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From: biagioni@unc.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.aviation,net.politics,net.railroad
Subject: Re: "A Design Proposal That Would Make Passenger Planes Safe"
Message-ID: <843@unc.unc.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 16-Jan-86 10:05:09 EST
Article-I.D.: unc.843
Posted: Thu Jan 16 10:05:09 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 18-Jan-86 07:09:20 EST
References: <3223@hplabsb.UUCP> <4785@alice.UUCP> <1029@lsuc.UUCP>
Reply-To: biagioni@unc.UUCP (Edoardo Biagioni)
Organization: CS Dept, U. of N. Carolina, Chapel Hill
Lines: 25
Xref: watmath net.aviation:2399 net.politics:13003 net.railroad:719
Summary: 

In article <1029@lsuc.UUCP> msb@lsuc.UUCP (Mark Brader) writes:
>That may be, but nobody has tried backwards seats on airliners hereabouts;
>the safety improvements tend to be independent of passenger comfort matters.
>I would certainly refuse to ride in one, given a choice.  One of the things
>that makes travel pleasurable for me is watching what goes by the window,
>and I don't appreciate being forced to watch it recede rather than advance.
>
>(I'm not speaking hypothetically; I have traveled backwards, though not by
> air.  In Britain, and I think Europe generally, half the seats on trains
> face backwards, and if the train is busy there may be no choice.  For that
> matter, similar conditions apply on the Toronto subway.)
>Mark Brader

I have traveled backwards too, and do so whenever I get a chance. European
trains do offer the option of sitting with your back to the engine, if you
prefer. That's one of the things I don't like about U.S. trains, you don't
get a choice. Of course if the train is full you might not have a choice
about whether to sit on the aisle or near the window, either, but that's
beside the point. Since ultimately it is a matter of personal preference,
I am surprised that U.S. trains do not take that into consideration.
I would gladly sit backwards on planes if such seats were available,
but I understand that for space reason that is unlikely to happen.
			Ed Biagioni
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