Anyone who rides an Amtrak train knows that the conductors routinely make a scripted public address announcement shortly after departure regarding policies about eating (forbidden except in the club car), drinking (from a "sealed container", I'm still confused by that one), and smoking, while onboard. I've heard it a thousand times and tend to tune it out ...
But sometimes they go off-script, and this morning, on the Paciic Surfliner in San Diego, that's just what happened ...
When the female conductor reached the part about smoking, she became loud and agitated, and stressed that there would be no smoking of "ENN-EEE-THING", including "electric cigarettes", and that it would result in "immediate ejection" from the train. She said nothing about stopping the train first ...
She then went on to say that anyone who suspected that another passenger was "smoking ENN-EEE-THING" should report it to a conductor "IMMEDIATELY", because "the batteries explode" and they have "chemicals that will make you sick". I actually felt paranoid for a moment, then remembered that my eRoll was safely hidden in my shirt pocket, so no worries there ...
Well, sometimes when you hear someone object in an irrational and exaggerated way, you just know there was a recent incident that triggered this response. A few minutes later, when the same conductor came through my car to check tickets, an elderly woman told her that her son had quit smoking with "one of those things". The conductor angrily replied that just the day before, they had to make an unscheduled stop to put off a passenger who was "smoking" (vaping) and apparently attempted to defend his actions...
I have seen what the conductors on Amtrak trains do with passengers with no ticket, they are detained by at least two conductors, and marched off at the next stop. A couple of weeks ago, I saw them push a homeless guy who resisted leaving, then glare at the remaining passengers daring anyone to object. They are also quite high-handed with anyone who sits on the lower level with a general fare ticket, as the seats are technically designated for senior and disabled passenger. At times the lower lever is nearly empty, while people are standing in the aisles upstairs. As a senior, I feel a little guilty when I hear passengers with small children complaining that they have to stand when seats on the lower level are available. The response from the conductors is "Rules are rules", or something to that effect ...
Anyway, its a pretty safe guess that there might have been a recent briefing or memo to Amtrak conductors regarding the "dangers" of "electric cigarettes", with a repetition of some of the standard media disinformation. I would expect zero tolerance on this in the future ...
By the way, I did check the Amtrak website on their official smoking policy, it reads as follows:
Interesting that its does not specifically prohibit tobacco, but could be interpreted by conductors as a ban on even carrying a PV ...
As for "smoking stops", that is a moot point here in SoCal, since smoking is illegal on transit station property, punishable by a $250 fine, and is aggressively enforced ...
Since I am often the only passenger in the senior section, or at least out of sight of the few folks on the lower level, I guess I'll just stealth vape or use the lavatory. But I will be even more careful not to allow a conductor to see that I am carrying one of these "dangerous" devices, just to be safe ...
I am always both sad and angry when people buy into false fears that I know to be untrue, and lash out in their ignorance ...
But sometimes they go off-script, and this morning, on the Paciic Surfliner in San Diego, that's just what happened ...
When the female conductor reached the part about smoking, she became loud and agitated, and stressed that there would be no smoking of "ENN-EEE-THING", including "electric cigarettes", and that it would result in "immediate ejection" from the train. She said nothing about stopping the train first ...
She then went on to say that anyone who suspected that another passenger was "smoking ENN-EEE-THING" should report it to a conductor "IMMEDIATELY", because "the batteries explode" and they have "chemicals that will make you sick". I actually felt paranoid for a moment, then remembered that my eRoll was safely hidden in my shirt pocket, so no worries there ...
Well, sometimes when you hear someone object in an irrational and exaggerated way, you just know there was a recent incident that triggered this response. A few minutes later, when the same conductor came through my car to check tickets, an elderly woman told her that her son had quit smoking with "one of those things". The conductor angrily replied that just the day before, they had to make an unscheduled stop to put off a passenger who was "smoking" (vaping) and apparently attempted to defend his actions...
I have seen what the conductors on Amtrak trains do with passengers with no ticket, they are detained by at least two conductors, and marched off at the next stop. A couple of weeks ago, I saw them push a homeless guy who resisted leaving, then glare at the remaining passengers daring anyone to object. They are also quite high-handed with anyone who sits on the lower level with a general fare ticket, as the seats are technically designated for senior and disabled passenger. At times the lower lever is nearly empty, while people are standing in the aisles upstairs. As a senior, I feel a little guilty when I hear passengers with small children complaining that they have to stand when seats on the lower level are available. The response from the conductors is "Rules are rules", or something to that effect ...
Anyway, its a pretty safe guess that there might have been a recent briefing or memo to Amtrak conductors regarding the "dangers" of "electric cigarettes", with a repetition of some of the standard media disinformation. I would expect zero tolerance on this in the future ...
By the way, I did check the Amtrak website on their official smoking policy, it reads as follows:
Interesting that its does not specifically prohibit tobacco, but could be interpreted by conductors as a ban on even carrying a PV ...
As for "smoking stops", that is a moot point here in SoCal, since smoking is illegal on transit station property, punishable by a $250 fine, and is aggressively enforced ...
Since I am often the only passenger in the senior section, or at least out of sight of the few folks on the lower level, I guess I'll just stealth vape or use the lavatory. But I will be even more careful not to allow a conductor to see that I am carrying one of these "dangerous" devices, just to be safe ...
I am always both sad and angry when people buy into false fears that I know to be untrue, and lash out in their ignorance ...
