How unsafe is it to wear wedding rings when working on railroad equipment ?

Question

I am told even wearing gloves is not sufficient.

Answer 1

According to our company "BNSF" it's very unsafe. It's actually against the rules for transportation employees working as a conductor or engineer. When I worked as a conductor I had an incident when I had gloves on over my ring and was climbing down the ladder of a box car and lost my footing...."slick ladder rung" my hand slid down onto a small bolt nut that was used to secure a top hand rung and my ring got hung up on it even through my gloves. Luckily I didn't get injured and was able to unlodge it before any real damage occured. There are way to many "chances" for your ring to get caught on something out there. Best bet is to just leave it at home. BNSF does provide employees traveling on trains with a ring pouch to put in their overnight bag. Save a finger, leave it off......and save your ring...because it will get scratched real bad anyways.

Answer 2

If it's a simple band, it shouldn't be a problem. If it has a protruding mounting or setting for a stone, it's more likely to get caught.

When my wife and I bought our wedding rings, we selected an engagement ring for her that converted into a wedding ring by having two "protective" bands that went on either side. These bands enclosed the setting, so the diamond now looks like it's set into the ring. We did this because she worked with rotating machinery, and the plant said she could wear her ring if it did not have the setting exposed for it to catch on something.

Wearing a good pair of gloves should take care of the problem in any case, but I would almost think that the gloves themselves might actually be more of a risk to get caught on something.

Answer 3

I would agree that it depends primarily on your craft and the related duties, as well as personal preference.

I always wore my wedding band, but, if you want to cover all the basis, leave it home. Of course that can create another problem with the one who wears the other wedding band. It may make it appear that you may be "trolling" at layover points. In this instance, losing a finger may be the least of your worries.

Since gloves were mentioned, do not wear a pair that has an outside, back of the hand leather strip for adjusting the glove for a tight fit. This can create a dangerous situation, as can loose clothing of any kind.

Answer 4

A ring of any kind is dangerous for working hands. Your best bet is a quick sudden jerk where your finger is completely removed from your hand. In some circumstances it just gets caught and you are dragged into the equipment possibly losing an arm or even your life.
Tell your wife " I love you Darlin, but this is a safety issue. If you don't trust me enough to allow me this bit of safety we have a problem."
How about getting a tattoo of your wedding ring for times when you need to not wear the gold?

Answer 5

Personally, I'm jealous of anyone who has the problem,...being as I myself don't even have one.

Not only would wearing the ring show the devotion, but losing the finger to keep it on would be and honourable loss.

Electrically, however, more then the finger is at risk. If you poke in electrical cabinets, it shouldn't be there.

I'd wear it, but have a routine that I use, in preparation for dangerous duties, that included removing it and placing it out of harm's way. Such a routine would be valuable in that it also reinforced all the other steps I'd take to insure safety. That way, the reminder and the routine would keep me safer.

I'd be very unlikely to meet anyone interested in if I'm single or married when switching cars or poking around in locomotive electrical cabinents.

Answer 6

It depends on what your job is, how you work with your hands, and your own personal preference.

My father was a carman, and he never wore his wedding ring. One of my uncles started as a carman, but transferred over to transportation about 20 years ago. As a conductor/engineer, he wears his ring, not sure if he did when he was a carman. Myself, as a conductor, I still wear my ring.

As a conductor, I don't feel there's a strong likelihood I'll get my ring caught, owing mostly to wearing thick gloves when I perform my work. Plus, knowing my luck, I'd lose the ring if I took it off.

Answer 7

I worked as a replacement for a guy who was jogging once, caught his ring on a barrier, got it pulled off and had to have it reattached. I've also heard about guys jumping up to attach/detach nets on soccer goals, caught their rings and had their fingers yanked off.

I've never worked on railroads, but I've heard stories about rings catching. I dunno about gloves though, but they wear thin fairly quickly, especially at the joints. Anyway, I wouldn't risk it, especially with equipment like that. I mean, you catch it on a barrier and you can get it reattached, but if it comes off and falls on a hot rod or goes under a hammer and gets crushed or something, it might be unattachable. Why don't you leave it at home before work?

Answer 8

two things that i know of the danger of the ring while working first it will get caught by any rotating machinery second it is a conductor and electricity is your main problem but i work in a railway never heard any accident regarding the ring.regarding an ac power you touch it with ring or no ring youll get cook just common sense always prevail while your working

Answer 9

since wearing a ring can help shear a finger when it comes to heavy objects smashing you fingers together this ain;t no kind of help when it comes to giving a high 5 to some one instead it will be a low 4

Answer 10

Mechanical department employees for CSX are prohibited to wear rings while on duty...I am sure there is a good reason...Metal watch bands can also be a hazard....