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Buses World News

In brief: Worldwide montly news & informations about Buses, Busmakers, Passengers' and the Transport Industry

29.1.16

CARS PASSING ILLEGALLY SCHOOL BUSES * USA: Be care

* South Carolina - Bill could pin bus passing on car owner

(Video: "2 cars pass a stopped school bus and Raleigh Police Department give chase!", by Craig Chandler - Nov 5, 2014

-- You've seen the video, cars illegally passing a school bus as they pick-up and drop-off kids. New bus cameras have been able to catch a car's license plate, but many drivers got off scott-free because a bus driver or witness couldn't pick them out of a lineup... Now law makers are hoping to cut down on the growing problem by fining or jailing the owner of the car if a driver can not be identified... While bus drivers see this bill as a victory, not everyone is happy... The bill must be passed by the House and signed by the Governor before it becomes the law...
Charleston, SC, USA - WOWK TV, by Alyssa Meisner - Jan 27, 2016

Labels: dangerous drivers

4.9.14

DANGEROUS TRUCKER * Russia

* Russia - Bus driver crushed against motorway barrier by careless trucker - who carries on driving

(See the anazing video here: The footage shows the bus driver trying to overtake the slower moving lorry on the highway through north-western Russia's road)
Smolensk Oblas,Russia -Yahoo News –Sep 2, 2014: -- A stunned bus driver managed to film the moment his vehicle was crushed against a motorway barrier by a careless Russian trucker... But as he starts to draw level, the truck - apparently oblivious to the bus - switches lanes, sandwiching the packed coach against a steel barrier... The bus blasts its horns, but the trucker - still not noticing the crunch - keeps going... One online commenter who viewed the footage: ‘You can see how hard the bus was hit because it starts stripping away the steel barrier like a row of toothpicks. The trucker veers to the left, forcing the bus driver towards the barrier... 'It's amazing that the driver managed to keep enough control to stop the vehicle’ ... The video shows the truck eventually pulling over, several hundred metres down the road... Police spokesman Gregory Yudin said: 'A truck driver is being interviewed over an allegation of dangerous driving. The video footage, which all vehicles are required to have by law, is being assessed to see who was at fault, and whether anyone will face charges' ...

Labels: dangerous drivers

28.4.14

DANGEROUS DRIVERS * Thailand

* Thailand - Bus operators are risking the lives of passengers

(Photo: Double-decker bus crash in Phuket)
Bangkok,Thailand -The Bangkok Post -23April 2014: -- Many people traveling during these long break holiday days, resulting in an increase in road accidents. This is why the New Year and Songkran holidays are dubbed the "seven dangerous days". Songkran this year resulted in a staggering number of road-related accidents, 366 deaths and 3,345... Another alarming road accident statistic involves public buses. In the six months from October last year to April this year, there were 97 deaths from four major accidents involving double-decker buses. Several factors caused these bus accidents, such as inexperienced drivers or drivers under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and poorly maintained roads and bad weather. Another important factor is the road worthiness of the vehicle. The recent accidents damaged the public's confidence in bus transport, especially double-deckers...

Labels: dangerous drivers

5.11.10

DANGEROUS DRIVERS * USA - Who's driving Asheville's city transit buses?

Asheville,NC,USA -The Citizen Times, by John Boyle -October 24, 2010: -- The number of people stepping into an Asheville city bus every day gets counted — every person, all 16 routes... The ridership added up to 1.5 million during the fiscal year ending June 30. The city also knows the exact mileage on each bus and how much is spent on gas... City officials just don't know exactly who drives the buses Asheville owns, much less their entire driving record and medical history... By design, the city of Asheville has no direct oversight of city bus drivers, and that is unlikely to change — even after a bus crash that cost a woman a leg and another incident in which a driver was charged with impaired driving... That driver pleaded guilty to DWI in 1986, and court papers note that he had a previous impaired driving conviction within seven years, according to court records obtained by the Citizen-Times... The records also indicate that the driver, Gregory Smith, a 50-year-old Asheville resident, failed to attend a substance abuse assessment and treatment program mandated as part of his sentence... The city contracts with the private company First Transit to manage drivers. The company refused a request for a list of people driving city buses, something it is not required to do by law... Asheville city officials also cannot require the company to name its drivers along with their birth dates, which would allow a check for previous offenses...

Labels: dangerous drivers

14.10.10

DANGEROUS DRIVERS * Malta - Young lawyer stands up to aggressive bus driver

The driver responded by striking the pushchair, prompting the man to get up and move away from the driver, standing behind his seat so as not to be in the way

Valletta,Malta -The Times of Malta, by Christian Peregin -10 October 2010: -- A young woman stood up to an “aggressive” bus driver last Thursday after she was disgusted by what she described as his racist treatment of an African family... Lawyer Yanika Bugeja, 25, was on her way to Valletta on bus number 55, when an immigrant couple and their child attempted to board the bus... “You’re going to have to catch another bus if you have a baby,” the driver said, according to Dr Bugeja... Oblivious to what they had been told, the couple made their way onto the bus anyway and other passengers made space for the woman to sit down with her baby. The man sat down near the driver, with the baby’s pushchair in hand, and offered him a €5 note for the fare... Together with a witness she went straight to the nearest police station to file a report. The driver also went to the station but he was turned away to continue with his trip... “Later the police called me to say he had apologised. I said I did not believe his apology... He acted the way he did simply because they were black. I wonder what sort of jungle tourists make of Malta when they see such things” ... (Photo by Jason Borg: The transport association insists rule-breaking behaviour by drivers is unacceptable)

Labels: dangerous drivers

7.4.10

DANGEROUS DRIVERS * USA - Transportation Department proposes texting ban for buses

Washington,DC,USA -Justice News Flash, by Nicole Howley -2 April 2010: -- On Wednesday, March 31, 2010, the U.S. Transportation Department made strides in establishing a permanent ban on text messaging while driving interstate commercial trucks and buses. The proposed ban would apply to buses and trucks over 10,000 pounds and aims to reduce distractions that lead to crashes... The Transportation Department reported, 5,870 people have been killed and 515,000 others were injured in crashes connected to distracted drivers in 2008. As the popularity of navigation systems, cell phones and mobile electronics has grown, safety advocates and government officials have pressed for tighter regulations and laws to avoid distracted driving. Ray LaHood, the Transportation Department secretary, announced the proposed ban on an interim basis in January...

Labels: dangerous drivers

20.7.09

Exploiters * Nigeria - When drivers take advantage of the rainy season

It’s a fact of Lagos: when it rains, transportation fares go up

Lagos,Nigeria -234 Next, By Odunayo Abiodun -July 18, 2009: -- ... At least for passengers boarding danfo(commercial) buses... Once it rains, most passengers are stuck at the bus stops. Like a flock of sheep they flock around when they sight an oncoming bus, only to run back into shelter when the drivers do not look their way. However, when the buses eventually stop, some still have to wait a little longer due to the hike in cost of transportation... Passengers, however, complained that most bus drivers are exploiters who looked for any opportunity to increase transport fares... (Photo by ABIODUN OMOTOSHOA -Flooded road in Lagos; down comes the rain, and up go the fares)

Labels: dangerous drivers

17.7.09

DANGEROUS DRIVER *- USA - Ride On Bus Operator Disciplined After Caught Reading While Driving

Silver Spring,MD,USA -The NewsChannel 8 -13 July 2009: -- Pictures taken by a Ride On bus passenger in Montgomery County, appear to show the driver reading a book while behind the wheel. ABC 7's Richard Reeve spoke exclusively with the woman who took the photos... The woman, who does not want to be identified, says she took the photos because she feared for her life. She said she got on the bus only to see the driver reading while operating the bus... The woman, described as a 34-year-old resident of Silver Spring, took the photos while riding Montgomery County Ride On bus no. 38 Friday night... (See Video)

* Md. bus driver investigated after being caught reading

Silver Spring,MD,USA -The Associated Press/Delmarva Now -July 13, 2009: -- Montgomery County transit officials are investigating whether a Ride On bus driver was reading a book while driving... Officials say the driver is not driving buses while the allegations are investigated... Also Monday, a zero-tolerance policy goes into effect for Metro bus and train operators caught using mobile devices on the job. Commuters have been paying closer attention after a Metro train crash last month killed nine people...

Labels: dangerous drivers

22.5.09

DANGEROUS BUS DRIVER * USA - Peter Pan Bus Driver breaks federal & state laws while driving

Driver suspended after passenger posts video of him on cell phone while driving

New York,NY,USA -Video from YouTube, by CrazyNYer -3 May 2009: -- On a trip from Boston to NYC, a Peter Pan bus driver lets go of the wheel, files paperwork, eats and talks on the cell phone... His actions could have led to the deaths of people on the bus and highway... When the bus company was called, no one did anything. When the bus got to NYC and he was reported--not one person would listen... Also, that driver was to drive back to Boston an hour later... Peter Pan was owned by Greyhound, Robert J. Schwarz, executive vice president of the Springfield-based bus line said, Peter Pan officials were only contacted by the passenger Monday... "The incident is under review. Once the review is completed, we'll be meeting with the driver and union representatives" to decide what action to take, with termination as one of those options, he said...

Labels: dangerous drivers

8.2.09

DANGEROUS DRIVERS * India - Death by bus a daily danger in Delhi

Transit riders, drivers and pedestrians at great risk as Bluelines blunder through Delhi's chaotic streets

New Delhi,India -The Toronto Star (Ontario,Canada), by Rick Westhead -Feb 08, 2009: -- After seven years navigating Delhi's congested and chaotic streets, 43-year-old bus driver Tejbir Singh has adopted what he calls a life-saving habit. He's always ready to bolt his vehicle at the first sign of trouble... Crowds in Delhi have been known to pull drivers from their buses and beat them, sometimes to death... But it's not due to random violence. The passengers are angry with reason... Delhi's bus drivers, charged with trying to navigate through the densely packed streets of the Indian capital, often hit pedestrians... Last year, 118 people were killed – nearly one every three days – when they were run over by one of the city's 4,500 privately owned and operated Blueline buses, named for the aqua stripes that run down their sides...
The toll in 2007 was even higher: 151... (Photo by RICK WESTHEAD/The TORONTO STAR - Delhi bus driver Tejbir Singh stays steady at the wheel. When there's an accident, he says, "the crowds don't just let you go. You have angry people ... .")

Labels: dangerous drivers

5.1.09

ANIMAL * USA - Driver who left disabled man on bus has been busted 28 times

New York,NY,USA -The New York Daily News, by ALISON GENDAR & RICH SCHAPIRO -January 4, 2009: -- The bus driver who left a severely disabled Manhattan man stranded inside his frozen vehicle for 17 hours is a career thug with a rap sheet 28 arrests long - including a collar for assaulting a cop... Walter Gibbs, 42, an employee of Outstanding Transport, also has been busted on numerous drug charges and for grand larceny, police sources said Saturday... Cops quizzed Gibbs for hours after Ed Wynn Rivera, a 22-year-old with cerebral palsy, was abandoned in the rear of his frigid bus on Dec. 31. It was Gibbs' second day on the job... Gibbs has not been charged in that incident - but cops say he should never have been hired to drive a bus... (Photo, Tracy for News - The driver of this bus, Walter Gibbs, has a long rap sheet and shouldn't have been hired, police sources say)

Labels: dangerous drivers

11.12.08

* Malaysia - Bus passengers risking their lives

Batu Tiga,Malaysia -The Malaysia Star, by DAVID LOW -9 Dec 2008: -- It is very sad to read the news about the bus accident near Tangkak that took 10 lives. But it is not a surprise at all, judging by the way how all the buses speed on the highway... Buses are now running even faster than cars. People like us who want to save money on travelling and who rely on public transport are usually the victims of this kind of accidents... It is indeed very sad because we too want to be part of the government plan which encourages us to use public transport to ease road congestion. Unfortunately, taking public transport, especially express buses, could sometimes be more dangerous than driving your own car. It is like putting our lives at risk just to save some money... (Video from YouTube, by watraffic -February 23, 2006: "Arrogant express bus driver" - Utama Ekspres bus drivers arrogantly overtaking from the left)

Labels: dangerous drivers

11.11.08

DANGEROUS DRIVERS * Chile - Micro drivers put passenger lives at risk in Viña del Mar

Valparaiso,Chile -The Valparaiso Times, by Wes Kimbell -9 November 2008: -- Despite laws prohibiting cell phone use while driving, a special Valparaiso Times investigation found an alarming high number of public ‘micro’ bus drivers utilizing cell phones while driving, placing the lives of passengers at great risk...

(Photo Credits: Gardner Hamilton - Fig. 1 - Micro bus drivers at the intersection of Uno Norte and 4 Poniente in Viña talk on cell phones while driving. Fig. 2 - Micro bus crash on Ave. España in late August. Driver reported as using cell phone upon accident)... A Valparaiso Times reporter who positioned himself at the intersection of Uno Norte and 4 Poniente, a high traffic area in Viña del Mar, documented by camera over eight bus drivers utilizing cellular telephone devices while driving in a time frame of only 30 minutes (see figure 1). Oftentimes bus drivers photographed by the Valparaiso Times while using cell phones defiantly continued their use of the phone. Some even managed to completely let go of the steering wheels with their other hand to direct inappropriate hand gestures... The high use of cell phones comes at a time when Carabineros police report a 16% increase in transit related deaths in the course of 2008. Extrapolated, transit-related deaths this year in Chile may total about 1,266 deaths, according to police sources...

Labels: dangerous drivers

24.10.08

DANGEROUS DRIVERS * Philippines - LTO orders crackdown against ‘bus racing’

Manila,Philippines -GMA News TV -22 Oct 2008: -- The Land Transportation Office (LTO) ordered Tuesday intensified night patrols against "bus racing"... The move stemmed for a deadly predawn vehicular accident that killed one and injured three on Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) in Quezon City... LTO head Alberto Suansing said it had been the practice of bus drivers to race each other even during Sundays and at night, when the road is not too congested...(Photo - He appears to have taken hostages before for ransom. He is an engineer.The students are from the Cavite area south of manila)

Labels: dangerous drivers

16.10.08

DANGEROUS DRIVERS * USA - Keeping an eye on MTA bus drivers

Pasadena,CA,USA -The Pasadena Star-News -11 Oct 2008: -- When you give every Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus driver $250 worth of day passes at the beginning of every shift and don't have any way of checking whether they were legitimately sold, expect trouble... While most drivers are honest, there are always a few who will take advantage of a loose system, such as the one driver who was recently caught in a scam to steal and sell $10,000 worth of day passes... It took the better part of a year for the MTA and the Sheriff's Department to catch up with Jeffrey Ralph, who drove Line 204 through Koreatown and, with the help of bus rider Walter James Hamilton, authorities said, moved thousands of stolen day passes on the streets of L.A. for between $2 and $4 each... The driver, Ralph, pleaded no contest to embezzlement charges last week. He has been ordered to repay $10,000. And, yes, the MTA did fire him...

Labels: dangerous drivers

13.2.08

'Russian roulette' * Australia - For bus passengers

Sydney,Australia -Newscom.au/AAP -February 12, 2008: -- More than 2000 Sydney bus drivers were ordered back to training in the past five years, leading the NSW Opposition to claim passenger safety is at risk... A total of 2005 drivers have been sent for retraining since 2003 due to incidents, unsafe driving, incompetence or customer service issues, according to figures obtained under freedom of information laws...

Labels: dangerous drivers

2.2.08

DANGEROUS DRIVERS * USA - Muni video vault: Bus drivers' misconduct

Accidents and injuries, insults and threats. These are the videos Muni doesn't want the public to see -- the 25 drivers who get the most complaints, showing why they're part of that select group...

San Francisco,CAL,USA -ABC7News, by Dan Noyes -January 31, 2008: -- This is a rare, behind the scenes look at Muni's most complained about bus drivers. You'll see them as they swear, crash and leave disabled passengers on the curb, and it's all courtesy of Muni's own surveillance cameras... It's really been a long haul. More than a year ago, we first started asking Muni for information on their problem drivers, and we had to sue the city to get Muni to release these videos. After watching them, we can understand why they wanted to keep them secret... (See Video: If you can...)

Labels: dangerous drivers

18.12.07

Hazardous * South Africa - Unroadworthy buses

Cape Town,South Africa -The Independent Online -December 18, 2007: -- Four buses carrying passengers to Zimbabwe were impounded and 27 drunk drivers were arrested in roadblocks, Johannesburg metro police said on Tuesday... Spokesperson Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar said metro police confiscated licence discs of four buses in Braamfontein on Monday... "The buses were hazardous and unroadworthy. They had defective steering wheels, oil leaks and cracked windscreens"... "The buses were impounded by the department of transport and the owners have to pay R1 500 each to have the buses released," said Minnaar...

Labels: dangerous drivers

13.11.07

DANGEROUS DRIVER * South Africa - Liquor a factor in bus deaths

Piketberg,South Africa -News24, by Marius Louw, Die Burger -12 Nov 2007: -- The driver of the bus that left the road and rolled down the mountain at Versfeld Pass, killing 10 contract farmworkers on Friday, is expected to appear in the local magistrate's court on Monday on a charge of drunk driving... A police inquiry has already determined that the brakes of the bus were not functioning properly... Speaking during a visit by Cobus Dowry and Marius Fransman, respectively the Western Cape ministers of agriculture and of transport, Captain Dennis Vollenhoven of Piketberg police station said the bus driver was currently in custody... (Picture from news.bbc.co.uk: South Africa bus crash kills 19)

Labels: dangerous drivers

28.10.07

DANGEROUS DRIVERS * Bangladesh - Senseless contests by reckless buses put passengers' lives at risk

Road safety is a concept that seems to be of little value to the city bus drivers as it appears that their main concern is to get ahead of other buses by any means

Dhaka,Bangladesh -The Daily Star, by Rizanuzzaman Laskar -28 Oct 2007: -- Buses racing with each other to get hold of passengers is a commonplace scene near the Shahbagh bus stoppage... Caught in the middle of this senseless competition are the commuters and pedestrians, who often fall victim to the reckless driving of the bus drivers... Most of these accidents -- minor or major -- go unnoticed and unreported every day as the city lacks a reliable, efficient and hassle-free mechanism that would encourage all to report such accidents and at the same time the authorities would ensure prosecution of the drivers involved... Only to make a quick buck, the transport workers have been showing imprudence and sheer disregard for public safety by speeding through the streets to complete a trip or cramming passengers into buses, well above the capacity, by blocking the traffic, said many commuters... (Photo: STAR - Buses racing with each other to get hold of passengers is a commonplace scene near the Shahbagh bus stoppage)

Labels: dangerous drivers