Comment from Scott Newton
Scott NewtonSupportUnion
Summary: Scott Newton, a long-time ground service employee at Union Pacific Railroad, supports the proposed restriction on drones near rail facilities. He argues that drones create safety hazards by distracting workers and pose significant security risks to transportation hubs.
My name is Scott Newton, and I have 23 years of seniority with Union pacific Railroad. Ground service employees have a plethora of safety responsibilities we must adhere to in addition to hitting (sometimes) unrealistic job performance goals set by managers with less manpower. Having drones fly overhead is just one additional distraction we do not need to safely perform our job. I see employees looking up for drones more than ever in my career. Taking their eyes off of pathways or their job at-hand is going to get someone hurt, or worse.
In addition, when I see a drone overhead in a rail yard, I have no idea if it belongs to a manager, a civilian or some type of terroristic organization. Railyards are, by far, the least secure transportation hub in the United States. Once foreign or domestic terrorists' figure that out, not only employees but citizens will be in grave danger.
The time to act is now and put a hard restriction on the use of drones over transportation hubs such as railyards.