I had never seen one of these before today. They’re great. Way better than reaching for a single pole in a crowded car and wrapping your hand around some stranger’s fingers. And If you have the whole thing to yourself you can hook your arm through it.
Well now how am I supposed to enjoy the sensation of someone else’s sweaty hand sliding down the pole to slowly touch mine while they remain oblivious of the entire situation?
Yeah, they’re pretty common on newer train cars.
Also, obligatory San Francisco BART picture.
Cool idea, but hooking your arm through it looks like a great way to break said arm if you stop fast.
I feel like the comment above is from someone who almost never rides commuter rail.
These trains have been designed for people to stand, walk around, and sit unbuckled. They simply don’t stop that quickly.
There’s a lot of inertia when stopping on the airport trams I’ve been on with these. It could very possibly break a weak arm if one were stuck inside two metal bars.
Trains like this don’t decelerate that quickly when you pull the emergency break. If they did, you’d have injuries from standing, not being buckled, not having headrests, etc.
I’m not sure it’d be worse than hooking your arm through a single pole. Presumably in that scenario you’re trying to stay put, right? If you’re getting shoved hard enough to break your arm by being yanked off the pole you’re getting shoved hard enough to crack your skull against one as well.
Realistically, the only way a commenter train is going to change direction or decelerate that violently is if something derails it or slams into it.
Trains like this don’t slow down very quickly, even if you pull the emergency break. That’s why people are allowed to stand, walk, etc.
People are allowed to stand and walk around on these things. They’re not cars. They almost never come to a violent stop. Even the emergency brake takes like 15 to 20 seconds to bring one of these things to a stop.
You say this, but I see unexpected tourists fall from stopping all the time in metro systems all around the world 😂
lol. True dat. They don’t know that you have a wide stance, perpendicular to the train’s direction. You have to ride that bitch like a skateboard.
If this is Sea-Tac, the rails are completely walled off. Doors open onto the tram only when it arrives. Everything else is walled off, like an elevator.
Okay I have a crazy radical idea that is going to disrupt the entire pole industry:
4-sided poles.
Don’t put your arm through it. Just don’t. OSHA does not approve putting your arm between metal bars on anything moving.
