You are not justified in demanding a window seat for motion sickness!!!

Motion sickness is a common problem. It affects one in 3 people. But if the road is rough (which is usually the case in India), it will lead to intense and chaotic movements that will cause motion sickness in almost everyone. With this scenario, are people with motion sickness justified in demanding window seats in buses or public vehicles???

Motion sickness and window seats

You are enjoying or at least trying to enjoy a trip on the road or up the hill. The view from the window is great. And then suddenly, some one requests you to move to another seat and give up your window seat because that person is suffering from motion sickness! You do not want to! What would you do? Is that person justified in demanding a window seat for his or her illness? Is it right on his or her part to snatch your happiness and make you upset?

A survey showed that around 80% of people interviewed felt that people with motion sickness are right in demanding a window seat while traveling in a bus or keep or any public mode of transport. 19% felt that this was not right. And less than 1% did not want to reply to the question posed or were not sure of what to choose. 

Read here: Colorful streaks on outside of vehicles in India 

Well, if you ask me, I would say that 80% of the people were wrong in their answer. They are those with no analytical skills and just follow others or past things like a sheep. They failed the test. 

The 19% of them were right. Let me explain.

1. As I mentioned earlier, all humans are prone to motion sickness. So ideally, everyone should get a window seat. But this is not possible because the number of window seats are limited. In such circumstances, it is best to give away window seats on first come first served basis. 

2. Why do people susceptible to motion sickness want window seats in the first place? The answer is that they want to vomit outside the window in a moving or stationary bus. But is it right to do so? You insist on a window seat assuming that vomiting outside the window is right. Because no one told you until now that it is not right. You just imbibed and learnt things seeing people around you without thinking. Before accepting it, you did not want to think on it. You did not want to analyze its consequences. That speaks of your lower analytical power. 

Vomiting out of the window in a moving vehicle is bad and an anti-social act. When you pop your head out of the bus, you might be a subject of an accident by a passing-by vehicle of same or higher height as your vehicle. You might get killed. The driver might get distracted by your out-popping head and this sudden act. His field of vision via the rear view mirror would be affected and that might lead to an accident and effect the lives of other co-passengers too. 

When you vomit in this way, part of it might fall back on you. It might fly and go to the passenger seated behind you. And it will definitely stain the sides of the vehicle. These vehicle in India are not cleaned daily. So it will remain there and form an eye sore and a source of infection. 

Your vomiting from a moving vehicle can fall on another person who is either walking by the side or is driving an open vehicle such as a two-wheeler. It will dirty him or her and his of her vehicle. It will also dirty the roads and pavements. 

Read here: Why Uttarakhand transport company is the worst in the world?

So then what is the best way out???

3. The best way is to carry a sickness bag or just any plastic bag. You can sit anywhere and not necessarily in the window seat. Just keep the bag handy. When you feel like vomiting, vomit into the bag and close it's end after you are finished. Keep it aside and when you deboard the vehicle, throw the used bag into a bin. Is this not simple, effective, hygienic, clean, and safe way to manage things? When you are in an airplane, you are given a similar sickness bag for similar purpose. 

In the hilly Himalayan nation of Nepal, when you travel the ups and downs in a bus, the bus crew provides you with a plastic bag/s if you want. That is their fore thinking!!! If they can, why can't you?