There are no standard motives why public bus fights occur. Some blame the confrontations on scare seating and limited foot space but it’s a product of basic probability - confining millions of people in a bus everyday will cite off some hostility.
These fights often involve the same basic three characters: one rider behaving erratically and looking to rock the place, another rider who has set off the erratic behavior and a group of passive commuters staring at the ground.
The crazier of the two fighters controls the intensity level - if he or she decides to turn up the volume by spitting at the other person, it’s going to be a full-on spit fight with a few loogies thrown in for good measure.Technically, the crowd does has power to outnumber the fighters in order to end the fight peacefully. But because of a lack of leadership, crowds don’t have much burst out of the gate to get the wheels moving. They are often limited to a few “Hey come on now”s or the more direct “Hey guys come on. Be cool.”
Why do individuals in a crowd avoid getting involved in a public dispute or attack?
1. Not every crazy argument is going to become violent. Getting involved may be unnecessary and result in uncomfortable interaction with strangers.
2. Getting involved may trigger the erratic person to perceive the crowd as his or her enemy – The erratic bus rider may shift crazy into fifth gear to teach the crowd who’s the boss of this bus.
3. Most likely, the bus/subway driver has alerted HQ and the police will be arriving at the next stop.
4. Staying in the crowd is safer than entering the conflict.
5. Every bus has at least one brave person. He or she will eventually intervene and take control over the situation.
Unfortunately for the modern day coward, the Brave now have camera phones and are able save the action on video than protect the innocent. Filming public fights involves danger - The camera operator may be seen as just another instigator and risks getting hit by crazy-person shrapnel. The upside is worth the risk; if the incident turns really the footage may end up on a major news outlet.
The crowd’s only hope is for the the bus-driver to send an S.O.S. to HQ to alert the police. The bus driver, however, might be a minute or two behind in noticing the action. Some of these fights only last a few minutes; the bus driver might only witness a slice of the action. The crowd sees the entire fight-pie.
The Bat Signal App – Alert authorities of public danger without getting involved
The yet to be developed Bat Signal App (BSA) would allow people to alert authorities of danger without having to dial 911 and getting involved. If the BSA user witnesses dangerous activity, they would simply tap on the designated BSA icon on his or her phone. This will send a signal to the BSA site and anyone watching that site on their web browser will see a pulse (also known as BLIP) in the exact GPS location of the BSA user. Tap once, they will see one pulse, tap multiple times, multiple pulses.
The pulse is not an official 911 call; it’s just a visual signal indicating “trouble in the area.” The BSA could be a useful tool for local police, mall security, university security, stadium security or whoever is in charge of protecting large crowds and need eyes in the crowd. Tap once, most likely nobody will notice or pay no mind, tap over and over, security may notice. If multiple people on the bus have the bat signal app and five of them start tapping, security will notice the five separate danger alerts happening within the same area.
Unlike and alarm system where a homeowner pays a company to protect their house and monitor the alarm, the bat signal app offers real-time danger activity in any given area. The information would be a tool for the protectors who may be roaming the area and might just be able to take a look at what’s the haps on the corner of 2nd Street and Minna Street because 23 people are sending out multiple BSA alerts.
You could even have Super BSA alerts given to the most responsible members of society as a way of signaling major danger in the area. Women could walk through an ominous parking garage with their finger on the Super BSA, ready to give the mega bad signal. If mall security utilizes BSA technology notice Super BSA alerts coming from someone in the garage, they will send one of the guards to check out the area. It’s best to have pepper spray too but a little Super BSA alert may help even more.
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