Railroad Radio Law & Suggestions - Train travel, model railroading, railfan and railroad industry information including Amtrak train travelogues, railroad photographs, model train building tips and more.
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Railroad Radio
Law & Suggestions
www.trainweb.com/radio/law.htm
Warning
It is a federal crime, with severe punishment and/or fines, to:
(a) divulge what you hear to anyone who is not a party to the broadcast;
(b) make use of any broadcast information for your own personal gain; or
(c) make use of any broadcast information for illegal purposes or to
commit a crime. Any such violations may be investigated by the FBI and
prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Many state have laws prohibiting the installation of a scanner in an
automobile, or in some cases, just the possession of a scanner. You should
consult your local authorities for an interpretation of your state's
laws.
If you do bring a scanner with you on a train trip, I urge you to use an
earphone even if you are in your own private accomodation. I can only
imagine how unsettling it must be to a crew member of a train to walk by
a passenger compartment and realize that this passenger is listening to
communications that are intended between crew members only. I'm sure that
all crew members do know that train buffs are frequently on board and have
scanners. However, I don't think they give it any more thought than you
give to security cameras that you know are in most stores, except when you
see one pointed right at you ... or worse yet, when you see your imagine on
the security monitor by the checkout register. We don't tend to think about
things unless they are brought to our attention, even when we know they
exist.
My own personal opinion is to keep scanners out of sight and out of hearing
of anyone around you as much as possible. As far as I know, there are no
rules against them other than the same rule about all radios, tape players,
and games ... that they be used with an earphone to not disturb other
passengers. Use a great deal of discretion before passing on information
to other passengers that you obtain while listening to your scanner. First,
it is likely that the crew would have made an announcement if they wished to
pass that information on to all passengers, and second, you could be in
violation of federal or state law to pass on such information. Also, if
your activity on the train creates a disturbance, the Conductor has the full
legal authority to put you off the train ... even between stations and
without a refund! For the continued enjoyment of all of us that use scanners
while traveling, use common sense and don't do anything that would cause
Amtrak to create or enforce rules against the use of radio scanners.
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This page last updated: 08/15/98 -
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