Narrative:

The flight was normal and uneventful. After landing; we taxied to parking at [our assigned] spot. Had to wait for the crew to get ready. When we taxied in; I was concerned about the plethora of equipment and junk parked in and around the aircraft spot; but of the greatest concern was the tug along the line for the left wing; parked just outside where the left engine would come to rest when stopped.I continued very cautiously continued constantly looking out my left window; the marshaller just kept marshaling us in normally. What was the greatest concern was the person facing the aircraft leaning up against the front of the tug with his/her head down texting!!!!!!!I felt I could see that it was clear so I continued until setting the brake; but it was very difficult to watch the marshaller and the texter both at the same time. I also had no way to communicate with the ground people. I continued because from my perspective it looked as if we had room.I immediately got up after the shutdown checklist and opened the L1 door. I was shocked to see that the wing protrudes past the line; and whomever parked the tug must have taken great care to park it as close to and as parallel to the line as they did. The wing protrudes over the line; [and] even the engine protrudes over the line a few inches. The lines do not match the angle of the wing. The lines should be painted properly so as to ensure the proper safety area ahead of the wing. No one should park or place any equipment or place personnel so close to the line that little or no margin for error exists. I could easily have hit this tug.the person texting on the ramp should be fired. The only areas more dangerous than an aircraft ramp is the deck of an aircraft carrier and the battlefield! Cell phones should not be allowed to be used on the ramp; period. They would provide FOD as well as the user possibly becoming FOD himself. Education needs to be done on the hazards of jet engines to the ramp people. When I remember the person texting leaning against the tug I get a cold chill. The person could easily have been sucked in if I had to power up.in the future; I will set the brake and call ramp control if anyone is texting on the ramp; and if anything is parked within 10 feet of the yellow line. I never stopped to think about the angle of the line and the angle of the leading edge of the wing.I think the line on the ramp should be painted as a parallelogram with the bottom edge approximating the leading edge of the wing and the top; parallel line about 10 feet from it. Nothing should be parked in that area; it should remain as a clear zone when the aircraft engines are operating. That would ensure that the difference in the sweep of the wing and the angle of the line were accounted for and there would be an area that the crew was ensured would be free in front of the wing.someone is going to die on this ramp. Vehicles routinely drive in and out of areas not marked for them; weaving in and out of cans and equipment at high speeds. Aircraft pose dangers that; obviously; either the people on the ramp don't take seriously or they have not been trained. Finally; the ramp is a mess. If I see anyone in the vicinity of my aircraft texting again I will set the brake and call ramp control; I don't care where on the ramp they are. I cannot remember the last time I saw anyone do anything as stupid as that.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737 flight crew reported noting several deviations from SOP during the parking procedure that exposed personnel and equipment to potential injury and damage.

Narrative: The flight was normal and uneventful. After landing; we taxied to parking at [our assigned] spot. Had to wait for the crew to get ready. When we taxied in; I was concerned about the plethora of equipment and junk parked in and around the aircraft spot; but of the greatest concern was the tug along the line for the left wing; parked just outside where the left engine would come to rest when stopped.I continued very cautiously continued constantly looking out my left window; the marshaller just kept marshaling us in normally. What was the greatest concern was the PERSON FACING THE AIRCRAFT LEANING UP AGAINST THE FRONT OF THE TUG WITH HIS/HER HEAD DOWN TEXTING!!!!!!!I felt I could see that it was clear so I continued until setting the brake; but it was very difficult to watch the marshaller and the TEXTER both at the same time. I also had no way to communicate with the ground people. I continued because from my perspective it looked as if we had room.I immediately got up after the shutdown checklist and opened the L1 door. I was shocked to see that the wing protrudes past the line; and whomever parked the tug must have taken great care to park it as close to and as parallel to the line as they did. The wing protrudes over the line; [and] even the engine protrudes over the line a few inches. The lines do not match the angle of the wing. The lines should be painted properly so as to ensure the proper safety area ahead of the wing. No one should park or place ANY equipment or place personnel so close to the line that little or no margin for error exists. I could easily have hit this tug.The person texting on the ramp should be fired. The only areas more dangerous than an aircraft ramp is the deck of an aircraft carrier and the battlefield! Cell phones should not be allowed to be used on the ramp; period. They would provide FOD as well as the user possibly becoming FOD himself. Education needs to be done on the hazards of jet engines to the ramp people. When I remember the person texting leaning against the tug I get a cold chill. The person could easily have been sucked in if I had to power up.In the future; I will set the brake and call ramp control if anyone is texting on the ramp; and if anything is parked within 10 feet of the yellow line. I never stopped to think about the angle of the line and the angle of the leading edge of the wing.I think the line on the ramp should be painted as a parallelogram with the bottom edge approximating the leading edge of the wing and the top; parallel line about 10 feet from it. Nothing should be parked in that area; it should remain as a clear zone when the aircraft engines are operating. That would ensure that the difference in the sweep of the wing and the angle of the line were accounted for and there would be an area that the crew was ensured would be free in front of the wing.Someone is going to die on this ramp. Vehicles routinely drive in and out of areas not marked for them; weaving in and out of cans and equipment at high speeds. Aircraft pose dangers that; obviously; either the people on the ramp don't take seriously or they have not been trained. Finally; the ramp is a mess. If I see anyone in the vicinity of my aircraft texting again I will set the brake and call ramp control; I don't care where on the ramp they are. I cannot remember the last time I saw anyone do anything as stupid as that.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.