Philly Drunk Duck

The NTSB to Get Medieval on Handheld Use while Driving

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has apparently had it with Americans driving (or boating) and surfing, e-mailing, texting or talking on their handheld devices. The government agency has said that the U.S. is at risk for a surge in deadly accidents unless it makes using mobile phones and tablets while driving cars and buses or operating boats and trains very illegal and properly enforces those laws. Essentially, the NTSB would like to make mobile data use while driving as prohibited as driving under the influence, said the agency on Tuesday.

The has reported that the NTSB met in Washington today to discuss a single, catastrophic incident: a fatal crash between a tour boat and a barge that occurred last year in a busy shipping channel in Philadelphia. The individual driving the tug boat pushing the barge was on his cellphone attending to a family emergency when the crash, which killed two Hungarian students and pushed 35 people into the shipping channel, occurred. Investigators later determined that in a two-and-a-half hour period, the tug driver, Matt Devlin, made and received 21 cellphone calls and also surfed the Internet on a company laptop, all while he was supposed to be working and adhering to safety standards.

“Many people continue to think it's just going to take a moment (to call or text),” said NTSB Chairwoman Deborah Hersman. “How do we change that mindset? Not just the NTSB, but all of us.”

The NTSB also concluded that Devlin was in the tug's lower wheelhouse, not the upper wheelhouse, putting the stalled, 33-foot duck boat in his blind spot.

The deckhand on the disabled duck boat was texting as well. He sent several messages after dropping anchor, including one a minute before the barge hit, reported the AP.

“Distraction is becoming the new DUI,” said NTSB member Robert Sumwalt. “This is going to reach epidemic proportions.”

The NTSB hopes to put a stigma onto using handhelds while driving or boating similar to the one that exist for drunk driving. “It takes a generation or two to change it, but change is needed,” said Sumwalt.

A federal criminal investigation is also under way into the crash. Devlin – who could face involuntary manslaughter or other charges – has not cooperated with NTSB investigators on the advice of his lawyer. The families of the Hungarian students killed in the crash have filed wrongful-death lawsuits.

Drunk Bro Locks Himself In Restroom….Figures Out Alternative ...

Hey I ain’t mad at this guy.   Nothing worse than being shitfaced in a bar and locked in a restroom.  Shit will make you go insane.  Like the walls are closing in on you.   Got to get out somehow.  Not his fault it was shitty craftmanship.

PS – Maybe the funniest line of the week is the guy who came in after…

“You broke my restroom bro?”  What the fuck is wrong with you dude?”

i manage a bar/restaurant, and i would go fuckin gorillashit if someone broke that shit down. also, these dudes are obviously blowing coke in there, why else would a group of guys be in a fuckin stall together. dude shoulda brought in the bouncer from that worcester strip club and fucked these kids up, hahaha. as far as the funniest line being, “you broke my restroom, bro?”, i think the funniest line was the kid saying to him a few seconds later, “i know, you’re speechless, right?”. hahaha, kinda goes against what i said about how i’d take it, but whatever, i’ve learned to embrace my hypocrisy.

WOW how did i not pin THA DRO MAN for a restaurant manager.  The kid is a total piece of shit.. and my favorite part is, he responds to everything people say about him with this kind of ‘who me? no im really a nice guy!’ bullshit.. and posts way to much personal info about himself on a fucking blog (recall: the tire iron incident).  So here it is for you Dro_Man, Captain TGIFridays himself:

cesar, all disrespect aside, what’s the “tssssst” thing about? is that like the puerto rican kids trying to holler at girls like, “tssst! mami! tssst! mira, mami!”? and FYI i’m a college graduate, not that that makes a person better or worse, although you clearly think it does…so who’s the piece of shit? and y’all need to get over the tire iron shit already…it’s a 3 week old conversation about a 4 year old incident that i didn’t even play a role in, other than just being there. and i forgot the pythagorean theorem after sophomore geometry in high school, and i’ve needed it even less than i thought i would then. is that the “a(squared) + b (squared) = c (squared)” one?