Seat belts and other stuff
 

I think I recall several posts by JST questioning the wisdom of people traveling without using seat belts in livery or for-hire vehicles.

I was supposed to participate in a ropes course offsite in Virginia for work today. The plan was meet outside our building, board a minibus, travel an hour or so to the site, do the course, ride another hour on the bus back to the building and go home.

I got there this morning to find a party bus, not a minibus. It took me a moment to recognize the party part because I was initally distracted by the oddly and excessively worn tires and other warning flags of "What do you need maintenance for when we need profits?" treatment. Then I looked inside.

The driver didn't look like he was much interested in driving with his bloodshot eyes. The party bus had a small rear bench and inward facing benches running along the sides the length of the bus. No stripper pole, though. No seat belts either. Perhaps the unknown sticky substances covering most of the seating were supposed to keep passengers in place? It wreaked of air freshener trying (and failing) to cover up many other odors.

I couldn't do it.

Ugh. Good choice. Edit: I had a colleague who was severely injured in a taxi cab accident in Houston. No seatbelt. Very bad head trauma.

No shame in that. I'd rather my gut instinct was wrong and I miss a few hours of fun, than to end up spending the rest of my life tethered to life support.