Bus Safety Rules to be Rewritten Because of People are Now Too Fat

Are buses less safe today? Yes, according to the Federal Transit Authority, because of ... fat people. So it's rewriting the rules to ensure bus safety:

The Federal Transit Authority (FTA) proposes raising the assumed average weight per bus passenger from 150 pounds to 175 pounds, which could mean that across the country, fewer people will be allowed on a city transit bus.

The transit authority, which regulates how much weight a bus can carry, also proposes adding an additional quarter of a square foot of floor space per passenger. The changes are being sought "to acknowledge the expanding girth of the average passenger," the agency says.

"This change is really just a bow to reality," says Joseph Schwieterman, who studies bus ridership as director of the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development at DePaul University in Chicago. "With no small number of bus passengers tipping the scale at 200 pounds or more, this is much more realistic."

Larry Copeland of USA Today has the full story on this weighty matter: Link


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In Fort Worth the buses include bike racks and passengers are allowed to bring groceries and merchandise. Then you have the disabled people who have special areas aboard the buses to park their motorized wheelchairs. My guess is what's really needed are far more buses and much better health. Of course, riding the bus isn't exactly good for one's health and personally, I'd rather be riding my bicycle from place to place.
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Hey now, some of us are just tall, and for us 200lb is right on target. Perhaps the average population is just getting taller?

Yeah, probably not. :)
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Ever heard of Prader-Willi syndrome? I had an uncle that weighed in at 700 lbs. He sat in my aunt's car and destroyed the shocks and warped the bucket seat.

I don't know why he was so large, family says he just ate and ate and didn't do anything else. He'd sit in bed with two buckets of KFC chomping away. Though he lamented his weight and health and eventually died from weight-related complications, he just couldn't stop.

A year or so ago I came across this disorder abbreviated as PWS. I guess what happens is the Grehlin the stomach produces when it is hungry, and stops producing when it is full, doesn't switch over. The person always feels deathly hungry, as if they hadn't eaten in a long time and could eat a whole side of beef. The experiential impetus to eat causes people with PWS to eat and eat without stopping. Cupboards and fridges need to be locked-away from the PWS sufferer. Because almost despite all their judgements, they will react to the hunger and try to eat continuously.

CSI did an episode about a man with PWS, and there is also a documentary about it which is quite interesting.
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Maybe I'll get a seat now on the way home from work...doubt it. MARTA doesn't seem to play by the same rules. They'll stuff as many people as possible onto a train or bus.
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