A Class 387 at a red signal
A SPAD (abbreviated from Signal Passed At Danger) 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.
The Act
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.
The Punishment
The game is coded to detect a SPAD and apply the offending train's emergency brake for twenty seconds. If too many offenses of SPADing has been detected, their train will automatically despawn and their service will be terminated, so they cannot complete their route and get experience.
Also, when a Signaller or a High Rank is in the game server, he/she may despawn trains that are driving poorly. People who keep SPADing and creating a major traffic disruption may be kicked out of the game server.
Signs of SPADing
Some of the best ways of knowing if someone is going to SPAD include people...
- Skipping stations.
- Going at 100 MPH on a crowded line.
- Operating a Class 357 train (Due to the fact that everybody will get this train when they first join the game.)
- With low amount of experience on SCR. (Ex. Guests and Trainee Driver)
- Entering a station above 45 MPH and not slowing down.
- Doing a "race" with other trains to get out of the depot.
- Ignoring Caution (Yellow) signals and the AWS horn.
- Multitasking.
- Spotting a red signal but they're approaching it at over 50 MPH. (There are chances that the driver cannot come to a complete stop before the signal)
- Behind a user with poor connection, which is indicated by the train lagging.
- Who already have a bad reputation within SCR.
In Real Life
From Wikipedia:
Signal passed at danger in the United Kingdom; Terminology and procedures
Acronyms: SPADs and SPARs (A Separate Category in Wikipedia)
Prior to December 2012, the term "SPAD" applied to all incidents where a signal was passed at danger without authority, and a letter was used to specify the principal cause.
Now the term SPAD is only used for what were previously category A SPADs and a new term, SPAR (Signal Passed at Red) is used to describe the former category B, C, and D incidents.
There are a number of ways that a train can pass a signal at danger without authority, and in the UK these fall into four basic categories:
- A SPAD (previously Category A SPAD) is where the train proceeds beyond its authorized movement to an unauthorized movement.
- A Technical SPAR (Previously Category B SPAD) is where the signal reverted to danger in front of the train due to an equipment failure or signaller error and the train was unable to stop before passing the signal.
- A Signaller SPAR (Previously Category C SPAD) is where the signal was replaced to danger in front of the train by the signaller in accordance with the rules and regulations and the train was unable to stop before passing the signal.
- A Runaway SPAR (Previously Category D SPAD) is where an unattended train or vehicles not attached to a traction unit run away past a signal at danger.
Some SPADs can be defined as;
- SAS SPAD – "Starting against signal" SPAD, where the train was standing at a danger signal and the driver moved past it.
- SOY SPAD – "Starting on yellow" SPAD, where the train left on a caution signal and the driver did not appreciate that the next signal would be at danger.
Accidents and Incidents involving SPADs in real life
1987 Clapham Junction Collision
In Conclusion...
Do not SPAD. It will cause delays, you will be hated by the online Signaller, you will get respawned, and if you somehow continue to SPAD and cause even more delays, you just might get kicked from the game.