What part of the above posts did you not understand? Time to grow up!
I agree with you. Actually they give us two options. Tickets and fines or place the detector under the steer tire and roll over it.
There are many hand held tools that will do the job on the big devices nicely. I support your idea but wonder if it is even legal for officers to destruct property?
High Iron what do you think they are doing when they force you to run over a dector they are technicaly forcing you to destroy your own property under duress. However the best tool for destroying an air horn is a cutting torch or plasma cutter turns them into nice itty bitty pieces real nicely.
Ok. Let’s see here. Congress recently made it a rule that NO commercial vehicle may have a device designed to sense or alert to speed devices such as laser or radar. This law was passed some years ago. This covers all 48 states. Trucking companies now automatically fire drivers if they recieve a police citation that shows a detector was in the truck.
Prior to Congress’s actions some states banned detectors while others had no rule. Theoraticaly you could carry a detector in Montana but you better not have it hooked up and operating in Virginia.
Let’s say you are at a weight station undergoing inspection and they visually identified a detector on your dashboard. (there are many many custom ways to camoflauge these devices but let’s keep tiit simple for this post)
You will be given a citation for that detector. Then you will be told to remove the device and place it under your steer tire. If you refuse then they could arrest you or write further citations. The big question is that 200 dollar radar detector gonna still be worth it after you are handed a stack of citations worth 600-? plus loss of your job when you company finds out and in addition to any violations in your logbook that may shut you down and place you way late for your delivery (also a actionable service failure problem)
I would run over that detector with my steer. Duress? heh. That I can try to fight in thier county seat at the court house on my time, expense and lawyers. Time which takes me away from the road making a living.
I recall we went thru the same feelings when people started placing very very
Owning an air horn is one thing. Being a jerk about using it is something else completely.
If you want to have one one your car or truck, why not? But disturbing the peace is disturbing the peace no matter how you do it!
Here’s a couple of links to people who actually collect horns:
http://trainhorns.net/personal/othercollectors.html
http://www.trainweb.org/mdamtrak199/horns.html
They feel (as we do) that the horns are music, if played in an appropriate manner…
I’ve seen the pickup in the second link. It was at the train show in Syracuse a few years ago…
I do miss the old steam whistle. I recall back in the Texas Fairgrounds they had a man with one. Nobody minded then.
Radar detectors are illegal in Alabama. It doesn’t really matter much any more, because a lot of PD’s and SO’s use laser type speed devices anyway- and they can’t be detected by radar detectors. Anyway, I advise truck drivers to get rid of the things- but I don’t routinely break them. Realising that most of these guys make a living doing what they are doing, I try not to cite them- unless they are really, really impaired or doing something really, really dumb. (Both have happened.)
Horns fall under a weird sort of judgement call. Ordinary people can’t use sirens. A locomotive whistle, for all intents and purposes, is a warning device along those lines. About the only reason I can see citing someone with a train whistle is if they were disturbing the peace- like firing the thing off sitting at a traffic light right next to me at three AM. To me, it’s really no different than someone with a stereo cranked up so loud you can hear it a block away. Nice to have, but a nuiscance to the folks stuck listening to it.
Erik
Much ado about nothing.
Better to get upset about those that put $4000/$5000 into their onboard sound system…sound that can be heard and felt when you pass them on the Interstate…both cars with the windows up.
Kids will be kids (and truthfully we are all kids…no matter the age)!
As I said before, having a 5 chime nathan air horn would be super cool as long as you put it down a notch. Also, as far as some people blowing them at the crossings, it will increase the problem with people who dont look at crossing and just go through. They will hear a REAL train and go "ohh, im in a hurry and its probably just some guy with a cool (but actually dumb) set of air horns. CRASH!!! BYE BYE What idiots[soapbox][soapbox][soapbox][soapbox][soapbox][soapbox][soapbox][soapbox][soapbox][soapbox][soapbox][soapbox]
I also agree with ericsp’s idea of the air hornv punishment. LOL LOL
I understand the morons that blast em at the wrong time and place shouldn’t affect what I want to do with my rigs. It’s no different than the dipsticks that 4x4 on private or protected land and give people like me a negative image of destroying bambi’s home when I take my broncos out four wheeling when and where I should.
Just like I have strobe lights installed and as long as I don’t use them on road or in non work related environments, I can put on horns if I darn well want too as long as I use some common sense.
In fact, I already have dual Hadleys off a 79 Pete and a belt driven York compressor, and as soon as I get a good tank that I want, you can bet I’ll be honkin when there is a need to. If a set of loco horns comes my way, they would prolly go under the frame rails too.
Adrianspeeder
=)
Once the Nathans are outlawed, maybe the offenders will switch to Hancack (I know, it should be o but it wouldn’t pass the censor) whistles. Now that was a pretty sound. But it would still not pass the noise ordinances.
Jay
Tree68,Those pics are way cool[8D]. Especially the one with the red pickup and the CSX train[:D]!Wish I had horns on my car[:p]!Don’t worry folks,I would use common sense in blowing them.
Well for one thing,You don’t have to worry about installing (GEVO) Horns on you car or truck because they “SOUND LIKE CRAP”.
BNSFrailfan.
Being a very youg and not so wise trucker in the early 1960’s I often thought about installing train air horns on my truck. Instead I installed a pair of 24 volt aircraft landing lights. They really were great for making oncoming drivers dim their headlights.
They lasted until i received an indoor inspectrion in California entering the State on I-5, when theuy asked me to flip on the fog lights and I lit up the palce like midday the officer quietly waled over with a tire iron and broke both lights. He then said don’t reinstall them or the ticket will be more than they are worth. I took his word for it and never reinstalled the lights but for the year I had them they were a lot of fun.
The day I saw that truck I was at the Syracuse Train Show. I heard the horns blowing for a grade crossing, but could see the only one around and there was no train there. In fact, from what I could tell by where the sound seemed to be coming from, and knowing the NYS Fairgrounds (there are no tracks where I thought the sound was coming from), I was thoroughly confused. Until I turned a corner and saw the truck sitting there…
For those who haven’t checked out the links - the guy collects and repairs horns, and has added a rack on his truck to hold them (along with a couple of strobes and a locomotive bell). Check it out…
I really liked Larry’s first post on this subject.
When I was on the fire dept. we used the “Grover Stutter Tone”
air horns with great sucess.
I also had on my personal vehicle,an electronic siren with airhorn.
When I made a ‘run’ the neighborhood kids (if they were out) would
pull their arms up and down,wanting me to blow the airhorn.
Also, here is another link for info:http://atsf.railfan.net/airhorns/m5.html
Personally,I can’t imagine why anybody would want something like
that on a car just for everyday use.
It is nice on so trucks But to only use them when it is important.
Go to the video section and watch the “terror in the streets” clips.