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Please Don’t Jump Off The Tram (and other Tram news)

"Please remain seated while the tram is in motion. Don’t jump off the tram to retrieve a lost item. Rather wait till the next stop and speak to the driver or the cast member in the rear of the tram and someone will go retrieve your lost item."

These are important words and they, or something very similar, are repeated everytime a tram picks up new passengers. Still some people think it’s a good idea to jump off a moving tram when something falls off, like a hat or a stroller. Those trams are moving faster than you think and are very heavy. If you were to jump off and get hit or run-over by the tram you’d be looking at some very serious injuries. Even if you weren’t hit by the tram you’re still looking at head injuries, broken bones, and some serious asphalt burn.

The Orlando Sentinel reports today that one many knows this only too well after jumping off a moving tram to retrieve a stroller. He’s lucky he escaped with realtively minor injuries.

In related news, this is why they tell you that all strollers must be folded with children removed. It’s also why small children should be placed on the inside of a row. Children can fall out of moving trams as easy as strollers can.

In other related Tram news. I encountered a ‘test’ tram at Disney’s Animal Kingdom this weekend. Instead of the old hand-held microphone and PA system, the new tram has a radio linked hands-free headset and extra speakers that project to the loading side of the tram. This allows the RT (rear tram position) to speak over the system even while he is walking through the loading zone. Before he would have had to be standing on the back of the tram to use the speakers. The new side mounted speakers also project the RT’s announcements to any gathered crowds so it’s more likely that they’ll hear the ‘final boarding’ call and safety messages.

The system did cut in and out a few times while the tram was in motion. We’ll see if that is a technical issue that can be fixed. But if you miss every 6th word or so, that can really annoy the listener.