Do you turn off phone on a flight because you are told to?

Do you turn off phone on a flight because you are told to?

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Discussion

snuffy

8,351 posts

271 months

Yesterday (18:22)
quotequote all
captain_cynic said:
snuffy said:
captain_cynic said:
More over, they want you to pay attention to what you're doing when handling gallons of flammable liquids.
That's a classic example of working backwards from the solution in order to attempt to justify the non-existent problem.
Not really.

More of an example of things we've learned as we've gone along. As I've mentioned, the biggest danger we've found with mobile phones is distraction. This wasn't even considered 30 years ago before they were commonplace.
Yes, really.

They changed their reason to suit their initial position.

This happens all the time; See covid for further details.



Louis Balfour

24,091 posts

209 months

Yesterday (18:22)
quotequote all
snuffy said:
Louis Balfour said:
snuffy said:
captain_cynic said:
More over, they want you to pay attention to what you're doing when handling gallons of flammable liquids.
That's a classic example of working backwards from the solution in order to attempt to justify the non-existent problem.
I think there was a problem back in the day, whether real or imagined, with analogue mobile phones interfering with the metering of pumps. I seem to recall that is why they didn't want people using mobiles on forecourts originally.
What I mean is that the petrol companies banned the use of mobiles on their forecourts, claiming it was because of explosion risk. Then that was then shown to be a load of bks, so instead of admitting they were wrong in the face of the evidence, they instead dreamed up another reason (i.e. being districted) to justify their initial position (and by justify, I mean save face).
You may be right. We will probably never know.

captain_cynic

9,305 posts

82 months

Yesterday (18:28)
quotequote all
snuffy said:
What I mean is that the petrol companies banned the use of mobiles on their forecourts, claiming it was because of explosion risk. Then that was then shown to be a load of bks, so instead of admitting they were wrong in the face of the evidence, they instead dreamed up another reason (i.e. being districted) to justify their initial position (and by justify, I mean save face).
No,

That is something people make up to justify being a tt.

Back in the 90s it was a real risk. As technology matureed that risk has diminished but we've discovered new things.

Such as people on the phone pouring petrol all over the forecourt because they were too busy on the phone to bother paying attention.

captain_cynic

9,305 posts

82 months

Yesterday (18:30)
quotequote all
snuffy said:
captain_cynic said:
snuffy said:
captain_cynic said:
More over, they want you to pay attention to what you're doing when handling gallons of flammable liquids.
That's a classic example of working backwards from the solution in order to attempt to justify the non-existent problem.
Not really.

More of an example of things we've learned as we've gone along. As I've mentioned, the biggest danger we've found with mobile phones is distraction. This wasn't even considered 30 years ago before they were commonplace.
Yes, really.

They changed their reason to suit their initial position.

This happens all the time; See covid for further details.
LoL...

Using COVID as an excuse shows you have no idea what you're on about.

COVID is the perfect example of reacting to new information in an unknown (novel) situation. A really massive own goal there.

Just to elaborate. Initial positions weren't changed. Present and future positions were altered in response to new information.

Louis Balfour

24,091 posts

209 months

Yesterday (18:36)
quotequote all
captain_cynic said:
Such as people on the phone pouring petrol all over the forecourt because they were too busy on the phone to bother paying attention.
There are many things on a petrol forecourt to drag one's attention away from filling up. A mobile phone is probably well down the list of them.

The most likely reason for spilt fuel remains, I would suggest, dodgy cut-offs on the pump.

Lots of people use their mobiles whilst filling up. As far as I am aware there has never been a case, anywhere in the world, where a petrol station was ignited with a mobile phone. Happy for you to prove me wrong.

snuffy

8,351 posts

271 months

Yesterday (18:40)
quotequote all
captain_cynic said:
LoL...

Using COVID as an excuse shows you have no idea what you're on about.

COVID is the perfect example of reacting to new information in an unknown (novel) situation. A really massive own goal there.

Just to elaborate. Initial positions weren't changed. Present and future positions were altered in response to new information.
It's you that has no idea what you are on about.

When Covid first started, all sorts of wild claims where made. Then, when it was found to be nowhere near as bad as first claimed, the Government, instead of going "Thank God for that", they instead kept up their beyond stupid rules in order to justify their initial massive overreaction, because they last thing they wanted was to get the blame for said massive overreaction.

Griffith4ever

2,508 posts

22 months

Yesterday (18:43)
quotequote all
boyse7en said:
Griffith4ever said:
I'm quite surprised at the couple of hyper agressive rants on this thread when, pretty much every other response has been calm, measured, and honest. The general response seems to be, "sure, I've left it on, don't think about it much" rather than "f-you, I'll leave it on if I want to, Its my right!"

There are some very easily triggered folk on here.
The problem is that if you perceive a problem, then the casual "don't think about it much" is just as baffling or annoying as the more vitriolic response.

I don't see a problem with turning my phone off if asked to do so by the cabin crew. It's their plane, they probably know more about it than i do, and the impact to me is minimal so why wouldn't i comply with their request? Seems petty to try and think you are getting one over on the man, or somehow superior to the "sheep", by not turning it off.
But no one is saying any of that here.... - I don't think anyone on here has ignored the request to turn your phone off "actively" - what they are saying is they've left them on by mistake (as I have said myself - I've left it on in a bag several times) or they are just not concerned. There is no "getting one over" on anyone - you are making that up. I mentioned "doing as you are told" as part of describing the situation where we hang on to outdated practices not for good logic, but for "do as your told" "logic".

captain_cynic

9,305 posts

82 months

Yesterday (18:48)
quotequote all
Louis Balfour said:
captain_cynic said:
Such as people on the phone pouring petrol all over the forecourt because they were too busy on the phone to bother paying attention.
There are many things on a petrol forecourt to drag one's attention away from filling up. A mobile phone is probably well down the list of them.

The most likely reason for spilt fuel remains, I would suggest, dodgy cut-offs on the pump.

Lots of people use their mobiles whilst filling up. As far as I am aware there has never been a case, anywhere in the world, where a petrol station was ignited with a mobile phone. Happy for you to prove me wrong.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/van-bursts-flames-driver-fills-23804667.amp

There you go.

As for other distractions, they are nowhere near as bad as a mobile phone. As we've seen repeatedly people will drive right into the back of a car they're looking right at because they're too busy on their phone. A phone takes all of our attention, not just some of it.

Our brains are wired to prioritise communication and we get rewarded (dopamine) for it so we want to be distracted by phones.

A paper on the subject.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg...

Louis Balfour

24,091 posts

209 months

Yesterday (18:58)
quotequote all
captain_cynic said:
Louis Balfour said:
captain_cynic said:
Such as people on the phone pouring petrol all over the forecourt because they were too busy on the phone to bother paying attention.
There are many things on a petrol forecourt to drag one's attention away from filling up. A mobile phone is probably well down the list of them.

The most likely reason for spilt fuel remains, I would suggest, dodgy cut-offs on the pump.

Lots of people use their mobiles whilst filling up. As far as I am aware there has never been a case, anywhere in the world, where a petrol station was ignited with a mobile phone. Happy for you to prove me wrong.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/van-bursts-flames-driver-fills-23804667.amp

There you go.

As for other distractions, they are nowhere near as bad as a mobile phone. As we've seen repeatedly people will drive right into the back of a car they're looking right at because they're too busy on their phone. A phone takes all of our attention, not just some of it.

Our brains are wired to prioritise communication and we get rewarded (dopamine) for it so we want to be distracted by phones.

A paper on the subject.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg...
Nah.

https://www.ukpia.com/consumer-information/mobile-...

"On occasion unsubstantiated reports emerge of mobile phones causing fires on petrol filling stations and other locations where flammable vapours are present. In fact, when research has been done into whether this has occurred (see the work of the Energy Institute), no evidence linking fires to mobile phone ignition has been found."

BigBen

11,245 posts

217 months

Louis Balfour said:
Nah.

https://www.ukpia.com/consumer-information/mobile-...

"On occasion unsubstantiated reports emerge of mobile phones causing fires on petrol filling stations and other locations where flammable vapours are present. In fact, when research has been done into whether this has occurred (see the work of the Energy Institute), no evidence linking fires to mobile phone ignition has been found."
I believe that the rules came from early petrol pumps (and possibly to this day) using a wireless link to the cashier. This link was easily swamped by CB radios and the like so radio stuff was banned from forecourts.

fat80b

1,737 posts

208 months

BigBen said:
I believe that the rules came from early petrol pumps (and possibly to this day) using a wireless link to the cashier. This link was easily swamped by CB radios and the like so radio stuff was banned from forecourts.
Makes sense. I always assumed the rule was simply because people without a phone fill up quicker than those with a phone in their hand.

Simple business throughput and therefore profitability being the main reason.

If telling some folk that there’s a risk of explosion means they spend less time faffing around at the fuel pump then we’d probably all agree it’s actually better for the world so let’s keep the little lie going…….