Okay, even I didn't think busses were THIS bad a method

[ChadTower]

HOUSTON, Texas (CNN) -- A bus caught fire and exploded early Friday on a crowded Texas interstate, killing as many as 24 people who were fleeing ahead of Hurricane Rita.

Holy CRAP.

[Stingray]

I saw that on CNN.com this morning. At that time they were only reporting one dead, which is bad enough. The situation down there on the south Texas highways is scary to say the least.

-S

[mr.Curmudgeon]

Chad,

Your bike idea is looking better and better.



mrC

[ChadTower]

It sucks when the way for your ideas to be proven reasonable is for people to die.

[mr.Curmudgeon]

It sucks when the way for your ideas to be proven reasonable is for people to die.

I'm mostly being facetious. Don't get too big a head.   

I still think buses are better than bikes, even if they *do* explode from time to time.

This is a total freak accident. Well, maybe not 'total freak' since they were carrying oxygen tanks on buses not equipped to handled/store them safely.


mrC

[ChadTower]

I still think buses are better than bikes, even if they *do* explode from time to time.

Well, the thing is, they are opposite approaches.  One is institutional, the other is individual.  The thing about the institutional approaches is that they are proven failures 100% of the time.  The gov't is too big, stupid, slow, and wasteful to do anything effectively.  If I thought the gov't could get enough busses out there and clear a good path for them and keep them moving, sure, it's better than bicycles.

Does anyone have any faith in the local authories' ability to do something like that?  Are they willing to bet their lives that it can be done?

When you cannot count on the gov't to do something, you must count on yourself.  Leaving by car has failed.  What else is there?

[Stingray]

These folks were senior citizens who were confined to a nursing home. Many of them obviously needed to have oxygen bottles. Somehow I doubt that biking would have been an option for them.

-S

[Dartful Dodger]

They should have left them behind.  The stray dogs and old lions from the zoo need something to feed on.

Now their charred meat is useless.

[ChadTower]

These folks were senior citizens who were confined to a nursing home. Many of them obviously needed to have oxygen bottles. Somehow I doubt that biking would have been an option for them.

Yep, they needed to be bussed.  I'm not saying that everyone should bike.

Why is this so hard to understand?  What I keep saying, over and over, is that it should be up to the people to evacuate themselves first, and THEN an institutional solution implemented for those who truly cannot.

Why does everyone keep repeating things like "well, a guy with no legs and no arms who is a swimmer named Bob can't ride a bike, so your solution sucks and so do you"?

[ChadTower]

From CNN:

The two National Guard tanker trucks, each carrying 5,000 gallons of gas, were sent at daybreak Friday to help thousands of people who had run low on gas while trying to evacuate, said Chief Master Sgt. Gonda Moncada, spokeswoman for the national guard.

Moncada said that 10,000 gallons of gas might not be enough to help everyone who needs it.

Hey, it's something, right?  Looks like most of our ideas are being put into practice.  Who says we need one solution?

[Stingray]

At least one person took your advice Chad. I was just out getting lunch. Heard a quick report from Port Arthur (maybe it was Beaumont, they were skipping around a lot). The reporter said that the town looks totally empty. This isn't an exact quote, but it's pretty close: "I can't see a single person from where I'm standing, although earlier we did see a man on a bicycle. He said he was trying to find a place to evacuate to".

-S

[ChadTower]

Heh.  When the hurricane comes, you'll see him flying around like a witch with a basket on his bike.

[Stingray]

I'll get you my pretty, and your little dog too!

-S