Bullybully18
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Swissgear is the make of bag I am using at the moment, although I had to make a few DIY adjustments to the compartments.
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Drivers kit bag
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Now we are getting to the posts that really matter! The things that always fail on my work bags (rucksack variety) are the grab handles. Swissgear ones are quite popular at my depot too. I too have an ipad now but i keep my paper forms and manuals in a hardshell folder and what with a handlamp, full bottle of water, spare keys and sundry other items to make life more comfortable the weight feels pretty excessive. They would probably take less stress if flung over my back most of the time but it is the constant picking them up where either the handle or shoulder straps fail or the zips burst.
dk1
Veteran Member
Hate our rucksacks as they have little separate storage on them & are a bit prone to breaking but on the other hand we could have a new one every week if we wanted too.
theageofthetra
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Shouldn't the bag being used be the type that detaches the rucksack strap if caught up on a a moving train? Haven't there been numerous incidents of serious injuries to passengers on both NR & TFL by getting straps caught on a moving train or in the doors? Personally I would always use the equipment provided so that in the event of an accident the TOC's insurers don't use 'well it was your own bag & wasn't Railway Group Standard' to cop out of paying compensation.
My company issued rucksack does not have the quick release straps
Nor mine. Also there is quite a disparity between TOC's as to whether their standard issues rucksacks have a hi-vis panel or not. It is probably easier for staff to use their own preferred bag if they work for a TOC that doesn't have the hi-vis variety of work bag
If you're so close to a moving train that your straps get caught, either you're too dumb to realise the dangers, and should not be anywhere near a train, or you've just tried to jump off a moving train. (and is too dumb to realise the dangers and therefore should not be anywhere near a train)
Either way a quick release is not going to do much good. What about pockets? If we're going all out over inconsequential H&S matters what about pockets? They could get caught too? What about shoe laces?
Where does it end?
It's all down to common sense.
tsr
Established Member
It's not about the risk of the straps so much as the bulk of the bag itself. This is what is more likely to need to get torn away by a train as this is far more likely to snag on part of a train. The emergency release straps will allow the bag to pull away cleanly without taking the user with it.
Front-line railway workers are, unlike passengers, often near trains for the vast majority of their working days. Thus there is a higher risk that one day they might - for example - get shoved by a passenger such that they are still on the platform but their bag is overhanging the edge, just as a train is approaching. Two velcro tabs are a simple inexpensive adjustment to deal with this. It seems common sense to place velcro tabs on each rucksack versus the far higher human and monetary cost of somebody dying or being seriously injured.
The same applies to the poppers/tabs on hi-vis vests, and the tear-away panels on many hi-vis jackets.
It's a case not of being "too dumb" to understand moving trains, but being sensible enough to understand that wearing a slightly modified rucksack is a cost-effective safety solution. This is also why I wear a company-issue railway rucksack and don't bring my own. I know from experience that when it breaks, a replacement can be sought immediately from a number of different storerooms around the network, so I'd rather just use what I'm given. Most of the equipment inside is also company-issue so if it leaks a bit, for example, it's not really my loss.
I got rid of my company issued rucksack after getting through 2 in quick succession! Got myself a Swissgear one and it's brilliant! Comfortable, sturdy enough to carry around all the rubbish I lug around with me and doesn't make me stand out during disruption so I don't get bombarded with the same question over and over!
I saw a video once. It had 2 experienced Drivers diving down into the space between the running line and the platform edge as a train passed over them.
I guess they were too dumb to realize the dangers of trains.
The bags I have seen have a "PULL to Release" tab on it so if someone gets trapped by their bag they can pull the tab to release the bag. It isn't so much moving trains but also if someone is trying to pull you down with your rucksack it will give way, the same reason some companies insist on clip on ties. A rucksack can easily also get caught on anything including a train door. But if you are a driver and get too close to a train door or a passenger that may try to pull you to the ground you must be dumb I suppose :roll:
Why would someone pull you to the ground? If that person was going to do it with intent then even if you're not wearing a rucksack he will still do it. A quick release won't help as he'll just grab you.
I've been a RAF Medic for 26 years and have seen only one bag trapping person injury where a guy jumped from a 4 tonne wagon and ended up suspended in mid air by his webbing.
We risk being caught up on vehicles helicopter kit, seating, stretcher bearers, aircraft kit, weapon systems attached to doors, handles, webbings, ambulance doors, equipment and stretchers. The amount of stuff that surrounds you in a military environemnt is a H&S nightmar. It never happens.
A Quick release clip (just in case) would work, if required, but is it a real life risk? We can get an injured person naked within moments of being brought in in full battle rig, that is two sets of rucksack style bits if kit.
If anyone is going to see rucksack / bag / webbing related injuries it is us. There isn't an issue.
Methinks a wee mountain is being created, as if by magic, from thin air.
I've been a RAF Medic for 26 years and have seen only one bag trapping person injury where a guy jumped from a 4 tonne wagon and ended up suspended in mid air by his webbing.
We risk being caught up on vehicles helicopter kit, seating, stretcher bearers, aircraft kit, weapon systems attached to doors, handles, webbings, ambulance doors, equipment and stretchers. The amount of stuff that surrounds you in a military environemnt is a H&S nightmar. It never happens.
A Quick release clip (just in case) would work, if required, but is it a real life risk? We can get an injured person naked within moments of being brought in in full battle rig, that is two sets of rucksack style bits if kit.
If anyone is going to see rucksack / bag / webbing related injuries it is us. There isn't an issue.
Methinks a wee mountain is being created, as if by magic, from thin air.
Everyone is overthinking this.
Quite simply the rucksacks provided have a feature installed by the manufacturer of quick release tabs. I've never known them to be needed due to a real incident but they are simply a feature included in some TOCs company issued bags. There is no requirement for them to be used whilst on duty.
As has been said, most drivers and other stuff use their own bags, I certainly do.
Agreed, A-driver.
We have some bags with "quick release" tags but they are simply intended for you to unbuckle and then attach to something secure so they are not floating around; creating a hazard. Maybe they are designed for that purpose but myth and legend means that some folk state they are for something else?
We have some bags with "quick release" tags but they are simply intended for you to unbuckle and then attach to something secure so they are not floating around; creating a hazard. Maybe they are designed for that purpose but myth and legend means that some folk state they are for something else?
I don't think it's myth and legend. Just marketing. The bags designers have added extra safety features. The chances of needing to release any bags by rail staff due to getting caught in trains is highly unlikely. But it's just something included on some rail issue bags.
If someone feels safer wearing a bag that thy can quickly release then they can use a company issued one. If someone (like me) dosnt then they don't have to use the issues one. I can't really see why it's such a big deal which requires so much discussion...it's only a bag!
tsr
Established Member
Bearing in mind the straps have "Quick Release Tab - Emergency Only" printed on them, I think they are for emergency use.
I still use the issued orange bag. I prefer more of a messenger-bag style, so I might change it at some point.
In it I have a company iPad, company-issued mobile phone, hard WON/PON, EP/BR1/T-key x2 and RADAR/Abloy/LIM key x1, spare glasses, a folder containing various forms including RT3185, my HVV, my hand lamp, extra batteries, a AA-battery emergency phone charger, camping spork, condiments, and miscellaneous paper rubbish. I used to carry a tea flask but kept forgetting to wash it. Even made of stainless steel, that rancid odour never comes out. (Bold = required)
I haven't yet switched to electronic WON/PON but I've received permission to do so if I want, with the proviso that the device carrying it then becomes required kit that must be charged and working at all times. I already keep the rule books, sec apdx, and T&Cs on the iPad, so I'll probably subscribe to electronic WON/PON whenever I get around to it.
Other required items (not in my bag, obviously) include my wristwatch and eyeglasses.
In it I have a company iPad, company-issued mobile phone, hard WON/PON, EP/BR1/T-key x2 and RADAR/Abloy/LIM key x1, spare glasses, a folder containing various forms including RT3185, my HVV, my hand lamp, extra batteries, a AA-battery emergency phone charger, camping spork, condiments, and miscellaneous paper rubbish. I used to carry a tea flask but kept forgetting to wash it. Even made of stainless steel, that rancid odour never comes out. (Bold = required)
I haven't yet switched to electronic WON/PON but I've received permission to do so if I want, with the proviso that the device carrying it then becomes required kit that must be charged and working at all times. I already keep the rule books, sec apdx, and T&Cs on the iPad, so I'll probably subscribe to electronic WON/PON whenever I get around to it.
Other required items (not in my bag, obviously) include my wristwatch and eyeglasses.
dk1
Veteran Member
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