Has it happened to you? 

You're on the subway, trying as hard as you can to get to your destination, and the dreaded words echo over the loudspeaker?

"We're being delayed due to a sick passenger."

Well, if you've been riding the subway recently, odds are you've heard this frustrating message. 

According to The New York Times, sick passengers have accounted for about 3,000 delays/month so far in 2015.

This number is up from about 1,800/month in 2012.

It's a sad truth about living in New York City that while our reactions should be sympathy, we're all pretty incensed that we're going to be late whenever our train screeches to a halt, and this message echoes over the speakers.

Outside the car, there are people working to solve the problem. The crew calls the rail control center to send an ambulance to the nearest station. Emergency medical workers run to locate the patient, which sometimes takes longer in stations.

[anad]

Sometimes, it takes as long as thirty minutes (or more), which sets off a domino affect of delays across the system. 

Officials at the MTA say the incidents often involve riders who have fainted, vomited, had a heart attack or a seizure, or are unconscious or even dead.

Contrary to popular belief, "sick passenger," does not mean a suicide on the tracks. Workers are instructed to announce these as a "police investigation."

It makes sense that a system which transports six million riders/day would sometimes have to deal with sick passengers. However, the authorities are at a loss to understand why the number has so drastically increased.

Other top reasons for delays include overcrowding, equipment problems, and bad weather. 

These aren't so dependent on human error, though. So we've got to ask... is there a better way for the MTA to handle sick passengers?

[anad2]

The MTA has implemented an ad campaign that urges riders who feel sick to get off at the next stop to get help, to help alleviate delays. 

They've also asked riders not to pull the emergency brake if a passenger is sick, because this abruptly stops the train. It could also slow the emergency response, especially if the train is stranded between stations.

Of course, though, we've got to think of the situation from the perspective of a sick person; that is, we'd care more about getting medical attention than we would about our fellow passengers being late to meet their friends for drinks.

It's just keeping this all in perspective that's the difficult part, right? 

Did You Know Late NYC Subway RIders Got 129,000 Excuse Slips from the MTA Last Year?!

[via The New York Times] [Feature Image Courtesy Jalopnik]