DART Pass or Death Pass
Submitted by History on Wed, 10/10/2007 - 21:58.
Ok, here's my get rich quick scheme. Get your spouse a DART pass and tell them that they need to ride public transit so that the two of you can save money. As soon as you've persuaded them to do it, phone your insurance agent and take out the biggest life insurance policy you can. Sit back and wait.
Why am I being so harsh today? Well, let's just say that I almost got carjacked in DART parking lot this morning. A little quick thinking, misdirection, and remaining alert saved my backside. Now before you think that I'm riding from some crime ridden area today, let me assure that unless you consider Plano to be crime ridden, I was not.
Sadly, this is not the first serious incident I've experienced while using public transit policed by DART's sadly numerically deficient police force. If this happened to me, it can happen to you too. I'm just an average schmoe like you. I don't seek this sort of thing out and, in fact, most such people give me a wide berth. I've got a background in doing security work and I come from a military and law enforcement family. I know how to carry myself so that I don't look like a "target".
This morning though, I was the target. Nor am I happy about it. I hold DART and their short-sighted policies to be at fault here. I've been complaining to and about DART for two going on three years now. All of it, so far, to no avail. In some cases, this has already cost some of my fellow passengers their lives. Apparently, loss of life still isn't enough to get DART to do what they need to do and hire some more officers.
Vague Information re DART
My comment is to Recent Coin. While I find your banter about DART intriguing and humorous at times, I find myself puzzled at the insignificant amount of research or information you provide to the readers.
Curiosity has me...Did you CALL the DART Police when you were ALMOST carjacked? I would venture to say that you did not. I do my research. For that matter, have you CALLED the DART Police during any of the vast number of incidents that you have had to deal with while riding on the DART system? Again, I would guess probably not.
Exactly, what happened during your ALMOST carjacking? Did someone actually approach you in a threatening manner and attempt to take your vehicle, or did you just get scared because a person (who looked like a criminal or thug) was closer than 50 feet to you?
By the way, if you do come from a LAW ENFORCEMENT family as you say, don’t you think you would know that the police agency having responsibility for your safety and security might need to know this valuable information?
I do have a background in both military and law enforcement. In fact, I still do both. It is most paramount in law enforcement to be afforded the knowledge that crimes occur in order to effectively deter said crime. The next time you have a crime ALMOST or ACTUALLY committed against you, think about reporting it to the police and not a blog.
DART -- Criminal Paradise?
DART Rail and DART Parking lots represent Criminal Work Centers. DART Rail (Red Line) from the Plano area packs cars to standing room only many times -- "Pick Pocket Paradise".
Or-- "Muggers Paradise".
The DART Rail parking lots represent a "nest" of vehicles awaiting theft or burglary.
Worse -- particularly in the later evenings -- a car jacking substation.
And you know (most people do not) that those crimes (thousands each year) do not get reported concurrently to the FBI along with other crimes that transpire within the city of Dallas.
Therefore, little grandmas and mothers with children are led to believe that a train ride to the zoo will be just like a Disney ride in Orlando (WRONG)...
AND -- DART will tell us that the DART Rail which links with the TRE Rail System through one end of DFW is the Dallas version of MASS RAIL TRANSIT!.. Just try to manage a couple of bags, two children, and a baby stroller on DART Rail from Plano to DFW connecting with the TRE. NEVER ! The best mass transit the area has is still the TAXI.
[Ed Note: OK, folks, I'd like to see some statistics here. We're blogging comments like this, but we really need to get the numbers together so we know what we're looking at. Otherwise, I'm unwilling to call DART's parking lots a "carjacker's paradise."]