Drivers Reminder Appliance (DRA) How it works.

[W230]

I thought that the DRA was to be set immediately after passing a yellow aspect, or at least this is what seemed logic to me, since from there on any distraction could make a driver forget about the signal at danger and consequently about setting the DRA...

This is what we were encouraged to do at my TOC. DM's felt you had forgotten to use it if you weren't setting it passing a single yellow on your way in to a red at the end of a platform (subject to gradients etc). This changed when we got the 377s and we were told we shouldn't use it unless stopped due to the rheo dropping out and the air brakes taking over (note shouldn't not mustn't because of the rules).

It should also be noted that there isn't reduced brake force available when using the DRA on the move - it just moves you are only using the air brakes.

 

[axlecounter]

But then if the driver needs to take power to get up to the red they will have to unset the DRA. This is an obvious SPAD trap.

Well, yes. The DRA should -imho- prevent to take power only as soon as the train comes to a stand. But that maybe would have been more expensive and not exactly what it was intended to do. Same goes, I guess, for a DRA that cuts traction but leaves rheostatic braking?