Always be able to pay attention when using public transportation

[Caveat Emptor]

I was riding the Metro into Greenbelt this morning on the way to my dentist. Greenbelt is the last / northernmost station on the Green Line. As I'm getting off, the engineer announces "This train is now out of service, repeat, This train is now out of service. Please do not board, please do not board! Thank you!"

A few doors down there is a young man with full headphones on. He boards. I try to get his attention but he is in his own world, completely oblivious. I shake my head, walk to the escalator and say in a low voice "Enjoy your trip to the rail yard!"

[protege]

He'd have a fun time on our transit system too. Most of the subway (amusing, since most of the system is *above* ground ) cars are stored at South Hills Village. However, every now and then though, the agency hides them in other places...including the return loops under downtown. He'd crap his pants being left in those dark tunnels at night

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

I've been noticing so many people out in public with headphones on or earbuds jammed in their ears. What's the deal with that?

Not only could it be very unsafe, but it's also a great way to pwn yourself in an embarrassing and amusing manner.

[aurelemsrealm]

I can't say I wouldn't be plugged into my earphones to occupy myself on the way, but I do try to keep watch for what's going on around me. I also don't have my earphones extremely loud so that I can still hear some of what's going on around me. I may just have them kind of hanging near my ears so that I can still hear the outside world. I never let myself get so wrapped up in my own world when in public that I can't peek out and realize when something unusual is going on around me.

[Dreamstalker]

I have my earbuds in on long transit trips, but they're intentionally not noise-cancelling so I can still hear the stops. Most of the passengers that flip out about missing their stop (oh noes, you'll have to walk a whole two blocks!) have their music cranked so half the train can hear it.

To get to school I have to take the Green Line inbound to the end; I can't count how many times people try to board after the "This train is being taken out of service" announcement (usually the driver will also turn out the interior lights if there aren't any handicapped passengers). Granted, the "end" on my train is 2 stops before the actual end of the line, but usually there's a reason it's being rerouted (schedule, disabled equipment, etc).

One old lady tried to shove her way onto a train with a definite burning-hydraulics odor (it had been deemed disabled shortly before my stop and the driver was just able to limp it to the platform and open the doors). Even if you don't know exactly what that burning smell is, wouldn't that alone be a reason not to board?

[KellyHabersham]

I've been noticing so many people out in public with headphones on or earbuds jammed in their ears. What's the deal with that?

Not only could it be very unsafe, but it's also a great way to pwn yourself in an embarrassing and amusing manner.

For me, it's because I want to discourage people from approaching/talking to me......especially when I'm waiting at the bus stop. (hasn't happened as often lately, but I used to run into creepy guys trying to flirt, or would have to wait at a stop where someone who was drunk/on drugs/mentally ill was hanging around)

[ArcticChicken]

I do it because I get uncomfortable in crowds and having music on helps me to deal.

[Kanalah]

If I'm in a bad mood, or in a hurry while grocery shopping, I'll put my ipod earbuds in. The funny thing is that I just let the cord dangle down to my pocket, where there is no ipod. Mine bit the dust over 4 years of service and I'm saving up for a new one.

[Sonoma]

I just bought an iPod Touch from a co-worker, and I have been using it on my train ride home, along with the walk to the train station. Makes the 1/2 mile walk go much faster, and the 45 minute train ride is much more pleasant.

I keep the volume down low enough that I still hear the cars going by, and I'm one of those old-fashioned people that still looks both ways before I cross the street.

[Jester]

Back in the day I used to always ride my bicycle with my Walkman. And my mother could never understand how I could do that and not get killed. I would explain it very simply to her: "I can STILL hear what's going on around me, and I make a point of paying attention!"

As a cyclist and a fan of music, I will state publicly hear that anyone that bicycles with earphones that are either noise-canceling or cranked so loud they can't hear anything else is a world-class top notch grade A moron.

[Chromatix]

Just the other day, actually, I noticed a couple of people who had done this.

On the Helsinki Metro, the depot is not at any of the termini - it is connected to the Y-junction well outside the city centre. This means that the termini just have a turnback siding or two sat beyond the platforms. (This is partly a planning-ahead exercise, as it makes extending the line easier without having to close the terminus.) Trains usually arrive in one platform, then continue into the turnback and reverse into the other platform.

It just so happens that my workplace is very near the current western terminus, so I'm quite familiar with the much longer announcement that is read out for this station. Oddly, it is not repeated in English, only Finnish and Swedish, but it essentially reminds people that this is the last station so please get off - all the other stations only have their name(s) read out (usually more than one name because it's a bilingual country).

Anyway, what did I see on my way home but a couple leaving the train after it had pulled into the departure platform. Clearly they hadn't bothered to get off in the usual place...