missleadfoot
9th Mar 2004, 09:23
This is a thought that has gone through my mind since the day I started flying and I hope someone can enlighten me.
I have been flying a long time and I am proud of the safety standards I have been taught and maintain. However, I do fly a hell of a lot as a passenger on planes but also on public buses and trains. On aeroplanes we must insist that pax remain seated with their seatbelts fastened while taxiing until the aircraft has come to a complete stop and the seatbelt sign has been switched off. We all know this is for the welfare and safety of our pax and ourselves. Then why is it that when you board a bus or train they never wait till the pax are seated before they "take off"? I'm sure many of you have been thrown into the laps of elderly people, lost your footing and experienced a lot more jolting and "turbulance" while standing on a bus or train when the driver is stopping and starting, using a bit more lead and using the brake too severely. I have had more dangerous times on a bus or train than in my years of flying yet they continue to put us through this hell till we finally grab a seat at the back and secure ourselves after 3 or more stops when seats become available. Prime example is Sydney and anyone from there will know what I'm talking about. Law suits could cripple the public transport industry.
I completely understand and agree to the reasons we have our rules on board but it just seems ludicrous that other industries get away with situations that are extremely more potentially dangerous and more frequent than ours. I have been involved in two bus crashes, yes thats 2 more plane incidents than I would like to be involved in but hey, these are frequent, ours are not, shouldn't the transport department be looking at this??
I am proud that we have to yell to pax to sit down but every accident has the potential to kill many people, including buses and trains. I guess with us we have the man power to enforce these rules, they dont. Still, it's a dangerous situation and I am amazed no one has sued, yet!!
Let me know your thoughts.......
I have been flying a long time and I am proud of the safety standards I have been taught and maintain. However, I do fly a hell of a lot as a passenger on planes but also on public buses and trains. On aeroplanes we must insist that pax remain seated with their seatbelts fastened while taxiing until the aircraft has come to a complete stop and the seatbelt sign has been switched off. We all know this is for the welfare and safety of our pax and ourselves. Then why is it that when you board a bus or train they never wait till the pax are seated before they "take off"? I'm sure many of you have been thrown into the laps of elderly people, lost your footing and experienced a lot more jolting and "turbulance" while standing on a bus or train when the driver is stopping and starting, using a bit more lead and using the brake too severely. I have had more dangerous times on a bus or train than in my years of flying yet they continue to put us through this hell till we finally grab a seat at the back and secure ourselves after 3 or more stops when seats become available. Prime example is Sydney and anyone from there will know what I'm talking about. Law suits could cripple the public transport industry.
I completely understand and agree to the reasons we have our rules on board but it just seems ludicrous that other industries get away with situations that are extremely more potentially dangerous and more frequent than ours. I have been involved in two bus crashes, yes thats 2 more plane incidents than I would like to be involved in but hey, these are frequent, ours are not, shouldn't the transport department be looking at this??
I am proud that we have to yell to pax to sit down but every accident has the potential to kill many people, including buses and trains. I guess with us we have the man power to enforce these rules, they dont. Still, it's a dangerous situation and I am amazed no one has sued, yet!!
Let me know your thoughts.......