11 ms·
Such a tragic loss. Like many people, I never wore a seatbelt while riding in a taxi. I'm not really sure why, it just seemed somehow to be the social norm and
by po 11y ago
Such a tragic loss.
Like many people, I never wore a seatbelt while riding in a taxi. I'm not really sure why, it just seemed somehow to be the social norm and I went along with it. Then one day, my co-worker and his girlfriend were both severely injured while in an accident crossing the east river in manhattan.
Ever since then, I've gotten in the habit of using my seatbelt while in a taxi, car, bus, or whatever. Sometimes I get weird looks from it. Sometimes I find that the seatbelt is buried in the seat because seemingly nobody has used it for months. I do the same thing here in Tokyo and I believe its still rare for passengers to care but at least the cars are cleaner and the belts are better maintained.
It's a bit odd that we (New Yorkers in this case) allow the TLC to push back on those regulations and win.
- msutherl 11y agoI'm going to start buckling up in cabs now. Same as wearing earplugs at clubs, you might get weird looks, but it's better to be uncool than dead (or living with tinnitus).
- po 11y agoDoes it surprise you at all that I also carried around a set of earplugs on my keychain all through my college years? I highly recommend these as they don't change the audio spectrum very much compared to the foam kind: http://www.etymotic.com/consumer/hearing-protection/er20.html http://www.etymotic.com/consumer/hearing-protection/er20.htm... I think I just really like low-impact high-reward behaviors. People tend to over-insure for common and minor issues and under-insure fore rare but costly ones.
- uxp100 11y agoHere's a tip for those who may read this and pick up a pair of these. It may sound obvious, but do take some time to adjust the depth of the plug based on what sounds good. I spent a year using them, but taking them out for a favorite song, or only for bands I didn't like much, because they rolled off the highs too much. Then, (at an underwhelming Wolves In The Throne Room show) I backed them out of my ear just a little. It was a touch louder, and I got the highs I wanted.
- tomjen3 11y agoYou seem a very smart person, any chance I can get a quick list of your other "weird" behaviours?
- po 11y agoThanks for the complement! Hmmm... not easy to think of them. It's not that they're weird, in practice they come off as sounding very normal, but very conservative. I would say the first thing to do is to get to know all of the known cognitive biases surrounding risk because just about all humans suck at it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identifiable_victim_effect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identifiable_victim_effect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudocertainty_effect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudocertainty_effect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_compensation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_compensation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-risk_bias http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-risk_bias Actually study all of them... Then after studying those, be sure to study the cognitive bias blind spot so that you don't become overconfident ;-) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bias_blind_spot http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bias_blind_spot http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases Also, read Warren Buffett's annual letters to shareholders and try to emulate his approach to risk. I think he's very good at it. My biggest problem, after becoming more risk-aware is being comfortable taking calculated risks. I often can come off as a bit of a party-pooper. Nothing says "Life of the party" quite like piling into a cab while hopping from one bar to the next and spending the first 45 seconds of a 5 minute cab ride trying to fish a seatbelt out from under your drinking buddy's ass. I would say other behaviors that could seem odd to some people are: * Never play lotto, but always buy tickets for local fund raisers or charity giveaways that have desirable prizes. My wife and I won a week long Black Sea cruise at a charity event where tickets were $10 each but I estimate less than 600 tickets were sold. * Always buy things like renter's insurance (not likely to be used but will wipe you out if you need it and don't have it) but skip things like those insurance policies they offer at the store for non-big-ticket items. * I stopped worrying about flying but I've become very pro-bicycle even though I don't bike much at all (because I'm a pedestrian and cars are a bigger risk to me than bikes). * Pick software frameworks and libraries more based on well-trod paths than the new hotness. Avoid the very old and for the very new, wait a bit. * And finally, on the other hand: I quit my job, moved halfway around the world, and started a startup in a country that is notoriously hard to do business in (Japan). That would seem very risky but it was the sum of a lot of very calculated moves that seemed like good bets when I took them. There are probably a lot more. I bet you have some too.
- _kyran 11y agoOne thing of note with them, whilst they are better than nothing, they are only rated to 12db, I carry a set of them at all times, but also some foam ones (rated at 30db attenuation) to protect my hears when music is 110db plus. (It won't sound as good, but stops my tinnitus from getting worse)
- msutherl 11y agoI use these: http://www.amazon.com/Vater-Percussion-Musicians-Ear-Plugs/dp/B002RWKR7K http://www.amazon.com/Vater-Percussion-Musicians-Ear-Plugs/d... – the same if not slightly better than the Etymotics and more likely to be available at your local music store. ++ advice to adjust the depth. I'm always modulating them based on the environment / band / track playing.
- DigitalSea 11y agoGreat advice. I always carry around a couple of pairs of ER-20's. They're really cheap, they work well and they last a long time.
- CarVac 11y agoI have the same Etymotics earplugs as someone in an above comment. They were the best 15 dollar purchase I've ever made. I wear them even in only moderately loud situations. Unlike foam earplugs, the only part that is visible is clear plastic so most people don't notice.
- raverbashing 11y agoUnless you're working in a club or going there very frequently, I'm not sure wearing earplugs is going to make a big difference Edit: see below for a better definition of frequently
- _kyran 11y agoCutting out 12db makes a huge difference (as decibels are measured on a non-linear scale). It can make the difference between hearing this for the rest of your life or not: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HIfqyHbKgY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HIfqyHbKgY
- po 11y agoIn my case, in college, I would go to a club or show that was hearing-damaging probably at least once a week. Hundreds of shows a year, so I think that would qualify as very frequently as you say. One of my friends was in a band and over the years that I knew him, I noticed he started to mix down his own music recordings hotter and hotter on the treble. I asked him why he was doing that and he said "I don't know, this is just how it sounds good to me." Later I realized that he probably has hearing damage and doesn't realize how much treble is in the mix for normal ears. Keep in mind that 85db for sustained periods of time is the low end where noise induced hearing loss can begin. That's not really that loud. It's likely that your headphones can crank out over 100db and many people work in environments with loud, constant ambient noise.
- raverbashing 11y agoAh yes, from one a week to hundreds per year is definitely going to have an important effect Bands usually should be using ear protection as well.
- starky 11y agoPretty much everyone I know that goes out to a club regularly wears earplugs. People are unlikely to even notice if you are wearing a pair of musicians earplugs.
- higherpurpose 11y agoThat's why I really like cars which make a sound if you don't have your seatbelt on. That way they don't give you the choice of not wearing the seatbelt and it's how it should be. This is why in such cases I strongly believe governments should force companies to enable something like that. The social norms are stupid and this would give you the excuse to ignore them without giving it a second thought (hey, the car is making me wear it!).
- DanBC 11y agoPeople just fasten the seat belt while they're not sitting in the seat then sit on the fastened belt.
- sgift 11y agoGood. Now, we have an active act of non-compliance with an (hopefully? please?) existing law that forces you to buckle up. Let's start the fines with 1k and see if this helps, if not, go up. Not buckling up is so insane, I cannot even begin to imagine it ..
- sukilot 11y agoFine someone for hurting themself? How nanny. Just note that negligence is liability for their injury medical costs.
- eropple 11y agoThis might be a surprise to you, just a touch, but liability for injury costs is effectively meaningless when you've killed someone.
- lotsofcows 11y agoYes, because people are so good at judging risk. Go on, say something using the word, "Darwin".
- learnstats2 11y ago
- krschultz 11y agoI started wearing the seatbelt in NYC cabs after I saw the results of a relatively minor cab accident. The plastic barrier between the passenger and driver compartments was covered in blood. That's all the convincing I needed.
- jkestner 11y agoThat would make an excellent decal for a "buckle up" campaign.
- ufo 11y agoI have gotten into the habit of always checking if the seatbelt is there before I get into a taxi and if its not I ride on the front seat. Well, I guess at least now I can tell a story about a famous guy who died from not wearing a seatbelt in the taxi whenever I get those odd looks from people. I have always wondered why its so common to find cars with the rear seatbelts missing. The common story I get from taxi drivers is that passengers who don't like sitting on top of belt buckles shove them into the seat.
- seanmcdirmid 11y agoThis is probably true. Most Beijing taxis are missing rear seat belts, usually shoved somewhere. Given Beijing traffic, it is quite scary, especially when the taxi driver looks like they are at the end of a 20 hour shift.
- david-given 11y agoWhen I was working in Beijing, the seatbelts were usually there, but tucked underneath the seat cover (and so inaccessible). I'm from the UK, where using a seatbelt is pretty much universal, and when getting into the cab I'd automatically pluck at where the seatbelt should be. Once when I was taking a ride with our agent there, a local, and he saw me do this, he told me off quite sharply for it...
- seanmcdirmid 11y agoYou should use didi zhuanche in Beijing, it's like Uber and the vehicles are nicer (Buick or high end VW usually in Beijing) without seat covers...so the seat belts are always usable. They also give you free bottled water. A bit more pricey than the taxi, but maybe living is worth it.
- tyfon 11y agoI _always_ buckle up, even in bus. I've gotten looks from taxi drives in south Europe for this, they treat it as an insult. I feel it's better to insult than be dead. Afaik since you get fined quite severely in Norway where I live (and most of Europe) if you don't wear a seat belt, the rate of use is much higher than the US. He will be missed. Hopefully it can put focus on such a simple thing to save lives.
- themartorana 11y agoOddly, you get fined in the U.S. for not wearing a seatbelt in the car you're driving ("Click it or ticket!") but I've never heard of someone being cited for not wearing one in a cab. Is it because it's the back seat?
- po 11y agoAt least in manhattan, the yellow-taxi cab Taxi and Limousine Commission (the TLC I mentioned above) lobbied have an exemption to that law. Same thing with baby carriers. It's illegal to have a baby in a car without a certified car seat, but it's legal in a NYC taxi to just hold them: http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/faq/faq_pass.shtml#9 http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/faq/faq_pass.shtml#9
- userbinator 11y ago"Seatbelt culture" probably depends greatly on the local culture. In the UK, the driver of a taxi is allowed to not wear one, but not the passengers. http://www.driving-law.co.uk/offences/seat_belts-exemptions.asp http://www.driving-law.co.uk/offences/seat_belts-exemptions....
- marvel_boy 11y agoThe same in Spain.
- mmarx 11y agoAlso in Germany, where the driver is allowed not to wear a seatbelt while carrying passengers, but has to wear a seatbelt as long as the taxi is empty (passengers are always required to wear seatbelts).
- lotsofmangos 11y agoI was talking to a cab driver in Bristol about that and it is apparently because drivers were getting robbed by people strangling them with the seatbelt.
- jwdunne 11y agoI had the same conversation with a private hire in Salford. He said that it's easy for someone to strangle you from behind with the seatbelt. My dad never brought that curious aspect up (ex-taxi driver of ten years) but you can pick up dangerous people. I remember when I was younger, he had to take me to the police station as he identified someone in a photo book. He said at the time it was a 'runner' but I later found out it was because of a man who he had dropped off who went on to attack his ex-wife and ex-mother-in-law with an axe, which he had the whole time in my dad's car. Knowing about these sorts of experiences, I can understand why they would forgo protection of a seatbelt when they potentially pick up these types of people. It wasn't all bad though. He has fond memories of picking up famous Manchester Utd footballers, his favourite team, before they were famous, e.g David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, etc.
- ajdlinux 11y ago
- toddkazakov 11y agoI am always using the seatbelt. I recently realized that when you are on the backseat of a car, by buckling up you are protecting the person in front of you. In case of an accident applying your weight to the one in the seat in front of you might cause more damage than the accident itself.
- simpleigh 11y agoA few years ago there was a series of adverts in the UK advertising exactly this danger. You might think you're OK with only a broken nose, but you've just crushed the person in front of you to death. Sorry to sound so melodramatic, but I think that was the point of the advert!
- TazeTSchnitzel 11y agoLike this one? http://youtu.be/TWLmoeoHrP4 http://youtu.be/TWLmoeoHrP4 "Like most victims, Julie knew her killer. It was her son."
- switch007 11y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_%28public_information_film%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_%28public_information_fi...
- switch007 11y agoI remember those adverts. I think they were very timely (1998) because it was only 1991 legislation came in to affect that required adults to wear seat belts in the back of the car. Various seatbelt changes were finally implemented in the 80s and early 90s, but attitudes unfortunately had not shifted much (the people who I knew, anyway). Also, my parents and grandparents grew up in different times in which seat belts were not required, or even present in the rear. That video also highlights something I do too often: paying too much attention to what's going on behind. The dangers ahead are far greater.
- ngoede 11y agoWhen I was in Japan and the majority of the taxis I got into would complain to the driver until I fastened my seat belt. I have made a point of wearing them in taxis for a while. The major place I don't though is buses.
- 15thandwhatever 11y agoBefore the current iteration of NYC in-cab media (the Windows system that plays a playlist of AVIs), there used to be a set of speakers in the rear of the cab. At the beginning of every ride, it would play a pre-recorded message from you, generally from Michael Bloomberg or some other local celebrity asking you to buckle up. This got me into the habit of buckling up. Now, the in-cab media plays a brief video message with no audio that tells you rates, who to call with an issue (311), and to buckle your seatbelt. Maybe the lack of an audio prompt is why it's ignored now?
- eshvk 11y ago> Maybe the lack of an audio prompt is why it's ignored now? Interesting. I am guilty of having missed buckling ever so often. Mainly because I have had a speed are so slow, it doesn't matter attitude. I am also new enough to the city that I didn't experience the pre-recorded messages.
- macspoofing 11y ago>I've gotten in the habit of using my seatbelt while in a taxi, car, bus, or whatever. Are there seatbelts in buses?
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- btgeekboy 11y agoSome of them, yes. I've been on some buses (usually tour buses in some part of Europe) where the driver insists everyone buckles up.
- tomphoolery 11y agoHonestly I never understood that social norm of not wearing a seatbelt in a taxi. I'm much more confident in my driving skills than some dude yelling in some foreign language on his cell phone the entire time we're driving because at least I'm focused on one thing at a time. Sometimes the taxi doesn't even have visible seatbelts in the back (this is Philly I'm talking about, where getting around regulation is only a $200 bribe away!). The one great thing about Uber/Lyft/et. al. is how they forced the taxi companies to step up their game and make getting a cab less of a shithole experience, at least here in Philly. Cabs are much cleaner, the drivers are not always distracted with some bullshit, and you can even hail them with an app. Before Uber came around, taxis were well aware that they were the fastest way from point A to point B (if you don't have a bike), and they gave precisely zero fucks whether you were having a nice/safe time.
- awfullyjohn 11y agoI also never understood the social norm of not wearing a seatbelt in a taxi, but went along with it for my first few years living in New York. I think the mention of "some dude yelling in some foreign language" is unnecessary. A person's native tongue says nothing of their intellectual capacity, nor of their ability to safely navigate a city.
- hackinthebochs 11y agoConsidering the driving conventions in some other countries where lawlessness is the norm, I think the mention of yelling in a foreign language adds information.
- fffrad 11y agoThere is a culture of not wearing the seat belt as a sign of trust. When I was in Egypt, I'd get in the cab, wear my seat belt and the driver will look at me weird. "So you don't think I can drive?" A few years later, the police started enforcing the law and most cabs didn't even have seat belts. You would get in and find a sort of belt that doesn't even tighten, hacked together only to circumvent the law. Not to say that in the US it is any better. If you wear a seat belt while in the back seat, you are considered weird. It is a stigma that is not easy to get rid of especially for the younger generation. Side note: I do get some dude yelling in English too. So yes, it is irrelevant.
- murbard2 11y agoI think it's because people tend to associate the cabs with the slow speeds involved in the city. I typically don't buckle up in Manhattan, except on the FDR or the West Side Highway, or if we're going above 30 mph. For those unfamiliar with the NJ turnpike, where the accident happened, the speed limit is 65 mph and people drive like maniacs. Definitely a place where you want your seatbelt one.
- ics 11y agoAgreed. Another recent incident on the turnpike was the crash that injured Tracy Morgan (comedian) and killed another. If the NJ Turnpike isn't the place to wear a seatbelt then I don't know where is.
- stephen_g 11y agoThat is just bizarre to me. Being raised in Australia in the 90s, the idea that you would ever not wear a seatbelt in a car is just completely foreign to me... Some busses don't have seatbelts, but for everything else it's just a subconscious thing that I always do (and as far as I know it's the same for almost everyone here because the penalties are quite severe - in some states, the driver can get demerit points if one of their passengers is not wearing one. For example, at certain times (usually holidays) in New South Wales when they have double demerit points, if you have two passengers unrestrained you get 12 points (at 13 points you lose your license for 3 months).
- peteretep 11y agoIn Bangkok I pay a premium to use Uber, because their seatbelts always work; the regular cabs here never seem to have them. As someone else mentioned, this might be a British thing, as it's completely inconceivable to me that you wouldn't put a seatbelt on if one was available.
- eshvk 11y ago> In Bangkok I pay a premium to use Uber, because their seatbelts always work This is a bit off-topic. Do a lot of people use Uber? I have been here for a few days, can't seem to find an Uber. The app always says not-available. Flagging a cab seems a nightmare for a tourist. And grabtaxi works but there appears to be some level of negotiation at the end of the ride. The grabtaxi prices seem more like a suggestion.
- peteretep 11y agoHeavily dependent on the part of town you're in. Where I live, available 50% of the time. Sukhumvit is crawling with them. Also they're always available at the airport which is a huge win.
- eshvk 11y agoGonna be hanging out in Sukhumvit today, let me attempt to check it out. Thanks for the tips!
- malka 11y agoEspecially since from a game theory PoV, one should wear a seatbelt : it is a life saver, and it has verry little drawback.