On most municipal transit systems in recent years, at least in English-speaking places, I’ve seen prominent ad campaigns warning that assaulting a bus driver or train crew member is a [felony/whatever] punishable by up to [whatever penalty].
I can with complete candor say it’s never even slightly crossed my mind to hassle, let alone beat the crap out of, a transit worker. What kind of situation comes up (apparently, regularly enough to merit major warning posters) in which riders really, really want to whale on the crew?
Pissed off commuters, although I’ve never seen any assaults on a train I’ve seen people argue that they shouldn’t have to pay because the service is awful/the train was late/the coffee was cold.
Some people are just dicks, some of those people are violent.
Robberies were quite common, I believe, when conductors and other personnel still had access to the money.
I made submissions at a coroner’s inquest in a matter where a passenger wrested control of the bus and rolled it,which killed one passenger and injured many poassengers.
There are a lot of things that can be done do to make bus travel safer, but I don’t think a sign warning of prosecution would be particularly useful, for the people who assault bus drivers tend not to be thinking clearly when they attack. That being said, such signage can’t hurt, other than to lower the overall ambiance of the ride.
Of course I’m biased, for I am a supporter of ejection seats on public transit (the last time I rode on a bus, the passenger beside me pissed in his seat.) More seriously, I think that the following would be helpful: greater support for bus drivers by bus companies encouraging drivers to put aggressive or obviously off-their nut passengers off the bus immediately, two-way radios, video cameras, direct police support, a security officer on board for particularly troublesome routes, enforcement of the white line rule, a partition for the driver, and no police putting crazy people on the bus in the first place (yes, this is a problem – the case I acted on was a result of this, and more recently another case in the region of a stabbing on a bus was a result of this).
I was aboard a bus in suburban Paris (near Le Bourget) when a minor traffic incident escalated into attempted assault on the bus driver. An impatient driver caused the bus to swerve, an act to which the bus driver reacted by application of lights and horn. The other driver took exception and pulled alongside to hurl abuse at with the bus driver, to which the bus driver responded by trying to edge the other driver off the road. This led to the other driver blocking the road with his car, getting out and trying to get in the doors of the bus, all the while screaming his intentions to do serious bodily harm. After a few minutes, he seemed to give up, started to drive away, then apparently thought better of it, came back and tried to assault the bus driver again. It was at this point that about six police cars converged on the scene, and the other driver was taken away in handcuffs. Frankly, the bus driver should have lost his job for contributing to the whole thing, but the other driver’s reaction was completely over the top.
So judging from the anedcdotal evidence, the answer to the OP’s question is, ‘people with poor judgement and poor impulse control’.
I honestly don’t see the point in signs like this. “Oh, I see it is illegal to attack the bus driver. I’d better put away this knife now”. I just don’t see how anybody who potentially is going to do this will change their behavior based on the sign.
The only people effected by this sign are regular commuters, who get a lovely in their face reminder about how they are in an area with people who like to attach other people, write graffiti on stuff, etc.
Could this perhaps be to forestall any “ignorance” defense by the aggressor? That way the prosecution can tell the judge/jury that the accused was warned that it was a felony, and not just (e.g.) a civil assault or misdemeanor. Not that ignorance of the law is any defense, but I can see how this might be used to seek a harsher penalty.
Now, I remember in Derry seeing the (rather alarming) “please don’t throw bricks at the ambulance/EMTs” signs but that at least had some political motive behind it.
Do people really randomly spit at bus drivers on general principle?
I think the signs probably have some effect at deterring verbal abuse/ intimidation from angry-but-sane passengers. I agree that they are likely not to make much of a difference to the truly deranged. Still, I (as a passenger) see the policy of giving transit workers legal protection as a positive thing.
I once called my local bus company and asked their policy on transporting passengers who were/ appeared to be drunk or on drugs. My call was motivated by the fact that, in the evenings, my route ended with folks getting into a smaller van that would then drop you at your actual apartment rather than a general stop. A couple of times I didn’t feel really comfortable with my fellow van passengers seeing where I lived, since I was young and lived alone. The rep told me that their mission was to provide transportation to the general public. Therefore, unless someone posed a threat or broke the bus rules, they were entitled to ride. I can respect that, but I keep it in mind. And of course it is better that the intoxicated are riding rather than driving.
Bluebird, the only company prepared to run an evening bus from the city centre, to Middleton, via Moston, used to regularly have security on the bus and a back up car following behind.
This was both a few years back when I was working there and 20 years ago when I was a student, and it was the central Manchester to Wythenshaw and Didsbury / Stockport lines. Given that they passed by such delightful areas as Moss Side and Hulme I’m not surprised.
It still happens regularly, I don’t think people need much of a motive, political or otherwise to act in this manner.
In hospitals here (and I assume the rest of the UK) there are similar signs to those mentioned in the OP in and its not uncommon to hear of attacks on ambulance crews and fire engines on their way to calls or on paramedics attempting to help injured people (either by the people they’re trying to help or by bystanders)
Anecdotal evidence I know but in my experience general standards of behaviour have taken a nose-dive in the past few years.
The line between civilisation and barbarism is thin indeed and I worry that we’re beginning to tip to the wrong side of it.