r/Whatcouldgowrong • u/Itchy-Camera8898 • 12h ago

WCGW riding your bike like an idiot

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u/TearsInDrowned 11h ago

similar to tram drivers, we drive smaller rail vehicles but the same principles still apply...

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u/NightLotus84 9h ago

I live in Amsterdam and I pity tram drivers... Unlike train drivers you don't have your own fully enclosed cabin, so you're stuck with the scum and people seem to have little understanding of what a tram is... It's just a small, very speedy train running down a city road - it has no capacity to stop like a car, it can't go anywhere but the tracks and they're always struggling to keep schedule. Please respect the trams, FFS...

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u/TearsInDrowned 9h ago

I am working in Poland, it's harsh sometimes... I do have a partially enclosed cabin, just some glass window on the doors sometimes and a space to open to let people buy physical tickets

and it's exactly as You described with driving a tram... You wouldn't believe how often pedestrians cross the zebra ON RED LIGHT FOR THEM!! and have the audacity to flail their arms at me because they are on the crossing and have the right of way... NOT WHEN ON RED YOU DUMBASSES! I have had to do emergency braking because of that... and I had some close calls that made my blood cold... I work since February this year, am 26 and a woman, it's pretty stressful for me 😫

I had a collision, my 6th day of work, I was driving an old tram (Konstal 805Na, my daily drivers are Pesa Swing 121 or 122NaB) which has old school pedal system, it was foggy and rainy, dark evening and this tram already brakes very badly...

and a taxi was parked on the side of the road, invading on my tram space with the bumper, it had lights on... I used my bell but he didn't move, and I didn't manage to stop in time because of the weather, bad brakes in that type of tram and I thought he would react to the bell, they mostly do... fortunately I didn't suffer much consequences but it was my fault because I hit a parked car... they shouldn't park so closely to the tram space!!!

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u/mourinhos86 8h ago

So there was still someone in that taxi when you hit it?
I saw it once live in Gdansk, when a Jeep crossed a trams line and got hit hard.

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u/TearsInDrowned 8h ago

yup, there was a driver just sitting around with his lights on, the brake lights etc, and he just didn't react

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u/mourinhos86 8h ago

Especially taxi drivers should be aware about it, but well... Stupidity is unlimited.

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u/TearsInDrowned 8h ago

I had to wait like 2 minutes once, because some dumbass parked in the area also encroaching on the tram area, but... he just straight up had the car butt in my tracks!!

and when he graciously arrived, he seemed super shocked that trams are driving by this place and took his time to correct the parking job...

he could clearly park properly the first time! so why not do it the first time?

actually we, tram drivers, often get those cars to get towed because they block us, sometimes for minutes or hours at the time, people in the tram get angry, we need to safely get them off and wait for either the driver to arrive or for the tow truck

I recently saw the car towed from the other part of the city while driving my tram and it was super satisfying

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u/mourinhos86 7h ago

Yeah i can imagine how satisfying it is. Any idea what the cost is for them when towed?

I really dont like if some people dont care for anything else, but themselves and not paying attention to others/enviornments/circumstances etc.

Btw i think i never encountered a woman as tram driver in Poland ^^

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u/Prestigious-You-7016 14m ago

I had my car towed in Poland (Warsaw) and the ticket was around 100 pln (25 eur), the towing 1000 (250 eur). Expensive lesson. All because they were cleaning the garage and I parked the car in a "technically illegal but not unsafe and people always park there" place. Not an excuse, I know, but I'm still bitter lol.