You With the Wheeled Luggage, Take Note

As a world traveler (and commuter) I always thought that one should limit one’s baggage to that one is willing to carry.  I don’t understand why all those women need to wheel backpacks full of stuff to work everyday, left alone on a 4 day trip to Venice.  And, why don’t people apologize when they wheel over another’s foot?  I’m tempted to give their wheelie bags a good swift kick!

I have to agree on the wheeled boxes used by lots of people now.  Not only do they run over your feet, take up more room on an airplane-since most of these will not fit in an overhead-but as they pull them through a busy airport, such as Atlanta, they are taking up so much room behind them as they pull this thing around, that in a crowded space and one that travels with small children, that is a lot of room where someone or a child can be walking or standing.  Try meeting another flight with a child in tow, and getting caught behind someone with a rolling suitcase.

Sure, and what about all those thoughtless Mothers pushing strollers in the Airport also. Poor seth must be surrounded by wheels aiming just for his little ankles. While I do carry my bags my wife (a flight attendant) does use roller bags and with all the connections she makes in a day she would be hard pressed carring everything. So lighten up and worry about something a little more important, like I don’t know WORLD HUNGER.

The thoughtless of this article is astounding. Of course I am annoyed (or worse) when someone runs into me with their wheeled luggage. But I’m much more annoyed about sitting on the runway for 2 hours. Of all things to complain about! And to complain about little old ladies packing too much in a carry-on! I’ll tell you exactly what’s in their bags: 15 different medicines, and the camera and jewelry that the airlines won’t replace when they lose it. Please remember it’s not allowed to be more than 40 pounds!

I’m a healthy looking young woman, but a severe genetic disease prevents me from lifting anything over 15 or 20 pounds at all, and minimal weight above chest level. If the stewardess asks me to put something in the overhead bins, I HAVE to have someone do it for me. I only hope a self-centered jerk like you doesn’t sit next to me. Someone who is sure that everyone runs over his toes on purpose and that every woman over-packs on purpose. Sir, your ignorance is showing, and it’s not flattering to you.

Thinking I had problems with strollers, stewardesses,  or little old ladies with medication is your projection, not my difficulty with wheelie carts.  I was talking about the women who commute on local trains with wheelie carts and run over people’s feet, trip them, and stop immediately at the top of escalators to put down their wheelie carts so they don’t have to carry them one step further.  In addition to creating safety hazards, particularly when one is trying to find a place to step off the escalator.  It’s uncivil. Why do they need a purse, lunch bag and wheelie cart anyway?  I take work home and do some on the metro, but still commute and travel with only one bag and carry on. Nor was I talking about little old ladies on mediation.  I have visual and dexterity disabilities and travel with meds myself.  I was talking about women who take those huge suitcases (specifically on train trips) crowding the compartment, and expecting my male friends to carry their bags for them.  In my 30 years of traveling my motto has been if I can’t carry it, I don’t take it with me.  How much of Venice can one see towing a huge suitcase behind you anyway?

Boy are you full of yourself.  I can only hope that you are never on a plane, train, bus or commuter train with me.  There are probably plenty of women executives who take work home and find the “wheelie” things are much easier to manuever then if carried in their arms with purse, umbrella, lunch, and who knows what else.  Really it does seem like you need to get a life, I mean really, if you see one coming then move aside and they will probably miss your ankles until the next time you try to crowd ahead.seem83

Like my female executive peers I carry a minimal amount of items with me (including work, thesis materials, meds, etc) in the briefcase I wear over my shoulder and have doing so for 12 years.  The women I describe are not executives based on their dress, inability to streamline what items they commute with, and uncivil behavior. It appears that those posting comments don’t ride a commuter train so I’ll describe the situation.  Imagine 400 commuters confined in a train station waiting for their frequently late train’s track number to light up on the screen.  Then they all crowd out the doors, up the ramps, and crisscross around slower commuters and obstacles to get a seat on the train so they don’t have to stand on their 90-minute commute.  This works effectively when one is carrying one’s luggage.  Those crisscrossing while wheeling carts behind themselves in a crowd trip those who can’t see the carts for the press of flesh, and run other commuters’ feet over.  They create additional safety hazards by putting their carts down immediately at the top of the escalators, tripping those behind them because they leave no place for them to put their feet.  These are not normal “Metro Manners” where one is thrown into another passenger by a lurching train, accidentally steps on their foot, or has to crowd next to strangers, and it happens daily.  Wheelie carters tripping and running others’ feet over are creating hazards in schools too.  I believe that public civility is the basest of expectations, and not being full of oneself.  I appreciate the feedback that I’ve received from my posts.  It has motivated me to writethe public transportation systems of the potential hazards of what is occurring.

I have a better suggestion for all of you. Why don’t you move to Granbury, Texas and you won’t have to worry about any of those things.

Is it just me or was it at least 10 years ago, those bags didn’t exist.  What in god’s name did you people do then?  I can’t believe the crap people try to bring on a plane, then expect other people to help them put it away.  What happened to the airlines making sure that everyone checked their bags?  Flying used to be a breeze, now, the self-important idiots think of nothing but themselves.  Who cares if there are people behind me getting on or off the plane, I got to try and cram this oversized bag in or out of the compartment.  Hey everyone, look at me-I’m important! God, I miss the old days!

I travel quite a bit for both business and pleasure.  I have some lower back problems that after hours in the airport, slepping (sp?)bags, waiting in lines, etc, etc, my back is usually hurting pretty good.  I have both a briefcase that rolls as well as my luggage, and I love them.  Of course the real issue here is being courteous to others.  People who walk down the aisle in the airplane with a large purse, briefcase or carry-on, tend to have it over their shoulder and whack people with it as they go by, or as they swing it over their shoulder.  Just as annoying and sometimes painful.

I have traveled for over 50 years, and I’ve found that the biggest irritations and hazard are people like grizzly mom who only find fault with everone but themselves.  Get a life.

I honestly think that it all comes down to the people that “drive” these darn things… Many of these people seem to have a low awareness of their surroundings or something.

I personally have no problem with these as long as people know how to control them, and are courteous enough not to drive them over your feet and into your shins!

Having traveled as a sales executive for 20 years, I agree with Build Mass and a few others. However, people are often rude with their bags when traveling and they don’t need wheeled bags to cause damage either. Having said so, we must be tolerant of the bad while checking out the good travelers that do travel in style and don’t overpack and use more than their allotment of travel space.  It’s the same thing with drivers, the good and the bad and sometimes the seemingly bad are not really bad, they just need more help than the rest of us… but sometimes they are realy bad! My personal peeve is the poor lady traveling with children, God bless her, but does she have to bring 5 diaper/whatever bags, a purse, a tote, wheeled bag, stuffed animals and food…on top of the children’s luggage, carry-on bags, toys and food. Never fails that I have to move my briefcase to accommodate her stuff, which should have been 2 carry-on bags, period!!

Well, as I can imagine, the most beneficial part of wheeled luggage is that you can roll it. That seems nonsense. But if you have to carry many a things everyday or for a trip (even a small one), you understand it. Those wheels do help a lot, giving you a break actually. You don’t want your arms or shoulders to get hurt, right? I feel sorry if anyone didn’t apologize when the wheels over your foot, but be nice.