Cite as: 516 U. S. 400 (1996)
Opinion of the Court
tion of § 2 were liable for "a penalty of one hundred dollars for each and every such violation." Act of Mar. 2, 1893, 27 Stat. 531, 45 U. S. C. § 6 (1988 ed.), recodified, as amended, 49 U. S. C. § 21302(a). The amount of the penalty for a § 2 violation has varied over the years,16 but the threat of a penalty has not. Yet Hiles points to not a single instance in which a railroad has been fined for misaligned drawbars. It is not the case that the Government has simply neglected to enforce the penalty provisions of the SAA for nearly 100 years.17 We think there is a better explanation than that the Government has failed to enforce this particular aspect of the SAA since its inception: A misaligned drawbar simply is not a violation of § 2.18
Finally, relying on the railroads' experimental attempts to develop automatic realigning devices, Hiles argues that Congress' clear intent to protect railroad employees in coupling operations required the railroads to "develop a mechanism for automatic realignment of a drawbar." Brief for Respondent 27. Or, in the words of his amicus, "[t]he Legislative wisdom of Section 2 is that it is as flexible as technology." Brief for United Transportation Union as Amicus
16 The statute currently requires the Secretary of Transportation to impose a penalty of "at least $500 but not more than $10,000." 49 U. S. C. § 21302(a)(2).
17 See, e. g., Chicago, B. & Q. R. Co. v. United States, 220 U. S. 559 (1911) (§ 1 power brake violations); Alabama Great Southern R. Co. v. United States, 233 F. 2d 520 (CA5 1956) (§ 2 coupler violation); United States v. St. Louis-San Francisco R. Co., 271 F. Supp. 212 (WD Mo. 1967) (§ 9 brake violation); United States v. Gulf, M. & O. R. Co., 76 F. Supp. 289 (ED La. 1948) (§ 2 coupler violation).
18 Hiles' view of § 2 also conflicts with regulations promulgated by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) that provide for the safety of employees who go between cars to "prepare rail cars for coupling," 49 CFR § 218.22(c)(5) (1994), or to "adjust a coupling device," § 218.39(a). In its proposed rulemaking for § 218.39, the FRA explained that the proposed rule would protect employees who place themselves between cars to couple air hoses or adjust coupling devices, including "adjusting drawbars." 48 Fed. Reg. 45272, 45273 (1983).
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