In the video clip above, you’ll see a scene I have always dreaded when I walk through an airport terminal – about 35 seconds into the clip, an electric airport cart slams into passengers. What caused the crash is something that should have been prevented – the driver picked up a passenger, and that passenger placed her suitcase on top of the accelerator pedal.
Before the driver even had a chance to warn others, he had been thrown off the cart and ended up underneath it. It took seven passengers to lift the cart off the driver. Four passengers ended up in the hospital, but none were seriously injured.
According to ABC News, there have been 19 other incidents involving electric carts at Bush Intercontinental alone – and that is in just three years. I understand the need for an airport transportation method that can aid the elderly or disabled – but these carts can pick up quite a bit of speed, and any time you combine a very heavy and fast moving vehicle around crowds, something is bound to go wrong. I’d prefer that the carts only be allowed in the terminal during off-peak hours, and that airlines only use wheelchairs during peak hours. Then again, I’ve sometimes been picked up at the lounge by a cart for a speedy trip to the gate, and I didn’t mind that one bit…
What do you think?
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