Forum topic: Do bus driver working conditions pose a serious threat to public safety?
Do bus driver working conditions pose a serious threat to public safety?
PGC Webmaster
21 Oct 2017 16:43 #3268
Share
Share by email
A recently published article by "Bus Driver U" describes what the author sees as serious safety failings in the way that bus services are regulated by TfL and run by bus operators. The article includes a link to another describing a campaign for safer bus operations in London launched by an American businessman who was the victim of near-fatal collision on Oxford Street.
The anonymous driver's article - Bus Driver Fatigue—A TfL-Contracted Killer on London’s Roads? - is published on the Safer Oxford Street blog. It describes how shift patterns and payment systems result in frequent cases of driver fatigue, which leads to accidents. However, the author contends that the root cause of these accidents - fatigue - is rarely acknowledged and hence no measures are taken to reduce it. One serious consequence of driver fatigue is "Foot Placement Error", also known as "Unintended Acceleration" or "Pedal Confusion".
What bus drivers consider to be the main problems can be gathered by reading the "London Bus Driver Bill of Rights", which was presented to the Mayor of London in September.
The second article describes the "one-man crusade" run by businessman Tom Kearney. His research while in hospital uncovered the unacceptably high rate of deaths caused by bus collisions in recent years.
Links
Bus Driver Fatigue—A TfL-Contracted Killer on London’s Roads? (Safer Oxford Street, October 20170
A Split Second on Oxford Street (Politico, December 2016)
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
Do bus driver working conditions pose a serious threat to public safety?
Darren Edgar
23 Oct 2017 10:12 #3269
Share
Share by email
They're one of the the biggest (literally and figuratively) threats on the roads to cyclists, have had countless close run ins - none of which can be excused by any of the above.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
Do bus driver working conditions pose a serious threat to public safety?
PGC Webmaster
23 Oct 2017 13:25 #3270
Share
Share by email
Do bus driver working conditions pose a serious threat to public safety? No. Bad bus driving is what poses the threat. General ignorance and arrogance of the average London bus driver.
They're one of the the biggest (literally and figuratively) threats on the roads to cyclists, have had countless close run ins - none of which can be excused by any of the above.
Regardless of the truth or otherwise of the allegation about bus driver behaviour around cyclists, you can't just dismiss research into the effects of shift patterns and pressure on drivers not to run late without providing any evidence.
These forums are for reasoned debate. If you dispute a point, you need to provide some evidence.
And while I agree that there is much bad bus driving these days - rapid acceleration and braking threatens passenger safety - your phraseology is an insult to the many good bus drivers.
But even if were true that the "average" bus driver drives badly, that doesn't mean that fatigue caused by poorly designed shift patterns doesn't increase the chance of serious accidents. And the allegation in the articles of reluctance to report fatigue to managers for fear of negative personal consequences seems only too credible.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
