Lady hit by bus

build a light rail system and then theres no need for buses on the major roads.

Of course Simon has just stated again that he doesnt like light rail.

vote labor for crap public transport.

bulldog, one point I would like to clarify is that I am old enough to have a car (and have been for some time), but I have chosen not to for my own reasons (Mainly that buses get me where I need to be when I need to be there 99% of the time, and I feel much safer in a bus than I do in a car). Oh, and I don’t have to worry about avoiding eye contact most of the time as I usually sit up the front and don’t look back.

I agree that the costs involved with good ideas are often too high, perhaps if the government stopped taking out double-page spreads in newspapers (such as the one about urban planning in todays Chronicle) they would have more money to spend on useful things. The same goes for their junkets, arboretums and other miscellaneous money wasting endeavours.

I do agree with a lot of what has been said, and as a voting, tax paying, responsible adult, will continue to have my two cents worth when I feel like it.

Samuel

My only beef with bus drivers, is that a small percentage of them believe that they may travel with impunity of our roads. Agreed, they do carry alot of precious cargo in the form of passengers. But then they go ahead and throw caution at the wind, driving like Charlton in Beb Hur. The bigger the vehicle, the more cautiously you drive, was how i was taught when gettinf truck and tractor tickets. perhaps these monkeys could do the same?

Sammy Sammy Sammy,

Annual medicals may find signs of heart conditions and blood pressure problems, but will not account for random acts of stupidity or brain farts.

I don’t see a problem asking all drivers to submit to a medical; it would prevent disasters like the North Shore Child Care Centre etc. Logistically, this is unfeasible.

I believe that drivers should be tested and re-tested at least monthly. Perhaps a ‘mystery shopper’ would be the best person to observe driving standards? A driver who knows they are being observed will adjust their behaviour accordingly. A longer and ore comprehensive learning period might not go astray when training potential drivers. I know a driver who has not been able to change routes, start the bus (believe it or not), know their routes etc. when they hopped in at the start of their shift. In my eyes this comes from poor training.

And as for your view being less pertinent because you travel on busses allow me to retort;

The subject has changed to driving interactions with busses. How can you comment if this interaction is limited? Do you watch everything the bus is doing while you are travelling? Or do you concentrate on avoiding eye contact with the plethora of lunatics, junkies and tree-huggers who are sharing your journey?

I suspect the former.

As for walkways and underpasses being installed at every dangerous intersection, this may not be a bad idea; However the logistics and cost involved in doing this would be immense. Where should the Government find the money to do this?

My suggestion would be to stop propping up a piss-poor public transport system.

Sam, one day when you’re old enough you will have a car and be able to join the rant with the rest of us. Until then; either give up or take ACTION.

Walkways and underpasses at some of the busier crossings would provide a safer passage for both vehicles and pedestrians. Certainly, awake and alert drivers are also a very good thing, but sometimes pedestrians should try being awake as well.

An annual medical is essential in picking up potential time bombs. As you say, bus drivers have a greater responsibility than other drivers and as such, checking for people who are likely to suffer a heart attack etc. behind the wheel is a good idea. Personally I would apply that rule to all drivers, but that isn’t my decision to make.

Out of interest, what extra steps do you think should be taken when training bus drivers?

And yes, I have spent more time on buses than in other vehicles, I don’t see how this makes my view any less pertinent.

Samuel

Samuel (Mr. I love Busses),

I know what’s involved in sitting for a heavy vehicle licence, and it’s hardly what I would call rigorous.

These people (Bus Drivers) have an added responsability above your regular tradesman with a pantec because they are also transporting people. Becuase of this I don’t believe ACTION drivers are trained or tested sufficiently. Furthermore, how does a medical affect the way someone drives a bus or their behaviour whilst doing so?

It’s pretty clear from the feedback that the rest of us have spent more time driving around busses than riding on them, which I suspect may be the case with you.

And how feasible is it to construct walways and underpasses at all the pedestrian crossings in the ACT? Do you think it’s to much to ask road users to stay awake behind the wheel and obey road rules?

Back to you bus-boy.

Buses are actually allowed to cut through roundabouts due to their length. As for speeding buses, I find it amusing that people feel a need to speed up when a bus overtakes them, even if the bus is travelling on the speed limit or more.

Back to the issue of pedestrians crossings, I believe that a lot of the crossings on busy roads should be bridges (like Corranderk St) or tunnels (Like Commonwealth Ave). They don’t hinder traffic flow and they don’t put pedestrians in danger.

Bulldog wrote “driving a bus requires an added degree skill and reponsability” which is completely correct. Bus drivers have a different licence to car drivers and ACTION put them through a medical examination each year.

I’m not defending all bus drivers, I have seen some bizzarre ones, but MOST of them are good, sensible & safe people.

Samuel

LOL I find it completely unbelieveable that there are people on here defending the bus drivers. Im sure they arent ALL bad, but I have yet to see a bus that follows all of the road rules correctly.

Just in the last couple of days I have noticed that every single bus Ive seen on the road was speeding, Ive seen two busses roar straight through a roundabout (cutting lanes), Ive noticed most (not all) busses that Ive seen exiting a pick up point have not used thier blinkers and in at least 3 cases have pulled directly into traffic causing the car (me being one of them) to swing into the oncoming lane (I would have stopped and let him come out if he had used a blinker).

I have noticed these things because I was going to make a point of it myself. Now I find out that some poor person has had to become injured before people actually started to say something.

To think there are people on here defending these lunatics is simply mind boggling.

Without knowledge of this ongoing discussion, a topic on the way to lunch today was the fact that people on the road have absolutely no consideration for anybody else, as indicated by some w4nker parking her 4WD right on a T intersection at Telopea Park. (the road was clear for over 500m either side).

It obviously simply didn’t occur to her that by parking opposite the T intersection, she was hindering traffic, and should we point out the obvious to her, that we would be the people in the wrong.

Perhaps if there was more public involvement in enforcing road rules – as an offhand example; being able to dob in people who are driving like idiots, with subsequent enforcement by police (there’s certainly some P platers out there who would get numerous calls from the boys in blue), these kinds of accidents could be prevented, or at least, minimised. Darwins Law obviously plays a factor here.

Fair call; let’s not paint all the bus drivers with the same brush; I’m just pointing out my observations and frustrations (of which there are many), to draw attention to the fact that when you are behind the wheel of such a big vehicle, the implications of careless behaviour can be more severe.

I’m not saying car, motorcycle or bicycle operators are any less careless; I’m just saying that because of the size, weight and lack of stopping power, driving a bus requires an added degree skill and reponsability.

agreed. going for a run in the evenings in Higgins and Holt is a danger. And thats when I am not drunk stealing videos!

Andrew, the crossing is placed next to a set of traffic lights, adjacent to an entrance of the Woden Interchange. This is not rocket science, nor is it the first time that a paedestrian has been hit at this location. More care and understanding of the fundamentals of road rules, and looking out the front window of the vehicle you are driving are needed.

I think Samuel is right, as a whole the bus drivers are pretty good. If the whole fleet of busses were driving like idiots, there’d be FAR more accidents everyday.

I’m not familiar with the Woden interchange myself, so I can’t comment too much on whether it’s a silly location for a crossing.

In response to Seepi’s comment “Locals know to watch out for the huge speeding busses” -> I doubt the busses are speeding, and would you prefer tiny busses instead? Locals know that ROADS have VEHICLES on them. I know I always look before crossing the road, I was taught that at quite a young age. Maybe we should have road safety seminars for tourists?

ssanta “It has been a long lamented fact that the bus drivers coming out of this part of Woden interchange rarely care about stopping at this intersection, although it required due to a Give Way sign about ten metres ahead of it.” -> I don’t always stop at a Give Way sign… Stops signs yes. Perhaps if the crossing was placed at the give way sign it would help matters? An extra 10m walk to help safety is probably a good trade.

ssanta: Good, I’ll add that to my growing list of titles.

bulldog: It is strange how I enjoyed that sarcastic berating. I’m no expert about buses, I’m just trying to dispell the myth that bus drivers are lunatics. Every occupation has it’s bad apples, that doesn’t automatically make the good ones bad.

Samuel

Well done Samuel; you are obviously the expert on all things bussy so I’ll leave you to your adoring fans.

Two words Samuel. Arse Clown. They are aimed directly at you. The accident happened at the only zebra crossing along Callum St, that is used for access to Canberra College, the graveyard and various other areas that commuters and workers have to get to around the Woden area without having to walk to major intersections, which would multiply the chance of serious injury expodentially.

It has been a long lamented fact that the bus drivers coming out of this part of Woden interchange rarely care about stopping at this intersection, although it required due to a Give Way sign about ten metres ahead of it.

Now that I have had that little rant, let me go into considerate mode for a moment.

I do hope that the lady is OK, I would hate to be hit by a bus. I am however appalled at the lack of media coverage. It seems that every little bus accident is a top news story, yet somebody getting hit by a bus isn’t? why???

Samuel

There’s a pedestrian crossing there? What an utterly stupid place to put it. I know some bus drivers, they are all nice decent people.

In reply to bulldog, a few things come to mind. Bus drivers usually enter a bus stop with their left indicator on and leave it on until they are just about ready to come out of the bus stop, at which point they use their right indicator. The only time I have seen a right indicator on a for a long time at a bus stop was when the bus driver was having trouble getting out of the bus stop because of a lack of people letting them out.

I have known bus drivers to indicate far less than they should due to the excessive beeping noise that some of the newer buses make when an idicator is on. That being said, they still indicate enough to make it clear what they intend on doing.

I have seen more car drivers fail to indicate and do stupid things than bus drivers.

Samuel

I saw the person (didn’t realise it was a lady) lying flat on her back yesterday morning too. Had no idea what had happened, but yeah looked bad with all the ambo’s and fireys there.
I actually hadn’t realised there was a pedestrian crossing there cause the buses always scream out of Woden Interchange there pretty quick….
Didn’t hear anything about it on the news last night. How is she?

Anyone know how badly injured the woman was?

I am always amazed there aren’t more bus-pedestrian moments in civic interchange too. Locals know to watch out for the huge speeding busses, but you often see shocked tourists nipping out of the way at the last moment, as busses drive right at them.
As far as driving past them, I wish the busses would indicate when they are pulling out, instead of the whole time they are parked, or not at all.

I guess at the end of the day, let them blast through the pedestrian crossing….. no use being in the right from your hospial bed – or worse.

I know 2 Action bus drivers. One’s been in for about 30 years and is nearing retirement. Bit portly, but knows how to look after himself. He loves his job.

My other mate is in his late 20’s, been in about a year, reckons he’s stressed out and is sick of it already.

Maybe it’s the way you were brought up and how you view your life… that said and done, the newer you are, the shitter your roster is. The new guys roster is all over the place, with the worst shifts and times.

And what is it with Buses pulling out of bus stops? I know if you are behind the bus you must give way; but a lot of these idiots don’t even look before they dive on the gas and swing the wheel into traffic! Someone needs to take a serious look at the driving standards.

On another point, hav a friend who is a bus driver and she has said that at any given moment there is about twenty-five percent of drivers on compo for a variety of ailments ranging from back problems to psychological trauma. Don’t know how true it is, so don’t quote me (or crucify me) on it.

my personal favourite is that it is common knowledge not to actually use that particular crossing. It is apparently far safer to just jaywalk acroos the road like mrs brown’s cow as you save putting yourself in the firing line… wankers.

I have seen so many fucking mad bus drivers…. just insane!