Bus and shuttles to Disney do not have seatbelts

[Edd]

Is anyone aware that this type of transportation to Disney is not equipped with seatbelts or ways to strap babyseats up or hold youngsters down in case of crashes? Are the busses and shuttle vans less susceptible to crashes? How many kids are riding this transportation each day to Disney unprotected. Yes, Florida Law does not require commercial busses to carry seat belts, but it does require commercial vans to carry seatbelts. Are you putting your children and yourself at risk by riding transportation that does not provide seat belts for your safety.

 

[CarolA]

neither do most school buses or city buses....

Its a personal decision and if you don't feel safe then I would suggest you not use the buses. That said watching the way the average tourist drives around Disney I figure you are safer in the bus. (It really is NOT a good idea to cut across three lanes of traffic at high speed when you see the MK exit for example!)

 

[CleveRocks]

A bus and a van perform very differently in traffic accidents. Buses are much safer, due to both size and design.

Aside from something catashrophic such as a rollover or explosion (in which a van wouldn't fare any better with than a bus!), buses are pretty good protectors of passengers.

So Edd, what brings you to make this post, hmm??? Are you the same Edd from team Rodent, perhaps? I smell a rat.

TROLL ALERT.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Buses - school, public transit, tour, etc - do not have seat belts (to the best of my knowledge, this is the standard in EVERY state).
Shuttle (and other) vans DO have seatbelts which must be used to fasten in car seats and should be used by ALL passengers.
Bus passengers are less susceptible to injury in many cases than are the passengers of the colliding vehicle/s.
I agree with Carol - anyone who doesn't feel safe riding a bus should not use that mode of transportation.
Signed,
Someone with ten years experience riding school buses*, eight years using public transit buses and multiple times using Disney buses.

*Really, I graduated - they just moved the high school to within walking distance of my home!

 

[CleveRocks]

Is this the same Edd who insulted me and called me unkind names on a different message board because, when asked by his own post, I expressed my complete satisfaction with Disney's Magical Express??? Hmm ....

 

[CarolA]

Hmm.. I didn't notice this was his first post...

 

[freckles and boo]

Sorry, I am new here. What exactly is a troll? Seems unfair that a dissenting opinion would be labelled as such...

 

[CleveRocks]

Fair question!

A troll is, at least to my knowledge, someone who "stirs the pot," who makes a post to cause trouble rather than to ask a question or share a reasonable opinion. A troll starts a thread (or hijacks a thread) with a very controversial topic, usually in a hit-and-run manner. This most often happens with posters with one or very few previous posts. It's rather uncommon (but not unheard of) for someone who's been a fairly reasonable and nice-enough poster to all of the sudden open a thread with an inflammatory and controversial comment.

The person to whom I'm referring has the same screenname as someone from a different message board, a board that appears to be very anti-Disney. The person started a thread asking people's experiences with Disney's Magical Express. I posted that I had a very positive experience with it, and that I'd read of very positive experiences of others. I was responded to by several people with a series of insults. In addition, "facts" were quoted that were not facts at all. The poster in question asked me to read another specific post from the past as his "proof" that Disney's Magical Express is an evil entity. I read it, and what was written in that past post actually supported my case, not his. When I tried to apply fact and logic, I was hit by a barrage of personal attacks and insults.

I assumed from the screenname as well as the stated topic in his OP that this was the same person, and I responded.

As I said, I completely understand your question and your concern. DISboards is a great place to share ideas. People disagree all the time, and this is a wonderful forum to not only agree, but to respectfully disagree. I have strong opinions on matters, but my record shows that I never just run up to someone and label them as I did. But in this case, I believe the label fits quite nicely. When I respectfully disagreed in another message board, the OP of this thread totally disrespected me and insulted me (in that forum, not this one).

Now, on the off chance that the OP and the person from the other message board are not the same person, then I offer my deep apology. But me thinks that isn't going to be necessary.

 

[CleveRocks]

I should have also added that the poster in question identified himself on the other message board as either an employee or owner of a transportation company that serves Orlando International Airport. Disney's Magical Express has been absolutely devastating to their business. I do feel for them. On their own message board, I expressed empathy for their situation, for I, too, am in an industry that was all of a sudden turned on its ear, and we either had to get leaner and stronger or go the way of the dinosaur. I even suggested to them that instead of complaining about DME they should market their strengths, which are personalized service and direct, private transportation that can be tailored to that exact customer's needs rather than to the masses. I was then told by this poster and others than I must dine on steak and caviar every night, which I guess is a way of slamming wealthy people. The irony is, since DME is free, the towncar and limo companies should be marketing themselves TO the more well-to-do crowd, a crowd that at least some posters on that board seemed to despise. Not good for business!

 

[CarolA]

I felt empathy for the limo drivers until they decided that the way to win customers back was NOT to provide good service, but to abuse folks who did use ME. I went to their message board... Wow...talk about biting the hand that feeds you. If your going to trash your customers don't make it a public message board. (I can't recall the name of it or I would post it) I got harrassed at MCO by a limo driver who felt the need to tell me that "if you are going to ME you will never get to Disney" (I was going to a rental car desk) They don't want Disney to solicit in the airport, but this jerk was soliciting me?

Plus, IF they had provided exception service I am not sure they would be in as sad shape. However, I have read WAY too many posts on here of "missed rides", rude drivers, failure to make agreed upon grocery stop and just general lousy service to blame Disney for ALL thier losses.... And lets discuss the MANDATORY tip. A tip is provided for good service, it should NOT be mandatory.... If you make it mandatory it sounds to me like you are pretty much admitting "we might not deserve it, but you are going to pay it anyway" Just raise the rates....

 

[freckles and boo]

Thanks for the clarification! I have seen the term (troll) a couple times and really wasn't clear that it represented someone with an ulterior motive or nasty behavior. I tend feel very strongly about some issues but always try to be respectful in expressing my opinion. This has been a very friendly place so far - even in a super-heated discussion about marijuana use in the parks - so I was surprised to see the term thrown out about something like transportation!

 

[CleveRocks]

Thanks for the clarification! I have seen the term (troll) a couple times and really wasn't clear that it represented someone with an ulterior motive or nasty behavior. I tend feel very strongly about some issues but always try to be respectful in expressing my opinion. This has been a very friendly place so far - even in a super-heated discussion about marijuana use in the parks - so I was surprised to see the term thrown out about something like transportation!

Since you had the concern, I'm so glad you stepped forward to ask the question you did!!! Hopefully you'll see that DISboards is what you want it to be, a friendly place. Yes, posters may debate with each other, but if it's done in a disrespectful manner we have moderators who may step in and publicly warn that the thread may be shut down if inappropriate behavior continues. I have seen threads "locked" as a result. So if bad behavior does occur, DISboards doesn't let it continue.

Welcome, Freckles and boo. I look forward to reading your posts, answering your questions if I can, reading your answers to my questions, and agreeing and disagreeing with you in the future!

 

[freckles and boo]

cool.

 

[Edd]

I may be a troll, but I remember the seat belt (black and blue) marks across my body when I was pushed off the right side of the road, traveling 55 miles per hour on Highway 4 in Winter Park, by a truck and than swerved across the road head-on into a concrete barrier in 1995. The vehicle was totaled. I walked away unhurt. Yes, I wore a seat belt, lap and shoulder.
I questioned a driver of a Disney bus on Friday and this was his answer. "In the event of a crash the people in the front seat will go through the front window. I tell all the mothers to hold onto the children in case of a crash." By the way, the driver wears a seatbelt. Of the possible 50% kids aboard each bus, how many would be killed in a head-on or a tip over. It would be tragic to have 10 children die when a death could have been prevented by a seat belt. This is a known fact.
Seat belts are not required on commercial busses because lobbiests for that industry have defeated any efforts to ammend the regulations to put seat belts on their vehicles. Their excuse was it was to costly to install seat belts aboard their vehicles, not that the busses and vans were any safer.
So I am a troll trying to point out the fact the busses do not run without accidents. Already there have been numerous accidents and a few cases of fire gutting those busses. It is just not printed. Six years ago no one ever thought planes would destroy skyscrapers, but it happened. When the first bus or van turns over and kills 5 - 10 kids plus adults, I will bet the next day the busses are equipped with seat belts.
This is not a case of anti-Disney. I enjoy the parks and will be cruising on the ships. This is a case of common sense. Seat belts are lifesavers and I will bet 2000 to 4000 kids ride those busses each day. Is Disney telling you seat belts don't save lives. I am sorry, for you, if that is a fact. Is this not another Katrina waiting to happen.

 

[TDC Nala]

Is this not another Katrina waiting to happen.

Oh, puhleeeeeze. Comparing a potential bus accident to 9/11 and Katrina?
If this poster had any credibility at all it just went right through the windshield.

 

[Edd]

An advocate of no-seat-belt- laws was killed in car accident that was the very type of accident in which seat belts have proved so effective in saving lives.


Seat Belts


Claim: Anti-seat belt law advocate is killed in automobile accident.

Status: True.

Origins: Despite the vital role automobile seat belts have played in saving thousands and thousands of lives over the last several decades, there is still a group of drivers and passengers who are determined not to wear them, for any number of reasons: because they find them too uncomfortable or confining, because they don't believe in their efficacy, because they've heard that wearing seat belts might actually cost them their lives in certain types of accidents, or because they resent as an unwarranted intrusion of government into private life the plethora of laws now requiring motorists to buckle up.

In this vein, we note with a sense of both sadness and irony a couple of articles recently called to our attention. The first is a 17 September 2004 editorial published in the Daily Nebraskan and entitled "Individual Rights Buckle Under Seat Belt Laws," by Derek Kieper, a 21-year-old senior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, in which the writer inveighed against mandatory seat belt laws, opining that "Uncle Sam is not here to regulate every facet of life no matter the consequences," and that "Democrats and Republicans alike should stand together to stop these laws that are incongruous with the ideals of both parties." In the midst of his editorial he noted:
As laws become increasingly strict for seat belts, fewer people will respond positively by buckling up in response to the laws. There seems to be a die-hard group of non-wearers out there who simply do not wish to buckle up no matter what the government does. I belong to this group.
Evidently his words were far more prescient than any of us might have wanted, as an article in the 4 January 2005 Lincoln Journal Star reported that Mr. Kieper not only died in a car crash, but the tragic mishap that claimed his life was the very type of accident in which seat belts have proved so effective in saving lives — preventing passengers from being ejected from vehicles:
Derek Kieper was a smart, funny, intense young man who relished a good debate and would do anything for his friends.

Kieper, a 21-year-old senior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, died early Tuesday morning when the Ford Explorer he was a passenger in travelled off an icy section of Interstate 80 and rolled several times in a ditch. Kieper, who was riding in the back seat of the Explorer, was ejected from the vehicle.

Two others in the vehicle, including the driver, Luke Havermann of Ogallala, and the front-seat passenger, Nick Uphoff of Randolph Air Force Base in Texas, sustained non-life threatening injuries. Havermann and Uphoff, both 21, were being treated at BryanLGH Medical Center West.

Derek, who was thrown from the vehicle, was not wearing a seat belt, [Capt. Joe Lefler of the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office] said. He said Havermann and Uphoff were wearing seat belts at the time.

 

[Cupmom]

Thanks for such a cheery post. Have a magical day!!!

 

[CarolA]

I may be a troll, but I remember the seat belt (black and blue) marks across my body when I was pushed off the right side of the road, traveling 55 miles per hour on Highway 4 in Winter Park, by a truck and than swerved across the road head-on into a concrete barrier in 1995. The vehicle was totaled. I walked away unhurt. Yes, I wore a seat belt, lap and shoulder.
I questioned a driver of a Disney bus on Friday and this was his answer. "In the event of a crash the people in the front seat will go through the front window. I tell all the mothers to hold onto the children in case of a crash." By the way, the driver wears a seatbelt. Of the possible 50% kids aboard each bus, how many would be killed in a head-on or a tip over. It would be tragic to have 10 children die when a death could have been prevented by a seat belt. This is a known fact.
Seat belts are not required on commercial busses because lobbiests for that industry have defeated any efforts to ammend the regulations to put seat belts on their vehicles. Their excuse was it was to costly to install seat belts aboard their vehicles, not that the busses and vans were any safer.
So I am a troll trying to point out the fact the busses do not run without accidents. Already there have been numerous accidents and a few cases of fire gutting those busses. It is just not printed. Six years ago no one ever thought planes would destroy skyscrapers, but it happened. When the first bus or van turns over and kills 5 - 10 kids plus adults, I will bet the next day the busses are equipped with seat belts.
This is not a case of anti-Disney. I enjoy the parks and will be cruising on the ships. This is a case of common sense. Seat belts are lifesavers and I will bet 2000 to 4000 kids ride those busses each day. Is Disney telling you seat belts don't save lives. I am sorry, for you, if that is a fact. Is this not another Katrina waiting to happen.

I wasn't sure but you just moved into TROLL and onto my ignore list...

Katrina and 9/11??? WHAT? Are you really that clueless or just troublemaker. I am voting the later. BYE!

I thnk your efforts would be MUCH MUCH better spent trying to improve the safety of your local school buses where LOTS more kids are transported EVERY DAY!

May I suggest that the rest of you follow my lead and add this troublemaker to your ignore list. Maybe he will crawl back in his hole....

 

[Lewisc]

Edd--I hope those passengers concerned by the lack of seatbelts don't make the mistake of taking a towncar. The Disney buses that transport guests to the the theme parks don't have seat belts so those guest really need a rental car. I'm not sure what those same guest do if they kids take a school bus since most school buses don't have seat belts.

Your post is very misleading since you don't suggest renting a car as the only solution. It makes very little since using a towncar from MCO but renting a a car at WDW and it is HORRIBLE to use the lack of seat belts as a way to disparage DME when a town car does nothing to solve the problem.

 

[CarolA]

I am a huge figure skating fan.

A few years ago at the US Nationals in Portland, OR one of the skaters suffered injuries that may still turn out to be career ending and lost her mother in a taxi accident... Taxis are required to have seat belts......However, the laws in almost every state don't require folks to use them unless they are in the front seat... (And in lots of shuttle vans I have been in they are basically useless since the drivers have "shoved them"out of hte way...