Point & Call: Has this ever been tried on the British railways?

[3141]

IIRC, the UK Police drivers use similar techniques during pursuits, calling out observations etc - partly for the record and partly because of the training which places huge emphasis on constantly understaning your environment.
Ian

That's interesting. Taking this a bit away from where it began....I notice an increasing tendency for road vehicle drivers not to signal when turning or negotiating roundabouts. A possible reason is to do with the use of satnavs. When you learn to drive you're taught that before you turn you should signal your intention and check that it's safe to do it before you proceed. But if you're following a satnav a voice says "Get into a specified lane....turn right..." or whatever. It doesn't say anything about signalling or checking the traffic; and so, it seems to me, drivers focus on doing as they're being instructed and overlook the other preparations they should make. For police drivers to call out observations and so on seems to be a way of focussing their attention and should help to ensure they are taking actions that are appropriate. I'm sure that (at least in a majority of cases) it will also help in following and fully completing procedures on railways, and probably in many other situations where, otherwise, you might start running through the procedures without properly thinking about them.

 

[WideRanger]

Can confirm it's currently in use in Toronto. I sometimes loudly shout "Shingō" at the top of my voice when a freight's passed complete with tail lamp; but that's primarily intended to confuse the pax on the platform to be honest

For a long time, I thought the train drivers say Shingo, which means Signal. But they're actually saying Shinko (進行) which means progress forward, as in 'Go'. That's why they never say it on a Stop signal.

 

[whoosh]

I feel all these Non Technical Skill techniques are potentially very useful to individuals, but should never be made compulsory, because they don't work for everyone. In fact, if someone is made to use a technique that they find unhelpful it can be distracting and counterproductive.
I have tried commentary driving and found it absolutely useless, but I know other people who swear by it. Conversely, I have one or two techniques of my own for dealing with certain tasks, but when I've mentioned them to other people they've looked st me as if I'm mad. It is very much horses for courses. An enlightened management will encourage individuals to try different things and develop the systems that best suit them. Enforcing one particular system is poor management.

At my TOC various techniques are suggested, but it's up to you which ones to use or not, or adapt for yourself. This is referred to as a Personal Protection Strategy (PPS). You are encouraged to use PPS for various risks, but the idea is that it is personal and what works for you.

 

[Reliablebeam]

This, and what I've seen when using Japanese railways, is very, very similar to what you might see in a multi crew airliner cockpit (as a few posters have alluded to), with a mix of annunciated and silent checks. I suppose from a safety point of view it's a bit debateable how well this translates to single driver ops on a railway, as you are effectively challenging and responding to yourself, unlike an airliner.

Does anyone know if this is a straight copy from aviation or is this some hangover from the days of assistant drivers and firemen?