Woman Kicked of Amtrak for Cell Phone Use

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

45-second video clip of how Mr. Spock and Capt. Kirk dealt with an arrogant punk rocker on a bus with a loud boom box that he refused to turn down when asked - from Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) - see: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092007/

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr82dZpCr48 

If only something similar could have been done in this instance . . .

See also the comments at the bottom for the 'back story' on that - it's kind of funny.

- Paul North.

[kolechovski]

A few more links on this...nothing much to add likely, but a few more takes on it:

http://gawker.com/5802980/hero-cops-escort-cellphone-loudmouth-off-train
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110518/us_yblog_thelookout/loud-cell-phone-talker-removed-from-quiet-car-by-police
http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/18/the-ridiculist-cell-phone-lady/

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

"+1" to NKP guy's post above, and also Don's.  The problem would have been obvious after just an hour.  Why not put her off before departure - or at least closer to the point of departure - than all the way up in Oregon ? 

And could she really have gotten good cell phone signal reception on the Amtrak/ UP (ex-SP) route in the wilderness portions of the northern California Coast Range and Siskiyou Mountains in Oregon ?

If you think about it seriously, she must also be having one or multiple mental/ emotional/ personal/ awareness/ politeness "issues" of some kinds, besides the obvious ones . . .  

Unfortunately, this demonstrates a major reason why many people are reluctant to use public transportation - they won't be exposed to this if they drive their own car, or take an airplane where the cell phone rules are enforced more strictly (and passengers are of course screened by TSA before boarding).  What if she'd tried that stunt on an airplane ?  Yes, they'd have put her off - but after landing first, and then again into the custody of local police.*  But if you ride a bus or a train, you're vulnerable to people with all kinds of problems.  At least on a train, you might be able to get up and find another car - or at least another seat - further away from the culprit. 

 More broadly, this is also an often unexamined and unstated reason why people don't want to live closer together in multi-family housing such as townhouses, condominiums, apartments, etc., or even in dense urban areas.  The inability and ineffectiveness of society to educate, "socialize" (train), prevent, suppress, or ultimately police against this kind of "quality of life" problem - esp. noise - is what drives people to live in suburbs, sprawled out so as to minimize the risks and effects of these kinds of problems.  But what that means is that aggregating enough working people for effective use of mass transit such as trains or light rail becomes far more difficult, and at both ends - the 'origin' at the 'bedroom community', and the 'destination' at the 'urban core', because there isn;t one any more - it too is all spread out. 

*(Part of me wonders about the jurisdictional aspects of this kind of event.  The 'criminal acts' presumably occurred some miles before = outside the legal jurisdictional limits of the town where she was thrown off - so on what legitimate basis do the local cops have to hold her ?  They didn't personally witness the bad behavior, which is sometimes required to prosecute misdemeanor offenses such as this.  So presumably they did that on the 'say-so' of the train's conductor and maybe a few bold passengers - but did thos epeople from the train have to sign a formal written complaint, or an affidavit of some kind, etc. ?  Where will the hearing be held ?  Will they have to come back and testify to provide the necessary evidence in person ?  Just curious about the mechanics of it, that's all . . . )

It'll be mildly interesting to see what else comes out about this event - "the rest of the story".  If nothing else, a few comedians will have fun with it.  I bet it'll show up on this week's edition of "Wait, wait - don't tell me . . . ".   

- Paul North. 

[DMUinCT]

In view of the increase use of trains by business men (at least in the Northeast), their use of Laptops and Smart Phones to conduct work while traveling, and the problems that causes, Amtrak has one or more cars on most trains called "Quiet Cars".

   If you only want to relax and enjoy your trip, you have a "Quiet Car"  where voices are low and no cell phones are blaring away.   Some passengers have no respect for their fellow passengers, then it's up to the Train Crew.

[NKP guy]

The amazing thing to me is that the train crew apparently did nothing to enforce their own regulation for 16 hours.  Why have rules, if people can flout them and not be put off the train?  Funny, Amtrak crews have no trouble being firm with me ("close that door-window, sir" or "No, dinner is at 5, 7, or 9...you can't go at 6:30").  Would they have let this`person smoke for 16 hours?

The conductor ought to be the one in trouble (aside from the smoker).  It's his train,so enforce the rules!  There must be more to this story because I've never yet met such a seemingly spineless conductor.

[blue streak 1]

What was the cell phone brand?. I need one with a 12 hr battery like a hole in the head?!! 

[selector]

I am reminded of the old joke reputed to be due to Thoma Edisons' response to an admirer's contention to his wife that Edison had invented the 'talking machine'.   Edison corrected him by saing, "
God invented the talking machine.  I invented one that can be turned off."

 

[RudyRockvilleMD]

Was she recently innoculated with a phonograph needle?  

 

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

BaltACD

  Throw Mama from the train! 

     

[conrailman]

It was all over the News on Fox&Cnn, plus the Newspaper too.  Did she not go to Lounge Car or Dining Car or to the Bathroom in that 16 hours?

[Murphy Siding]

    You know, sometimes when I read of a story like this,  I'm very thankfull.  I'm thankfull that this woman does not have my phone number.

[Anonymous]

Several years ago, whilst riding the Texas Eagle from Dallas to Chicago, I was awakened in the middle of the night by a guy outside of my roomette shouting into a cell phone.  He kept it up for more than an hour. Finally, I asked the train crew to ask him to move.  When they did so he became belligerent.  As a result of the incident, I can see why the train crews are reluctant to confront unruly passengers.  If they do so, they run the risk of being assaulted or charged with discrimination.

[BaltACD]

Throw Mama from the train!

[Ishmael]

Who could put up with that aggravation for 16 hours without becoming violent? Especially in a quiet car with signs posted.

Another sign of the approach of the apacolypse.

[zardoz]

I bet the microwaves were cooking her brain cells rather nicely (which might explain her actions....).

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

  Her sentence should be to have to sit for 16 hours next to an F40 with the HEP screaming away in an underground terminal . . .   

[trainboyH16-44]

HOW DO YOU DO THAT

HOW CAN YOU EVEN TALK FOR THAT LONG

WHAT WAS SHE TALKING ABOUT?

[/capslockcruisecontrol]

[GP-9_Man11786]

A woman was kicked off an Amtrak train after talking on a cell phone for 16 hours straight. Here's the story: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43078616/ns/technology_and_science-wireless/t/cops-kick-cellphone-blabbermouth-train/?GT1=43001