up on you' (even at very low speeds).
Which
is why when workers are doing track maintenance they put explosive
charges
down the track to provide an audio cue that the train is coming.

So, whilst wearing an ipod didn't help the situation, walking on a
railway
track is not very clever in the first place.

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