Ugh, you're an awful human that is adding to this mess and not helping it.
While I think the policy is horrible and stupid, you know what I do? I RESPECT IT!!! And I hope that a better solution is presented in the future.
But by saying "They tell me to take my stuff out of my pocket, but I'm an entitled Californian so I don't bother to listen to them and I do whatever I want to" just makes you one of the worst people on the planet and I hate you because of stupid people JUST LIKE YOU is why we have these obnoxious rules in the first place.
Get off our forum. You're not welcome here.
As a ride op on Electric Eel, it is absolutely ridiculous not to empty your pockets of your loose articles. We have a dedicated operator position that collects phones, wallets, keys etc. into a bin that is placed outside the station for easy retrieval after the ride (which may be a good idea to implement on Steel Vengeance). It literally takes less than two seconds to pull your things out and hand them over. It is a simple system that only slows down dispatch times when people flat out refuse to give up their articles (which happens far too often). It's completely asinine to me why someone would rather risk having their items fall and injure another guest or operator and risk damage to their belongings than place their items into a bin for a 45 second ride.