Monday, July 28, 2014

Short Shorts on Transportation (A David'Z RantZ Post from 5/21/08)


1. You know, they've been making automobiles for well over a hundred years now. In all that time, why the hell haven't the car manufacturers gotten together and said, "Okay, everybody, once and for all: We put the gasoline tank filler pipe on this side!" It would save so much time and confusion at the gas pumps if we could all drive up to the pumps the same way. The federal government loves regulating all things concerning cars, like emissions devices, safety features, and what have you... Why don't they step in and say, "From 2015 on, all gasoline tanks must be filled from the left [or the right... or even the center, behind the license plate]. We hated to pass this law, but it was painfully obvious that the idiotic auto companies were never going to get around to it."

2. On a related note, I will never believe that the government is truly serious about protecting automobile passengers until someone steps in and protects the children we send to school in those death traps we complacently call "school buses." When a school bus gets in an accident, its cargo of young lives is about as well-protected as a dozen eggs would be if I placed those eggs in a plastic bag and threw said bag against a nearby wall. "Save the children," indeed.

3. Finally...

For as long as I can remember, I've heard jokes and complaints about how the airlines lose people's luggage.

I can fix that. Right now.

What the airlines need to do is to remove a few unnecessary steps from the whole process. Each company needs to hire someone who is currently working for a bus company like Greyhound, Trailways, Peter Pan, et al, -- Are all of those companies still in existence? -- quadruple their salaries, and let them tackle the way things are being done.

Within weeks, these new consultants will have instituted new systems where, after going through baggage security checks, each passenger brings his (or her) own bags directly to the plane he'll be flying on. Then he'll watch as it's loaded onto the correct plane, so he'll know it'll fly to the same destination he's going to, at the same time that he does.

What could be simpler than that?

(Pay me.)

Thanks for your time.

14 comments:

  1. ha. yeah, it surprises me that we still do not have safety belts on school buses...not if we are serious about auto safety....

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  2. I don't understand school buses. It's not just the lack of seat belts. It's the kids who attack other kids, and who jump around in the aisles. I stopped sending The Hurricane to school on the bus and just drove her to school. The bus was too dangerous. The last time I flew, I couldn't help hearing the troubles of a family from Sweden who were complaining to an airline clerk about items missing from their luggage. The clerk insisted that their things had somehow slipped out of their closed bags. I was tempted to tap the father of the family on the shoulder (he was doing most of the talking) and tell him that his quest was pointless because the baggage handlers had stolen their valuables. I figured I'd better stay out of it, though, because I didn't want my body to disappear during the flight.

    Love,
    Janie

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    Replies
    1. Their belongings "had somehow slipped out of their closed bags?" Suuuurrrre, that makes perfect sense. Good thing for you that you remained silent, though.

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  3. Gov is too damn cheap, think big seats work. lol that would save a lot of luggage issues

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  4. I learned recently that many cars have an arrow on the gas gauge telling you which side of the vehicle the gas tank is on. My car doesn't have that.

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    Replies
    1. Wow. Neither does mine. Never heard of that.

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    2. http://blog.allstate.com/is-your-gas-cap-on-the-left-or-the-right/

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    3. Wow. Interesting article. Thanks!

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  5. okay. So the other day I'm driving the spousal unit's truck. It needs gas. I never put gas in it because I never drive it. I pull into a gas station & realize I don't know on which side of the truck resides the tank opening. I take a guess and go for the opposite side of the truck than that of my car, an Audi. I get out. I look along the side. No gas tank opening. I get in. I do the turn around in the teeny gas station parking area & back into the other side. I do not have great depth perception so backing in with a long bed is not fun. I get out. The f'ing tank is STILL not on the other side. I walk around the truck to see if it's in the back. It's not. It's on the ORIGINAL side on which I parked. It's in the middle of the truck not the rear wheel well. I am now so pissed at myself. I have to do another turn around & ooch into the original spot which, thankfully, has not been taken by one of the thousands of tourists visiting our resort town this summer. Miracle. I finally get gas and wonder, "Why don't the f'ing car mfgrs put the G'Damn tanks on the same damn side?"

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  6. This is called "vindication" by li'l ole bloggers such as myself. :)

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