Hazardous Items to Leave At Home On Your Commute

February 1, 2016

Hazardous Items to Leave At Home On Your Commute

When you take the subway, bus, or train to work, you may not be aware of the laundry list of items that pose a risk to you and other passengers. However, organizations like the Metropolitan Transportation Authority are on the lookout to ensure public safety and fire prevention. On the New York City Subway, New York City Buses, Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad, Staten Island Railway or Access-A-Ride, riding personal vehicles like scooters, skates, skateboards, and hoverboards is understandably prohibited. And some rules, like banning the smoking of cigarettes or cigars, are obvious. But some bans are less obvious.

Last month, the MTA announced that hoverboards are not even allowed on buses, trains, subways, or even at subway stations, due to the combustion risk of their lithium ion batteries. The ban might seem extreme, but authorities cannot be too careful when it comes to fire prevention and safety precautions. Below, we here at Fire and Life Safety America summarize a list of items to leave at home when taking the subway, riding the bus, or hopping on the train.

• Hoverboards, which according to the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration, have batteries that “can pose a heat, fire, and explosion risk,” and are no longer allowed anywhere on public transit property.
• Oil, gas, petroleum products, and compressed gases are an obvious choice to leave behind. If you need to hit the store, better to pick up your items in a personal car than bring them through the confined spaces of the public transit system.
• Paint or varnish are also banned; if you are redecorating, plan ahead so you won’t bring these items through public transit.
• Any container formerly containing gas, oil, petroleum products, varnish, or paint must be left behind. Though you may feel safe transporting these containers because they are empty or running low, their contents could still pose a threat to fire safety on public transportation vehicles.
• It goes without saying that cooking and smoking on the bus, train, and subway are not allowed! But the Metropolitan Transportation Authority makes a note of it within its rules anyway. They sure have their bases covered!

You can keep yourself and everyone else safer by arranging other means of delivery of flammable, compressed, or even formerly flammable items great or small than taking them with you on public transit. Even a small container could pose a risk, and when it comes to fire protection, it is always better to be safe than sorry.