What can I do to stop people from entering the subway car before I have a chance to get out? I want to be polite, but it’s infuriating.

There is unfortunately no policy or rule being broken when someone rudely enters the train before you get a chance to get out. Subway drivers are given discretion over what announcements they choose to make. If they see people crowding the doors, they will sometimes ask for people to stand aside so that everyone can exit – but “sometimes” is the key word.

The New York Sun turned to Jacqueline Whitmore, who founded the Protocol School of Palm Beach, Florida. She is an expert on etiquette of all kinds.

“It’s definitely poor etiquette to try and get in before everyone gets out,” she said. “It’s proper to wait until everyone has had a chance to exit, then enter.”

As for what to say to people who commit this infringement on everyday ethics, she said the best option is to ask the driver to make an announcement or write a letter to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority asking it to make it part of the standard procedure at every stop.

What makes the whining sound when the subway starts up? It’s a peculiar sound. Does it have to do with electricity?

The sound you are referring to is only made by the modern R142 trains in the tunnels. These trains run on the Lexington Avenue line and other lines throughout the system. In the R142 trains, the motors run on direct current electricity as compared to other types of trains, which run on alternate-current electricity. The sound you hear is the sound of the motor revving into full power.

Transit officials joke that the sound is eerily similar to the musical tone of the song “There’s a Place for You,” by Phil Collins.

Questions? Write transit@nysun.com.