A Class 68 that committed a SPAD at Stepford City
A SPAD (abbreviated from Signal Passed At Danger) refers to a train that passes through a red signal, which is highly discouraged and against the rules at Stepford County Railway. Someone committing a SPAD is called a SPADer and the word that people use to talk about it is SPADing.
Description
A SPAD is committed when someone crosses a Danger (red) signal, hence the name. SPADers tend to do this when they either are distracted or when they are going at full speed past a Caution (yellow) signal, or just attempting to skip a station when a signaller is on duty.
Penalties
The game is designed to detect a SPAD and apply the offending train's emergency brake for twenty seconds. If too many signalls are passed at danger, the train will automatically be deleted and the service will be terminated, so they cannot complete their route. This prevents the offender from gaining experience points. If a SPAD incident occurs during a Qualified Driver training, the trainee will automatically fail.
Also, when a Signaller or a High Rank is in the game server, they may delete trains that are driving poorly. People who keep SPADing and creating a major traffic disruption may be kicked out of the game server.
Users who SPAD typically show other signs of poor driving. Signs of poor driving include SPADding, skipping stations, going at max speed on a crowded line, not realizing it's surroundings and blindly driving to a likely SPAD. Keep in mind, though, that experienced drivers also SPAD every once in a while, mainly at the WaterLine crossover outside Benton, where Connect drivers cannot see WaterLine trains coming around the blind curve to and from Port Benton.
SPARs
A SPAR (abbreviated from Signal Passed At Red) is similar to a SPAD, but it is not the driver’s fault. A signaller SPAR is when a signaller causes a SPAR, either due to a mistake or a signaller trolling. A technical SPAR is when a glitch causes a SPAR to occur, and a runaway SPAR is when a runaway train passes a signal at red.
For a SG to SPAR especially to troll is incredibly rare as SG's are intended to do their job at the highest of standards.
In Real Life
Wikipedia article explaining SPADs and SPARs, click here
Accidents and Incidents involving SPADs in real life
1987 Clapham Junction Collision
