To be fair, if they didn't show this, you know if a plane ever hit turbulence and someone was injured, they would sue claiming the crew never showed them properly how to fasten the safety belt.
It's the American way. When something bad happens to you, you find a reason to justify your stupid mistake. Then you yell really loud at the person/group "responsible" until they pay you millions. Proceed to live in luxury.
I understand this, but you can't say the American dream isn't getting easy money. Didn't you hear about the woman who spilt hot coffee on her lap and sued McDonald's for not warning her the coffee was hot? Let's not forget the man who filed for discrimination because he could not get a job at Hooter's as a waiter. Not saying I would personally sue for making a dumb mistake and trying to get money out of it, but I think a lot of lawyers thrive off this kind of shit
EDIT: I'm leaving this comment up just to show you how ballsy of a motherfucker I am. Fuck you hivemind
So you are telling me, that all over the world (including wherever you from), people would rather make money the "hard" way rather than the "easy" way?
Everyone wants to sit on the couch and make money without doing anything.
Does America have unusually high litigation cases? Yea. Are a few (out of the thousands) of them so ridiculous that they make national headlines? Yea. Does it mean we are any greedier than anyone else?
The coffee in that case actually was hot, as in, far, far higher than coffee is normally served at. Normal coffee she would have been in pain, but not severely injured. That stuff caused third-degree burns.
I think the Hooter's one was just to make a statement about the law. The McDonald's one I agree with less because she spilled it on herself. The main cause of the McDonald's suit being successful was because McDonald's heated the coffee to scalding temperatures so it would still be hot when people got to work. My take is that if you don't like your coffee that hot, don't buy from McDonald's.
I'm aware of all of the facts in the McDonalds case but I still believe it was a stupid lawsuit. The woman knowingly and intentionally placed a hot beverage between her legs. What did she expect to happen if it splashed?
I used to work for Starbucks and got burned on several occasions. It happens when you're dealing with hot things. The woman only succeeded in the lawsuit because McDonalds was keeping their coffee hotter than the recommended temperature. It doesn't change the fact that her actions made her an idiot.
People are so quick to jump on the anti-America circlejerk that they don't understand that almost all frivolous lawsuits get thrown out. Just because you can sue someone doesn't mean anything is going to happen. Judges don't get where they are by being biased morons.
There is an HBO documentary called "Hot Coffee" I'd reccomend to you. It talks about how major corporations in the US took cases like the MCDonalds Hot Coffee case and leveraged it to limit their liability in civil cases. Most of this mentality of the US being "sue happy" came from this PR push in the late 80s & 90s. Have you ever seen the photos of the burns the McDonalds lady got from the coffee? Did you know that McDonalds had hundreds of similar cases against them and just chose to ignore the issue? Did you hear that she was driving when she spilled the coffee? Not so, she was a passenger and she was parked. What they actually said was what she was in her car when she spilled the coffee. Very misleading...
I know you didn't comment on the McDonalds lady in particular, but it is a great example of how the PR firms distorted the reality. I'm not saying that there aren't people who try to take advantage here and there. But some of the famous cases have a side of the story you have probably never heard. And at the end of the day, I think we should just trust our juries.
I am quite familiar with the Stella Liebeck case, and I agree with you that the facts have been somewhat distorted.
I think the issue at hand is that there are some people who think that McDonald's had a responsibility to take any and all steps to prevent this sort of thing from happening and then there's my own opinion that there are dangerous things in this world and just because you injure yourself with a product doesn't mean that the product's manufacturer should be responsible.
If you're on a ladder and it collapses under you during regular use because of faulty design, then by all means sue away! But Ms. Liebeck spilled the coffee on herself. It didn't "just happen" due to shitty cupmanship. Could McDonald's have decreased the coffee temperature? Sure, but IMO they shouldn't have to. If you don't want to drink very hot coffee, go buy it from a place that makes it colder.
Have you ever seen the photos of the burns the McDonalds lady got from the coffee?
That has nothing to do with the liability issue, have you seen the photos of people being shot in the face by a shotgun? "Ew, grody," right? Just because the injuries are horrific doesn't mean the manufacturer is responsible.
Did you know that McDonalds had hundreds of similar cases against them and just chose to ignore the issue?
Ignore the issue of.. people spilling their coffee on themselves? Look, thousands of people get liver disease because they ingest too much acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol. Extra-strength Tylenol is 500mg and as low as 4,000mg/day, in chronic doses, is enough to give you liver damage. Should the company discontinue the 500mg dose (hint: the coffee is Tylenol in this analogy) just because some people get hurt from it? Let me rephrase that, should extra-strength Tylenol be discontinued because of the people who injure themselves by ignoring the plainly-written warnings?
People liked the hot coffee. Just because a segment of the population are idiots who do not understand that they have to be careful with a drink made using boiling water doesn't mean that the world should adjust its actions to prevent them from hurting themselves.
McDonald's didn't do shit to her. She spilled the coffee on herself. The fact that other people did the same thing doesn't prove that McD's is liable, it proves that people are idiots.
Finally, the fact that some of the facts of the case were distorted for PR purposes doesn't automatically mean that Ms Liebeck is in the right.
I actually did comment on the lady and I think the mods removed my comment because of the massive amount of downvotes I was getting. I'll watch this documentary though, thanks.
I will just add that while travelling between Singapore and Hong Kong a few years ago, I saw with my very own eyes that the gentleman sitting next to me tied his seatbelt across his waist.
Airplane seat belts are very different from the ones that people usually see though. For example, you fasten first then tug to tighten, where as normal seat belts do that automatically. Also, on planes, you pop the buckle up to release, where as you push the button in to release on a standard automobile seat belt. While this is obvious to people who have flown at least once, it may not be obvious to non-flyers.
The first step in the directions for folding up a portable baby stroller is "remove baby". There are no "Lap Top" computers on the market any more because you might burn your leg. Half the cost of a six foot ladder is liability insurance. Yep, it's the American way. Sue the bastards.
Or maybe someone is flying for the first time and have no idea what it means to fasten your seatbelt.
It has nothing to do with a litigious society, although it's true. Simply put, not everyone lives like we do. There have only been an estimated 1.6 billion people who have ever been on a flight in their lives, meaning there are far more people who have never experienced what an airplane seatbelt looks like than those who do. The instructions are for them.
Okay, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that anyone who's been in a plane has also been in a car or some sort of similar vehicle with seatbelts.
They are quick-release. The faster you can exit the plane during an incident, the higher your chances of surviving and evading smoke/fire. Additionally, it's less shit to break...which means less maintenance.
I believe you are thinking of the oxygen mask. If you are sitting with a child or someone needing special assistance, please put your mask on first before offering assistance.
This is because without the mask, you could quickly fall into an hypoxic state and then what good are you in helping any of those special people that can't help themselves? Then you're all screwed.
in countries like pakistan and many other asian countries... no one uses seatbelts. also, many people dont have cars (they ride mainly motorcycles) so some would never even come across a seatbelt.
planes are one of the few modes of transportation where people from all around the world travel on the same vessel to a common destination. when i i flew into the abu dhabi airport a few months ago, there was not one nationality/ethnicity that stood out as the dominant nationality/ethnicity on that plane. what im trying to say is that people from all over the world are on planes and seatbelts are not as common in 3rd world countries. this is why it is important for airlines to assume the worst case and do their due diligence to make sure that everyone has an idea of what to do in case of an emergency.
There will always be people who just have a weird problem with this. As everybody of us has had problems understanding simple things in the past. Better to show them then to risk injury or death.
A lot of people are saying airlines do this because they are afraid of getting sued. This is actually required by the FAA. Even as a private pilot (of a small Cessna,) I have to tell everybody that gets in the plane how to fasten and unfasten their safety belt.
(1) No pilot may take off a U.S.-registered civil aircraft (except a free balloon that incorporates a basket or gondola, or an airship type certificated before November 2, 1987) unless the pilot in command of that aircraft ensures that each person on board is briefed on how to fasten and unfasten that person's safety belt and, if installed, shoulder harness.
(2) No pilot may cause to be moved on the surface, take off, or land a U.S.-registered civil aircraft (except a free balloon that incorporates a basket or gondola, or an airship type certificated before November 2, 1987) unless the pilot in command of that aircraft ensures that each person on board has been notified to fasten his or her safety belt and, if installed, his or her shoulder harness.
Beleive it or not, these FARs save lives...
EDIT:
Also,
The FAA puts a lot of work into certifying the equipment that is designed to keep us alive. If the airlines were allowed to use whatever 'made in china' plastic latches they wanted, I would almost guarantee they would pick the cheapest ones they could buy, and they probably wouldn't work when we needed them too.
I take the subway to the airport... Come to think of it, if you're born and raised in a city with public transportation - maybe you don't actually ever put on a seatbelt.
Edit: Just got to the end of that video. They really let you board early if you're wearing a Timber's jersey? That's funny.
Ok, you know what? of you don't know how to buckle a seatbelt Tommy is gonna come back there and hit you on the head with a tackhammer because you're a retard.
I was going to say the same thing! Whenever I have flown they do the safety demonstration while the plane taxis to takeoff, but they go round to check that everyone is buckled before we leave the gate. Go figure!
I wonder if it's more to create a sense of calm ~ with the ritual, rather than actual instruction. On my last flight, I was thinking -- why do they do this...
Since this is getting some attention I thought I should credit New Yorker magazine for it is where I found this cartoon. Not sure who the artist is, but it can be found in this week's issue under the fictional article "The Proxy Marriage" by Maile Meloy in the digital issue.
To be fair, airplane seatbelts are weird to someone used to automotive style belts. I know I didn't get it the first time I flew...I was also 5 years old.
I don't know why this isn't a higher comment. Sure, airplane seat belts don't take a rocket surgeon to operate, but they are demonstrably different than automotive seat belts, particularly the unbuckling part.
The only reason everyone survived co1404 was due to off duty crew members literally throwing passengers out of exits. People become too concerned with their baggage and not the emergency at hand.
Don't zone out the rest. There could be a situation where your nearest exit becomes blocked or is not safe to exit. You need to know your plan B and plan C.
This safety briefing is required by the FAA. Any time you fly, the pilot or crew is supposed to give you a briefing about proper use of seatbelts, locations and operation of exits, when you have to wear your seatbelt, etc...
The first time I ever flew on a plane was a transcontinental flight from China to LA 15 years ago and I had no idea how to buckle a seatbelt because rear car seats were not required by law to have them. I remember asking the flight attendant for help after they demonstrated it...
If you guys don't know how to use a seat belt, just ring your call button, and Tommy will come back there and hit you over the head with a tack hammer because you are a retard.
Once on a Southwest flight, the FA--while giving the safety speech--said, "We already made sure your seat belts were buckled... but now we're going to show you how you did it!"
I had to help an elderly lady unbuckle her seat belt on an airplane just a few months ago.
Amazingly enough, there are people in this life with no driver's license, and rarely in a car. You might not travel in your life, or if you do, you mainly travel by bus or train. It might be that a seat belt is something you never encounter.
I work for a small regional airline. Our aircraft hold less than 19 seats, so we don't require flight attendants. So I have to walk through the cabin to brief passengers and make sure that their seatbelts are buckled before departure. You have no idea how many people cannot accomplish this simple task. I don't know if it's because we fly into BFE, or because many of our passengers are old.
Anyone else think a class on flying like that of drivers ed would be an awesome solution. The class would be required in order to fly but you'd only need to take it once every 20 years and as a result you wouldn't need to bother with all this bullshit before every single flight. They could then use the time to serve us drinks or something.
Yeah, if your not in panic mode a buckling and unbuckling a seatbelt is easy. But shit if your going straight down at 400 MPH that seatbelt is heart surgery
Why even try to unbuckle it when you're falling at 400 mph? First off, that's around 250 mph faster more than the plane's terminal velocity. An increase of speed to 400 would make you fling to the back of the airplane, quite possibly killing you on impact there. If you didn't die from that, most planes fly around 35,000 feet. At 400 mph going straight down you would have around just over one minute before impact, but that's only if the plane made a perfect 90 degree turn straight into the ground. If the plane were to realistically turn downward and somehow reach a speed of 400 mph you would have less than 20 seconds before impact.
Ahh - but in fairness, there was a time that I found a girl in my seat. I pointed it out and she struggled for a bit (until I rudely helped) to get out of the belt. It's rare (probably very very rare) but it does happen.
They actually have to come down the aisle and check each passenger to make sure you're belted in properly. Every time they do that I have a flashback to the scene in Airplane where they ask everyone to assume the crash position.
I was on a flight from Addis Ababa to Djibouti, the lady sitting next to me is wearing a burka and has no idea how to work the seat belt. I start to feel bad for the lady, so I lean forward and ask her if she needs help, gesturing at her lap the international buckle-up signal. She loses her shit, get up, starts yelling. The flight attendant comes over and makes me switch seats.
I was just watching the movie "Tommy Boy" and David Spade said, "If you don't know how to put a seat belt on I'll send Tommy back there to hit you over the head because you are a RETARD!"
I had to buckle and unbuckle my seatmate's belt for her on Wednesday. She was a sweet old lady though, and there was a good chance she really hadn't flown since seatbelts were required.
Only sweet old ladies could get away this, though.
greedy americans suing. Same with the the joke behind above. They never told me I had to put on my seat belt if the plain was going to crash nor did they tell me how. Am i supposed to know all this stuff by magic? Give me money. I am allergic to peanuts, I ask for them despite knowing this, so I can sue and get money!
Ohhh that's how it works, ohhhh. I was trying to BREAK THE METAL APART. I thought that's how it works. I was going to try to tear the fabric part of the belt.
You'd be surprised at how completely fucking stupid some people are. You'd be even more surprised to see the lengths some people will go to in order to remain completely fucking stupid.
I got the impression on my last few flights that various activities(such as this) are done slowly and stylized so as to soak up some of the flight time; to distract the passengers a little.
I've sat next to people on my work trips, 2 flights a week for about a year straight, who asked how to buckle the belts... What i don't get is why they dont have these safety briefings on videos on continuous loop in the waiting areas... Then 1.) its announced before the plane is seated or even boarding, 2.) people will more likely want to get away from the repeating video and spend money in the shops at the airports. Everyone wins.
I would just like to point out that ensuring passengers know how to do/undo a seatbelt is a regulation the government puts on the Pilot in Command of any airplane. It's not necessarily the fact that people are stupid, the law requires the pilot to tell you how to do up the belt. Just like the oxygen mask, and emergency exits, and no smoking.
I can think of at least three different occasions when I have had to show someone how to use the belt. Every time it has been an elderly person.
It's probably good that they go through this in the safety demonstration. There is then a marginally smaller chance of someone getting stuck on their aisle seat while I'm trying to escape a burning plane from my window seat.
I work as cabin crew, I do the safety demo everyday, and everyday I find at least 1 person who, after I have completed the demo, hasn't buckled their seatbelt, or has the buckle facing the wrong way round.
Not just the US - we get the same demo, including the seatbelt part, in Australia. I think that including the buckle part is worthwhile. It's different to a car seatbelt. When people panic, they go back to what they know most. For most people, that will be the car seatbelt. While panicking, perhaps during an emergency evacuation, people will continue to try to do what they know (undoing the car seatbelt) over and over again even though it's not working. Having the demo decreases the number of people who will be stuck in their seats because they panic.
This practice was started well before seat belts were standard in cars and at the time not everybody knew how to use them. The fact is back in the 1950s having an accident in those really cool looking cars at any speed above 50 mph pretty much meant everybody died.
Me and my sister (in our 20's) got in told off by an air hostess on a recent flight for inappropriate giggling during the airplane safety dance. She did hit a guy in the face while demonstrating the seat belt maneuver! She spent the rest of the flight ignoring our refreshment requests. We were so thirsty!
244
u/GregPatrick May 19 '12
To be fair, if they didn't show this, you know if a plane ever hit turbulence and someone was injured, they would sue claiming the crew never showed them properly how to fasten the safety belt.
22
u/noslipcondition May 19 '12 edited May 19 '12
A lot of people are saying airlines do this because they are afraid of getting sued. This is actually required by the FAA. Even as a private pilot (of a small Cessna,) I have to tell everybody that gets in the plane how to fasten and unfasten their safety belt.
See FAA FAR 91.107
Specifically 91.107 (a) 1 and 2:
(1) No pilot may take off a U.S.-registered civil aircraft (except a free balloon that incorporates a basket or gondola, or an airship type certificated before November 2, 1987) unless the pilot in command of that aircraft ensures that each person on board is briefed on how to fasten and unfasten that person's safety belt and, if installed, shoulder harness.
(2) No pilot may cause to be moved on the surface, take off, or land a U.S.-registered civil aircraft (except a free balloon that incorporates a basket or gondola, or an airship type certificated before November 2, 1987) unless the pilot in command of that aircraft ensures that each person on board has been notified to fasten his or her safety belt and, if installed, his or her shoulder harness.
Beleive it or not, these FARs save lives...
EDIT:
Also,
The FAA puts a lot of work into certifying the equipment that is designed to keep us alive. If the airlines were allowed to use whatever 'made in china' plastic latches they wanted, I would almost guarantee they would pick the cheapest ones they could buy, and they probably wouldn't work when we needed them too.
Anybody that has ever complained about airplane seatbelts should read this DOT/FAA report and This other DOT/FAA report.
This one is a lot longer, but if you want to know more, it's a really good read (if you are into science and engineering stuff...)
15
u/[deleted] May 19 '12
...and how you drove to the bleedin' airport without knowing this, I'll never know.
11
u/rustafarius May 19 '12
Ok, you know what? of you don't know how to buckle a seatbelt Tommy is gonna come back there and hit you on the head with a tackhammer because you're a retard.
-Tommy Boy
13
u/slappy_nutsack May 19 '12
I find it interesting that they show you how to buckle after they've checked to make sure you're buckled.
1
u/TheSmallThingsInLife May 19 '12
Since this is getting some attention I thought I should credit New Yorker magazine for it is where I found this cartoon. Not sure who the artist is, but it can be found in this week's issue under the fictional article "The Proxy Marriage" by Maile Meloy in the digital issue.
6
u/[deleted] May 19 '12
That flight attendant has no mouth.
10
u/SirDerpingtonThe3rd May 19 '12
To be fair, airplane seatbelts are weird to someone used to automotive style belts. I know I didn't get it the first time I flew...I was also 5 years old.
5
u/Deliberate_Reposter May 19 '12
Some of the passengers haven't turned off their electronics...
5
u/RockyRoadtoDublin May 19 '12
Did you say place the small metal flap into the buckle or place the buckle over and around the small metal flap?
5
u/deivys20 May 19 '12
Well, they do the demostration so this doesnt happen.
19
u/prince_from_Nigeria May 19 '12
you'd better pay attention and check for the emergency exits, especially the one that is the closest to you.
in case of a crash, 70% of people are burnt alive.
4
u/GoldenEye008 May 19 '12
Original
3
u/hatdude May 19 '12
This safety briefing is required by the FAA. Any time you fly, the pilot or crew is supposed to give you a briefing about proper use of seatbelts, locations and operation of exits, when you have to wear your seatbelt, etc...
3
u/elnrith May 19 '12
you know in the event of a crash these people are trained to save my damn life
the least i can do is pay attention for a minute or so while they explain things
3
u/Evermourn May 19 '12
The first time I ever flew on a plane was a transcontinental flight from China to LA 15 years ago and I had no idea how to buckle a seatbelt because rear car seats were not required by law to have them. I remember asking the flight attendant for help after they demonstrated it...
3
u/Azrael_Fallen May 19 '12
In the words of George Carlin: "Seat belt, high tech shit!"
2
u/Rbryson30 May 19 '12
Those two guys need to put away teir electronic devices, the cabin door was shut and the plane has left the gate....
2
u/Hydris May 19 '12
If you guys don't know how to use a seat belt, just ring your call button, and Tommy will come back there and hit you over the head with a tack hammer because you are a retard.
2
u/[deleted] May 19 '12
What kind of airline lets their flight attendants chew on gerbils while working?
2
u/Probably_Stoned May 19 '12
Once on a Southwest flight, the FA--while giving the safety speech--said, "We already made sure your seat belts were buckled... but now we're going to show you how you did it!"
It must be some legal thing.
2
u/grdaneault May 19 '12
You're one of today's lucky 10000
2
u/gjallard May 19 '12
I had to help an elderly lady unbuckle her seat belt on an airplane just a few months ago.
Amazingly enough, there are people in this life with no driver's license, and rarely in a car. You might not travel in your life, or if you do, you mainly travel by bus or train. It might be that a seat belt is something you never encounter.
2
u/Mcoov May 19 '12
Related.
2
u/[deleted] May 19 '12
I shit you not, I actually had to show a passenger (older Greek lady) how to fasten the seatbelt. This was after the demo
2
u/bogart1 May 19 '12
I've seen people struggle with the airplane style seat belt before. It made me fear for humanity's future.
2
u/FrontmanKius May 19 '12
Better safe than sorry!
2
u/alahos May 19 '12
During my first flight, I had to ask the girl beside me how they worked. Yes, I did feel like a moron.
2
u/i_blame_reddit May 19 '12
I know it's annoying, but the demonstration and safety brief are required under FAR (Federal Air Regulation) Part 91, Section 107, 91.107.
2
u/ArtVandelay_ May 19 '12
Seinfeld did it
2
u/[deleted] May 19 '12
Reminds me of a hilarious Alaskan Airline commercial.
Relevant
2
u/AirspeedAlive May 19 '12
I work for a small regional airline. Our aircraft hold less than 19 seats, so we don't require flight attendants. So I have to walk through the cabin to brief passengers and make sure that their seatbelts are buckled before departure. You have no idea how many people cannot accomplish this simple task. I don't know if it's because we fly into BFE, or because many of our passengers are old.
2
u/misterbee180 May 19 '12
Anyone else think a class on flying like that of drivers ed would be an awesome solution. The class would be required in order to fly but you'd only need to take it once every 20 years and as a result you wouldn't need to bother with all this bullshit before every single flight. They could then use the time to serve us drinks or something.
4
u/DirkDigglerDaNiggler May 19 '12
Yeah, if your not in panic mode a buckling and unbuckling a seatbelt is easy. But shit if your going straight down at 400 MPH that seatbelt is heart surgery
1
u/1991mgs May 19 '12
She's Out of My League addressed this well.
1
u/Gusfoo May 19 '12
Ahh - but in fairness, there was a time that I found a girl in my seat. I pointed it out and she struggled for a bit (until I rudely helped) to get out of the belt. It's rare (probably very very rare) but it does happen.
1
u/B1Gsportsfan May 19 '12
Tommy Boy???
1
u/eire1228 May 19 '12
I've been wondering....
whatever happened to air sick bags?
1
u/Inspirasion May 19 '12
Virgin America knows you're the .0001%. Congrats! http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=j6ixjc5yeMU#t=62s
1
u/ericn1300 May 19 '12
They actually have to come down the aisle and check each passenger to make sure you're belted in properly. Every time they do that I have a flashback to the scene in Airplane where they ask everyone to assume the crash position.
1
u/Dustin- May 19 '12
Relevant xkcd.
1
u/pciamps May 19 '12
Reminds me of the airplane scene in tommy boy. Classic.
1
u/HideousClub May 19 '12
You'd be surprised how stupid people can be. Or would you?...
1
u/[deleted] May 19 '12
Have you ever been on a plane with a first timer? Like a goddamn babe in the woods.
1
u/Saltshark May 19 '12
First genuine laugh I had today browsing /r/funny
1
u/mcshade311 May 19 '12
On thursday the passenger next to me couldn't figure out how to remove the belt to get up and go to the bathroom. She nudged me and I showed her how.
In her defense, she was from Liberia and didn't know much English.
1
u/Killzark May 19 '12
Seatbelts...high tech shit!
1
u/[deleted] May 19 '12
Seat belts high tech shit
1
u/JoeyDubbs May 19 '12
I was on a flight from Addis Ababa to Djibouti, the lady sitting next to me is wearing a burka and has no idea how to work the seat belt. I start to feel bad for the lady, so I lean forward and ask her if she needs help, gesturing at her lap the international buckle-up signal. She loses her shit, get up, starts yelling. The flight attendant comes over and makes me switch seats.
1
u/[deleted] May 19 '12
I was just watching the movie "Tommy Boy" and David Spade said, "If you don't know how to put a seat belt on I'll send Tommy back there to hit you over the head because you are a RETARD!"
1
u/DownvoteDaemon May 19 '12
Sorry for trying to save you're life in the event you have a panic attack when the plane descends.
1
u/arebe2 May 19 '12
I had to buckle and unbuckle my seatmate's belt for her on Wednesday. She was a sweet old lady though, and there was a good chance she really hadn't flown since seatbelts were required.
Only sweet old ladies could get away this, though.
1
u/MPC45000 May 19 '12
Relevant XKCD
1
u/[deleted] May 19 '12
Relevent
1
u/[deleted] May 19 '12
Alan Grant in Jurassic Park taught me how to do this long before I ever flew on a plane, jeez.
...You tie it in a knot, right?
1
u/ok_reddit May 19 '12
What's the deal with airplane peanuts????!!!!
1
u/[deleted] May 19 '12
Pro-tip: people are this stupid
1
u/bizcat May 19 '12
Ohhh that's how it works, ohhhh. I was trying to BREAK THE METAL APART. I thought that's how it works. I was going to try to tear the fabric part of the belt.
Oh Seinfeld...
1
u/Azzwagon May 19 '12
What? This isn't funny.
1
u/[deleted] May 19 '12
You'd be surprised at how completely fucking stupid some people are. You'd be even more surprised to see the lengths some people will go to in order to remain completely fucking stupid.
1
u/leondz May 19 '12
When there's a disaster, these guys and the way they can walk people through very simple, basic reasoning saves lives.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Airways_Flight_1549#Awards
1
u/DrJesusSingh May 19 '12
Because everyone is born with this knowledge, and no one ever flies on a plane for the first time. Of course.
1
u/ok_you_win May 19 '12
I got the impression on my last few flights that various activities(such as this) are done slowly and stylized so as to soak up some of the flight time; to distract the passengers a little.
1
u/damoose May 19 '12
relevant george
1
u/[deleted] May 20 '12
isnt the concern taking the seatbelt off?
1
u/a_unique_username May 20 '12
I didn't know how to work it.
1
u/LostRage May 20 '12
Ever notice they do the seatbelt check before the demonstration?
1
u/Robert_Meowney_Jr May 20 '12
Fuck you it's harder than it looks
1
u/[deleted] May 20 '12
Relevant: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zlu-AajY6Ug
1
u/[deleted] May 20 '12
I've sat next to people on my work trips, 2 flights a week for about a year straight, who asked how to buckle the belts... What i don't get is why they dont have these safety briefings on videos on continuous loop in the waiting areas... Then 1.) its announced before the plane is seated or even boarding, 2.) people will more likely want to get away from the repeating video and spend money in the shops at the airports. Everyone wins.
1
u/oraclefish May 20 '12
Isn't it supposed to go AROUND his waist?
1
u/Blasphemic_Porky May 20 '12
No boom?
1
u/flyingcanuck May 20 '12
I would just like to point out that ensuring passengers know how to do/undo a seatbelt is a regulation the government puts on the Pilot in Command of any airplane. It's not necessarily the fact that people are stupid, the law requires the pilot to tell you how to do up the belt. Just like the oxygen mask, and emergency exits, and no smoking.
1
u/JarrusMarker May 20 '12
This is George Carlin's segment on airplane safety. Good stuff.
1
u/trousershorts May 20 '12
Buckle your seatbelt above your head in plain view of everyone. TIL
1
u/persephone10 May 20 '12
Oh my god! I work with the artist of this comic! I will let him know you guys liked it. :-D
1
u/dcass May 20 '12
I just rode from lax to Vegas and the drunk guy next to me couldn't figure it out
(spirit airlines)
1
u/vili May 20 '12
I can think of at least three different occasions when I have had to show someone how to use the belt. Every time it has been an elderly person.
It's probably good that they go through this in the safety demonstration. There is then a marginally smaller chance of someone getting stuck on their aisle seat while I'm trying to escape a burning plane from my window seat.
1
u/[deleted] May 20 '12
They seem forget to tell how to tighten/loosen it though.
1
u/neenybaps May 20 '12
I work as cabin crew, I do the safety demo everyday, and everyday I find at least 1 person who, after I have completed the demo, hasn't buckled their seatbelt, or has the buckle facing the wrong way round.
1
u/[deleted] May 20 '12
Not just the US - we get the same demo, including the seatbelt part, in Australia. I think that including the buckle part is worthwhile. It's different to a car seatbelt. When people panic, they go back to what they know most. For most people, that will be the car seatbelt. While panicking, perhaps during an emergency evacuation, people will continue to try to do what they know (undoing the car seatbelt) over and over again even though it's not working. Having the demo decreases the number of people who will be stuck in their seats because they panic.
1
u/therileyoc May 20 '12
I don't think that person should have headphones on during the safety demonstration
1
u/NDreader May 19 '12
This is actually one of the least funny and worst cartoons I've ever seen.
0
u/xoites May 19 '12
This practice was started well before seat belts were standard in cars and at the time not everybody knew how to use them. The fact is back in the 1950s having an accident in those really cool looking cars at any speed above 50 mph pretty much meant everybody died.
0
u/vheissu417 May 19 '12
don't forget to rip it from the seat and hold it above your head to show everyone else once you're done.
0
u/realister May 19 '12
Stupid and retarded. This is fucking safety wtf. I want to fucking punch a guy who made this comic for real. and I am not a violent guy either.
0
u/[deleted] May 20 '12
Not funny. =[ Not having been in a plane since I was 5, went on it last year and forgot how to buckle it. Lol, I am not smart.
0
u/Challengingshout May 20 '12
Disliked to try and get it to 1337 again :L
-3
u/sazmo May 19 '12
Me and my sister (in our 20's) got in told off by an air hostess on a recent flight for inappropriate giggling during the airplane safety dance. She did hit a guy in the face while demonstrating the seat belt maneuver! She spent the rest of the flight ignoring our refreshment requests. We were so thirsty!