Do you wear a seatbelt in the hotel van?

[DO328-JET FO]

I was on the hotel van this morning and the seatbelt in the front pax seat didn't work.

I always try to wear one, but notice many of my crewmembers don't.

Just seemed interesting to me that for some reason we many think seatbelts aren't important when we leave the airplane.

Just wondering if anyone else noticed...

 

[w4mch]

I have noticed that only nerds go for the front right seat in the hotel van ;-)

Just kidding, just kidding....

 

[jetexas]

I head straight for the back so I don't have to fill out that &*^% clipboard in the dark. haha
I'll wear a seatbelt if I can find it. I like the hotel vans that have free drinks. pretty cool. I dislike the hotel vans that take forever to pick you up, especially on short overnights.

 

[AirBoard]

Seatbelts, I don't need no stinkin' seatbelts.

I sit in the back and use the seat in front of me as a brace.

Getting out of the van requires the most dexterity as you slide down the 4" aisle and get every possible projectile on you stuck on that **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED** belt that extends the length of the van. Finally you make it out only to find the belt still wrapped around your cell phone. Talk about a graceful exit at the curb as passengers watch. Don't worry folks I'll get myself untangled here and get ya to BOS in better fashion. Sh*t I just dropped my hat, where's my laptop,.....

 

[GogglesPisano]

I like to unlock my belt just a few seconds before the van driver comes to a complete stop, and make a loud clicking noise while doing it. Then I like to stand up uncomfortably hunched over for a few moments, waiting for people ahead of me to get off the van.

 

[crashpad]

I take the front seat for the seat belt, the airbag, and comfort in the knowledge that if we get in an accident the Captain will be riding up my a$$ as usual.

 

[eddie]

GogglesPisano - Thanks for the laugh.

 

[BrokeAssPilot]

who gives a f**K

 

[DTWFO]

I have no idea why, but I never wear the belt in the van, but always do in my own car. And I have noticed that no one else does either. Although I did the other night when the van driver nearly killed us all trying to take a 35 mph curve at around 60. I think I'll change my habits now.

 

[House_X]

I like to unlock my belt just a few seconds before the van driver comes to a complete stop, and make a loud clicking noise while doing it. Then I like to stand up uncomfortably hunched over for a few moments, waiting for people ahead of me to get off the van.

That......is a classic!!!!

 

[abenaki]

SOme years ago I was in a hotel van in BHM with a crew from a DAL flight......A few months before several of them had been in a hotel van that cracked up.....Put all of them out of work for about 6 months.......

Wear the seatbelt.....

 

[RJFlyer]

I usually try to, but...

We have this jerkoff captain who requires not only the whole crew to wear their seatbelts, but also the van driver and any other passengers in the van as well. If the van starts moving and someone hasn't put on their seat belt, he starts with "sir, stop the van. Sir! Please stop the van and put on your seat belt. Sir! STOP THE VAN RIGHT NOW!!" Claims to have written the company policy on hotel van seat belt usage (?!). What a tool. There are several hotel van drivers who make him take a cab if he shows up for an overnight.

 

[Stifler's Mom]

RJFlyer,

What an embarrasement to have a guy like this in the van. I think I would crawl under the seats if I had to be associated with something like that.

 

[Smoking Man]

=)

I personally take the time to inspect the tire pressure (yes the TSA allows me to keep my pressure guage), the exhaust system for any leaks which may cause a euforic environment in the the van.

In all reality if the van is equiped with seat belts I will use them.

 

[LAXSaabdude]

I know I should use them more, and I always use them in my car, but it just seems like they are so hard to find in the van. They are usually jammed in between the cushions, and it is hard to match the respective buckles on a 3 across bench seat in the dark. Especially when I am tired, flew 7 legs, gotta fill out the sign-in sheet.....

Yeah, yeah, I know, I should quit whining and just do it!

LAXSaabdude.

 

[Counselair]

OK I'll man up as the pilot nerd that slows down the thread. The reason that you should wear your seatbelt is that some companies (check your insurance policies) will not fully cover disabilities/workmans comp. owed via an automoblie accident while on company time if you do not take all available precautions to safe guard your well being should you be the victim of said accident.

As for the driver not wearing his/hers. Imagine this guy picking you up at two in the morning, worked 12 hours when some drunk hits the side of the van knocking him out of his seat. Who's driving? Fate. Bet ya wish you took the time to put that seatbelt on now. As for telling him not to move the van until his seat belt is on... I'm an ass but not that big an ass.

Counselair

 

[MJG]

I'll wear it when it's there and readily available. Some of those vans don't even have seatbelts. I've always wondered what it would look like in one of the shuttle vans with sidways seating if everyone got hurled to the front during an accident. Not pretty I'll bet.

Only last year we had an entire crew sent to the hospital when their van driver (teenage college student) fell asleep at the wheel at 0530 in the morning and ran a red light smashing into a car.

Worst part is that the company claimed that since the crew wasn't "on the airplane" that their injuries weren't considered OJIs. FA had a hell of a time getting any kind of help with medical bills.

 

[IFLYASA]

RJFLYER

I have heard about this Captain from several F/O's.. If he's who I think he is, rumor has it he should probably go to the hotel on an early commute home, rather than "hanging around operations alone"....

 

[bailout]

IFLYASA, well, THAT comment, just told me who he is...

 

[DTNflyer]

I sleep In the plane so I can save the company money.

Van drivers scare me, how do you know if they are actually going to take you to the hotel?

 

[pipejockey]

A bus that was supposed to leave from the New York City area enroute to Albany ended up in Scranton, PA. which is over 100 miles west when the police pulled him over because a passenger was getting worried and called the cops. He was given directions to Albany and then proceeded on their way.

Whats scary is that the company that employs this bus driver, who can't seem to read a map or road signs to make his way to his destination, pays him at least $40,000 a year. A regional airline pays their first officers not even half that to start and even a senior FO will not get to $40000 at just about every regional out there.

I still can't quite figure why.

 

[nck4857]

Just a couple of weeks ago in CID the van driver hit a patch of ice and rolled the van with the crew in it. Nobody was wearing their seatbelts. Some of those van drivers are pretty **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED** scary and they probably make more money than I do!!

 

[Wankel7]

I heard some crazy story about a crew down in South America. They were heading to the hotel and the van driver hit a pedestrian. Not only did he hit the person, the impact killed killed him.

From what I heard the captain paid the van driver to take the body and take care of it. Just like nothing ever happened. Not sure what the right thing was to do. That seems rather screwed up. But who knows what would have happened if the, "Police" got involved.

Wankel

 

[OPECJet]

When staying at the Partridge Inn in AGS, bring the harness with you out of the airplane. Both van drivers this weekend were on a mission from God.

 

[NWA]

Boy, this message board has really gone to sh++. (Do you wear a sealtbelt in the Van)?

 

[dixieflyer]

Magnum P.I. never wore a seat belt. Why should I?

 

[OUjetdrvr]

I dont wear them for the shear excitement it brings me after a grueling 14-hour day, wondering if I will make it to the hotel in one piece...or not! However, I always strap on the front seat though. In the back, I figure whats the worst that could happen, wind up face first in the lap of the FA. Well on second thought, considering most of our FAs, that would be grounds for a true living nightmare.

PS. Magnum is the ultimate "fa shizzle"