I was on a ferry recently and the stupidest thing happened. For some reason a large contingent of firemen and PNP officers on board. With all their notepads and backpacks it seemed like they were going to a meeting. About halfway through the trip a group of them made their way upstairs from the cabin below and began to mull around standing the middle of the aisles. As we got closer to our destination the number of PNP officers standing around blocking the walkways grew.
Other riders joined the burgeoning crowd. Two of the men in the picture above are firefighters. They are blocking the entrance to the toilets. But no matter to them. They just stood there blocking the path of anyone who might need to relive himself.
By the end of the journey as we were preparing to dock the place was crowded quite considerably.
Of course what was happening is everyone was preparing to disembark. It happens all the time that as the ferry approaches the dock people start to crowd the doors so they can exit speedily. Such action is not safe. Nobody should be crowding the aisles while the ferry is in motion. If there were an emergency, if there were an accident, tragedy could happen quickly.
Which makes it all the more troublesome that PNP officers and firemen, people who should be familiar with safety precautions, created such an unsafe environment by standing around blocking the aisles. If these officers had started crowding the exits to hastily disembark 5 or 10 minutes before the end it would have been understandable. Unsafe but understandable. However these men began waiting to disembark halfway through the trip!
Why didn't the crew make an announcement that all passengers must remains seated until the ferry has come to a complete stop? You certainly would not see this type of thing on an airplane. What's the difference here? There isn't one. Crowding the aisles so you can get off in a hurry is unsafe and rude.
Which makes it all the more troublesome that PNP officers and firemen, people who should be familiar with safety precautions, created such an unsafe environment by standing around blocking the aisles. If these officers had started crowding the exits to hastily disembark 5 or 10 minutes before the end it would have been understandable. Unsafe but understandable. However these men began waiting to disembark halfway through the trip!
Why didn't the crew make an announcement that all passengers must remains seated until the ferry has come to a complete stop? You certainly would not see this type of thing on an airplane. What's the difference here? There isn't one. Crowding the aisles so you can get off in a hurry is unsafe and rude.
As unsafe as the PNP made the trip there is something even more awful and even more unsafe about this ferry.
Those are the lifejackets for the upstairs deck. See how they are far away from the passengers and each one is wrapped in plastic. If the boat were to capsize no one would have access to a lifejacket without first making his way to this corner of the boat and then unwrapping it. Which is to say no one would have access to a lifejacket if there was a need.
Why not place a jacket under each seat like in an airplane?
But really we all know safety is not given a premium in the Philippines. From construction workers wearing slippers to road work with no barriers to motorcyclists who ride with their small children safety is simply not given much thought.
Why not place a jacket under each seat like in an airplane?
But really we all know safety is not given a premium in the Philippines. From construction workers wearing slippers to road work with no barriers to motorcyclists who ride with their small children safety is simply not given much thought.
