Narrative:

Wanted to submit a safety concern I encountered the other day in atl. We were going to gate X and the clearance I heard was 'enter ramp 2 and 2 south via the left lane (west side of ramp) and transition to the right lane (east side of ramp) at the mid-crossroad (crossroad for baggage carts which is located between B8 and B10 and crosses over to the a gates). Our traffic was a 757 southbound in the left lane (west side of ramp) moving and pointed at us with his nose taxi light on and adjacent to A17. Also; 2 aircraft in right lane (east side of ramp) pointed south and adjacent to B6 and B4 and just south of the mid-crossroad B8. Additionally; there was a westbound baggage cart driver stopping on the mid-crossroad just west of the right lane (east side of ramp). My focus/fixation was on the 757 coming at us and making sure that the westbound baggage cart driver stopped before crossing in front of us. The first officer; I believe; was also focused/fixated on the westbound baggage cart driver. I turned the aircraft to make the transition from the left lane to the right lane just north of the mid-crossroad and as we approached the center of the ramp; ramp control said 'air carrier X stop!' I stopped the aircraft immediately and then leaned forward and saw an md-80 pushing tail south off of the gate into the right lane (east side of ramp). I did not see the md-80 because of my focus/fixation on the 757 and the baggage cart driver mentioned above. Additionally; my view of the md-80 was obstructed by the first officer's side window pillar. Needless to say; I was pretty upset about not seeing the md-80 and the collision potential! Although the ramp tower frequency was busy; I believe the pushback clearance for the md-80 was given before we came onto the ramp tower frequency. After we taxied clear of the md-80; the first officer thought he heard the ramp tower controller apologize for not notifying us of the md-80 pushing. I do not fly in atl that much but have noticed there has been an increase in traffic jams on the atl ramps. I personally believe this process of threading the needle on the ramp is potentially hazardous. Atl ramp clearances with hold short or transitions from one side to the other should include an adjacent gate number reference because terms like cross at the mid-crossroad or center crossroad are vague and do not have a concise meaning. Also; the tendency of any and all atl ramp vehicle drivers; especially baggage cart drivers; to play chicken to see if they can beat crossing in front of an aircraft needs to stop as soon as possible! In fact; most baggage cart drivers on the center crossroad B20-B18 emerge from under the terminals at a high rate of speed to join the center crossroad. When these baggage cart drivers see an aircraft taxiing; they either have to slam on the brakes or try to speed up to dart in front of aircraft. There are similar issues at both the north and south ends of the ramps as well. As a pilot in command; this situation represents a huge safety issue as well as a huge distraction while taxiing in tight quarters.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air carrier Captain reports a near ground collision with MD80 pushing back onto Ramp 2 at ATL during a very congested time. Fixation on other aircraft and vehicles prevented the reporter from seeing the MD80 which was not reported by the Ramp Tower.

Narrative: Wanted to submit a safety concern I encountered the other day in ATL. We were going to Gate X and the clearance I heard was 'Enter Ramp 2 and 2 South via the left lane (west side of ramp) and transition to the right lane (east side of ramp) at the mid-crossroad (crossroad for baggage carts which is located between B8 and B10 and crosses over to the A gates). Our traffic was a 757 southbound in the left lane (west side of ramp) moving and pointed at us with his nose taxi light on and adjacent to A17. Also; 2 aircraft in right lane (east side of ramp) pointed south and adjacent to B6 and B4 and just south of the mid-crossroad B8. Additionally; there was a westbound baggage cart driver stopping on the mid-crossroad just west of the right lane (east side of ramp). My focus/fixation was on the 757 coming at us and making sure that the westbound baggage cart driver stopped before crossing in front of us. The First Officer; I believe; was also focused/fixated on the westbound baggage cart driver. I turned the aircraft to make the transition from the left lane to the right lane just north of the mid-crossroad and as we approached the center of the ramp; Ramp Control said 'Air Carrier X Stop!' I stopped the aircraft immediately and then leaned forward and saw an MD-80 pushing tail south off of the gate into the right lane (east side of ramp). I did not see the MD-80 because of my focus/fixation on the 757 and the baggage cart driver mentioned above. Additionally; my view of the MD-80 was obstructed by the First Officer's side window pillar. Needless to say; I was pretty upset about not seeing the MD-80 and the collision potential! Although the Ramp Tower frequency was busy; I believe the pushback clearance for the MD-80 was given before we came onto the Ramp Tower frequency. After we taxied clear of the MD-80; the First Officer thought he heard the Ramp Tower Controller apologize for not notifying us of the MD-80 pushing. I do not fly in ATL that much but have noticed there has been an increase in traffic jams on the ATL ramps. I personally believe this process of threading the needle on the ramp is potentially hazardous. ATL Ramp clearances with hold short or transitions from one side to the other should include an adjacent gate number reference because terms like cross at the mid-crossroad or center crossroad are vague and do not have a concise meaning. Also; the tendency of any and all ATL ramp vehicle drivers; especially baggage cart drivers; to play chicken to see if they can beat crossing in front of an aircraft needs to stop as soon as possible! In fact; most baggage cart drivers on the center crossroad B20-B18 emerge from under the terminals at a high rate of speed to join the center crossroad. When these baggage cart drivers see an aircraft taxiing; they either have to slam on the brakes or try to speed up to dart in front of aircraft. There are similar issues at both the north and south ends of the ramps as well. As a Pilot in Command; this situation represents a huge safety issue as well as a huge distraction while taxiing in tight quarters.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.