is working with the BTA
on bus/bike safety.
(Photos © J. Maus)
In the wake of the tragic death of 15 year-old Austin Miller, who was killed when he and a TriMet bus collided in Beaverton earlier this month, TriMet has issued a press release (full text below) that outlines immediate, near-term, and long-term actions they will take “to make it safer for bicyclists and buses.”
Working in partnership with the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA), TriMet says in the statement that after the Miller fatality, “it became clear to the leadership at TriMet and the BTA that preventing future crashes like this one would take more than simply admonishing bicyclists and drivers.”
Even though TriMet says their driver was adhering to “safety procedures” at the time of the collision, they write, “It would be remiss if we did not take action to improve road safety in our region following this crash.”
According to sources at the BTA, TriMet General Manager Fred Hansen (in photo) called a meeting soon after the recent crash. That meeting was reportedly productive and led one BTA staffer, who in the past has been lukewarm about TriMet’s bike safety efforts to say, “I’m very optimistic about changes at TriMet.”
As for those changes, TriMet says that following the Miller tragedy, trainers immediately reviewed bike-related operating requirements with all 1,200 of their drivers.
TriMet says they will also give operators additional training on driving around bicyclists “above the level of attention it has received in the past,” and that they will work with the BTA to identify dangerous routes and “explore ways to minimize conflicts.”
Under the heading of “long-term action,” TriMet says they will start to consider bike routes when the move, build, or enhance future bus stops and they say they will, “look at developing a pilot project to design new bus stops with a focus on both pedestrian and bike safety along bike/bus routes.”
Here is the full text of the press release:
Sharing the road
TriMet & BTA will work to make it safer for bicyclists & busesTwo weeks ago, 15-year-old Austin Miller died while riding his bike home from his Beaverton high school when he and a TriMet bus collided at the intersection of SW Farmington and Murray. As the police investigated this tragic collision, it became clear to the leadership at TriMet and at the Bicycle Transportation Alliance that preventing future crashes like this one would take more than simply admonishing bicyclists and drivers.
While all early indications are that the bus operator followed TriMet safety procedures, we would be remiss if we did not take action to improve road safety in our region following this crash. With more bicyclists and vehicles sharing the road, a more critical look at general causes is needed, including road and trail design, education for cyclists and drivers, street connectivity (or lack thereof) and traffic volumes in the area.
Just days after the incident, TriMet General Manager Fred Hansen called a meeting at the BTA offices to discuss how TriMet can actively improve its operations and planning for bicycles in the region. Here are the actions TriMet and BTA commit to taking in cooperation with one another:
Immediate action:
–Following the crash, TriMet trainers immediately began reinforcing to every operator (nearly 1,200 of them) the safe operating requirements when cyclists are present, including anticipating bicyclists’ movements, and yielding to cyclists before pulling into or out of a bus stop, or turning or changing lanes.
Near-term actions:
–TriMet trainers will emphasize operating a bus around bicyclists in the 2008 training cycle above the level of attention it has received in years past.
–The BTA and TriMet will work together to identify routes with high levels of bus/bike congestion or conflict and will explore ways to minimize conflicts. Improvements could include more space dedicated to buses and bikes, enhancements to alternative routes for bicycle travel, or moving bus stops or bike lanes to minimize conflicts.
–TriMet will work with the BTA and other regional bike groups to encourage county and local governments to adequately plan for and build safer bicycle infrastructure.
Long-term action:
–TriMet planners will look at nearby bike routes and crossings when bus and train stops are built, moved or enhanced to determine if improvements can be made as part of or concurrently with the project.
–TriMet and the BTA will research designs for bus stops and bike lanes that minimize conflict in areas of bike/bus congestion. TriMet will look at developing a pilot project to design new bus stops with a focus on both pedestrian and bike safety along bike/bus routes.
Thanks for reading.
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how about some real action…build infrastructure on each bus in the shape of covered wheelwells?
does this make too much sense?
….think of the rear wheel configuration on a Honda Insight.
Isn\’t the city considering putting similar wheelwell guards on double axeled city vehicles following the death on 14th and Burnside?
Make it safer for \”bicyclists and busses? WTF?! Since when have bicycles ever made anything unsafe for busses?
The only safety risk between the two is to bicyclists caused by bus drivers.
In my experience on the road (in busses, driving, and biking), the level of care required to share the road when you can kill someone in instant is quite a bit higher than most TriMet drivers seem capable of exercising.
I\’m tired of hearing about \”emphasis\” and \”training\” and \”planning.\” I want to hear about consequences.
Interesting, they are already setting the tone that the driver was not at fault par for the course in this region.
To the top two posters. Please fully read an article before flaming. Trimet is talking about serious infrastructure change and actually considering bicycles in future building of routes and other infrastructure. This is a huge change from previous policies and I applaud them.
Yes, there are changes they could make to buses. How do you know they aren\’t considering it? If you want something to change, get involved.
a.O, if that is your real name, I have met many concientious bus drivers. I have also met some that are jerks. Putting both into the same category and generalizing them does nothing to solve the problem; training and cultural change inside of Trimet will solve the problem. Punishment won\’t help those injured or killed, causing change will keep others from being hurt or killed.
While I don\’t think all comments here should be positive, I do believe that we shouldn\’t flame an article that is about a group making positive change.
\”…when he and a TriMet bus collided at the intersection of SW Farmington and Murray.\”
WTF!!! I\’m pretty sure that he did not collide with the bus. Seems like the bus ran him over. Hmmm, I know they have to be all hush hush about saying they are at fault, but seriously, give me a break.
I have a sick feeling in my stomach that the police will not find the driver guilty of anything but driving a death trap. I\’ve read on here and elsewhere that there are now conflicting witness accounts of the accident, sounds fishy. Give Austin Miller justice, his life was cut way too short by a bus driver who probably thought that everyone had to give her the right of way.
Be aware my fellow two-wheeled friends, even after everything that has happened in the past few months, including 3 cyclists hit in the past few days, nothing is being done to back our right to the road. Just look at the Washington county woman was hit and almost killed and the driver is let go with no charges even when the police say she was riding in the correct manner with all appropriate lighting! Oh, she wasn\’t wearing a helmet so it her fault for getting hit right? That must\’ve been the logic used there. Way to go law enforcement!
Enforcement of nothing leads to more of us laying on the road with no recourse to drivers!
…the level of care required to share the road when you can kill someone in instant is quite a bit higher than most TriMet drivers seem capable of exercising.
C\’mon, a.O. TriMet drivers may not all be the very souls of courtesy, but I\’m certainly willing to call hyperbole on your assertion that most aren\’t careful. I\’d argue that most very much are careful. If they weren\’t, you\’d know.
And as regards the safety of buses in bus-on-bike collisions, no, I doubt any cyclist has killed a bus driver recently. But whether its the fault of the cyclist or the fault of the driver, you can\’t honestly believe that the average TriMet driver is so callous as to walk away from killing someone without it having a profound long-term psychological effect on them. That\’s hardcore. Nobody comes out winning from an accident, no matter who\’s in the right.
It\’s a step in the right direction, is it not
SH…
step in the right direction..how many steps need to be taken to get people past simply talking about the problem..or should I ask how many people need to get hit/killed/severely injured before drivers finally get a clue that their actions have consequences? would you like to be one of those people?
I\’m tired of hearing legislators and county officials talk about it…I\’d much rather see actions and safety devicies put in place above and beyond green paint on the road..
SH @ #5
A step in the right direction for what?
If you\’re interested in helping with a Portland ballot measure that imposes expanded requirements for sharing the road and greater penalties for hitting bicyclists, please contact me at cmheaps [at] gmail. Thanks!
This is just a Public Relations move on the part of TriMet. They\’ve done it before after other bus-bike incidents and it didn\’t help Austin any.
There is an ingrained anti-cyclist attitude among many TriMet drivers that needs to be dealt with at a deeper level than can be done with press releases and media spin.
Ten years ago when I literally got run off the road and landed in the back of pick-up truck, Trimet did nothing about it other than to grant lip service and bull shit me until I went away.
Flash forward a decade, and even though I am a synic, I have seen great improvements in the behavior and level of attention that the Tri-Met drivers are exhibiting. My best example is on my daily commute on Williams, where the busses have routinely wait for me to clear their blind spot before pulling over. In some cases they have waited even though I was two or three car lengths behind them. In my book this buys them some credibility.
Beaverton was a tragedy, and I think it is important to recognize that Tri-Met accepts their responsibility and are working on improvements. Please remember, that even with all the improvements possible, there will eventually be another bus-rider fatality. You can\’t deny physics and the only true answer is totally segregated roadways.
Until then, lets take the oportunity to work with them on meaningful improvement rather than beating the war drum.
re: #5 & the meaning of \”collision.\”
A collision happens when two objects are in motion and they bump into each other. I don\’t know the specifics of this case, but it looks like the police are treating it as a collision, i.e., they belive that both the bus and the bicyclist were in motion at the time.
If the bicyclist had been standing still, and the bus driver ran him over, then it wouldn\’t be a collision.
I was pleasantly surprised today when a route 67 bus on bethany blvd waited behind me on a tight section before passing and then farther up the road waited again to make sure it was safe before pulling back out from dropping off a passenger. While I still get \”tri-metized\” a bit too often, at least it seems today\’s driver got the message and I am thankful for that.
buses scare me somtimes what happened to yield to peds and other non auto traffic?
lets start learning something.
Joe
I applaud TriMet and the BTA working together to improve safety. I also appreciate Spencer\’s (#12) reminder that we can\’t let past disappointments cloud our ability to see positive change.
Given that TriMet and the BTA have much more influence on drivers\’ training than I do, here\’s my question –
What can we cyclists do to improve our community\’s safe behavior?
I have seen bus drivers going too fast, too close, sure. But all too often I see cyclists making really poor choices about passing busses (on the left and the right), ignoring the \”yield\” light when a bus is trying to pull out of a stop, and riding oblivious to the fact that large vehicles have huge blind spots.
I\’m not blaming cyclists, I\’m pointing out a fact of life – there\’s no training requirement to get on your bike. (And no, I\’m not advocating for one.) What that means is we have seasoned commuters, hard-working messengers, trained racers, and the average joe or jane who noticed it\’s a sunny day, all out there on bikes. More and more every day. It\’s great, but when I see folks taking huge risks around large vehicles, it\’s also incredibly scary.
We need to continue to advocate for just laws and proper infrastructure, but I\’d really like to get beyond the blame game as the primary response to the dangers inherent in mixing all sizes of vehicle on the same road. (And tempting as it is to look to separated rights-of-way, I really don\’t see that as likely anytime soon – or even preferable to the choice of routes on Portland\’s grid.)
And really, I\’m seriously trying to hear what ideas folks have for cyclists helping cyclists to learn to be safe.
I\’m seriously trying to hear what ideas folks have for cyclists helping cyclists to learn to be safe.
More victim blaming.
Here\’s my idea for cyclists helping cyclists to be safe: Real consequences for drivers who hurt and kill cyclists. That will address the #1 hazard to safe bicycling.
I have actually had pretty good luck with buses, though admittedly a few have seemed a little pissy at my presence. Most are pretty courteous.
I only had one really hair-raising experience, on Vancouver. I was in the right-turn lane to head over to Broadway (whatever that side street is that leads you by the Cycle Oregon shop), stopping for a red light like a good road user. But I was a little bit off to the right, and a bus pulled right up next to me, and then proceeded to take off as quickly as possible. Those buses have a pretty wide turning zone. I was standing still and it nearly ran over me. I was about ready to jump off if it got any closer. The whole thing was just unbelievable.
I don\’t do that anymore. When I turn there, I now always take up as much of the turn lane as possible and avoid any buses in the area. I\’ve never seen another one turning there but that was enough.
In 15 years of Portland bicycle commuting I cannot recall a single time when I thought a TriMet driver was driving dangerously around me. That does not mean that it doesn\’t happen, but I do believe that the overwhelming majority of bus drivers are courteous. There certainly are incidents of dangerous and discourteous driving and those drivers should be punished or suffer consequences (ie. lose their jobs).
On a daily basis, I observe cyclists riding discourteously around buses. This morning at westbound Madison and Grand approaching the Hawthorne bridge, I watched 7 cyclists squeeze by the bus while it was attempting to merge left with it\’s signal on. This happens routinely. This kind of riding does influence the interactions that we have with buses.
Once again, consider the golden rule while riding.
Scott
el timito (#16), I couldn\’t agree with you more. We as bicyclists need to improve how we share the road (including following rules of the road as much as possible). We need to do this while continuing to strongly advocate for change in driver behavior and improvement in infrastructure to safely accommodate bicycles. Doing one without the other will see little progress in driver\’s attitudes. Stiffer laws penalizing irresponsible drivers is also a good step, but it will not make much of a difference if the non-bicycling public has little sympathy for a uncivil \”class\” of people. I\’m just telling it like it is outside of the bike community..
I still can\’t believe I\’m reading that TriMet is still asserting that their driver did nothing wrong in running over a cyclist with both sets of right hand wheels.
And bus drivers not liking cyclists is not confined to PDX, I have had to remind drivers about once a week about TX laws 551 and 552 that tell where cyclists are supposed to be on the roads.
Plus one for continued good luck with buses in River City. Over 20 years of biking in Portland and I can\’t recall a single instance where I felt a bus encroached on me or otherwise comprimised my safety. (On the other hand, my over confidence and/or plain disobeyence of statute has gotten me into trouble on several occassions.)
Same goes for FedEx, UPS and most of the pro driver cadre. Heck, even most of the taxis in town seem to be fairly aware of their surroundings from my experience.
I\’ll take dealing with Tri-Met over having to guess which way the trolling tweaker with WA plates is going to turn in his search for a fix, which is one of the bigger dangers I perceive in my NoPo neighborhood. Cellphone addicts driving minivans and teens driving their cliques on rounds scare me way more than mass transit drivers.
Just my dot oh two, fwiw.
I don\’t think this is just a PR move for TriMet. They are a big organization so sure, they\’re going to move slow, and sure, they\’re press releases are going to be less than juicy. But people who\’ve been paying attention to bike and transit issues in Portland for decades now tell me that they couldn\’t have imagined this level of interest in bike planning by TriMet ten years ago.
Here are two really constructive responses – 1) applaud them for making good changes, and 2) demand more! and better! and then applaud even louder!
Once again,
Screw Tri Met and the great white horse they rode in on.
While this is a step in some sort of direction, it appears to be no different than steps taken in the past. Possibly sideways, or even backwards. As shown by the ideas for fixes in the article above.
Until Tri Met bucks up and admits to the atrocities committed daily on our city streets, we should not be satisfied.
I know it is their policy to defend their drivers to the end, and to never disclose any disciplinary action, hence the statement above.( I have dealt with them on a driver issue myself, and at a certain point I was thoroughly cut out of the process, and never contacted again) And unless the city or the police tell us differently, we will never hear the truth. We know how the city and the police deal with bike/ car accidents…
Or don\’t deal with them is more of a true statement.
It would be nice to think that a story like Scott\’s above is really the case, how it is really the bikers and pedestrians that cause the trouble, and bus driver\’s are safe, law abiding citizen\’s. And I can see how one could ride around, and not see these things happening.
Sometimes when you are on your bike, you feel ethereal, all is great, and everything around you is happy happy, joy joy. (I love Ren and Stimpy)
But we all remember, as children, part of the fun with bubbles is bursting them, watching them pop.
If the BTA, and the City of Portland really want to deal with the Tri Met Issue, they need to pop the bubble, and watch the soapy truth explode across the city.
I\’ve had generally good experiences in my frequent encounters with buses, but I\’m pleased that TriMet volunteered to do more to protect cyclists.
TriMet, think about how you could engage other organizations that operate large fleets to join you in this effort–before another Oregon cyclist dies under the wheels of a commercial vehicle.
Like basic grammar, spelling, and communication skills.
\”While all early indications are that the bus operator followed TriMet safety procedures,…\” from the TriMet press release above.
TriMet doesn\’t seem to have made an assertion that their driver didn\’t do any thing wrong. At least, not yet. When they do issue a final report, I\’ll be very interested in learning what they conclude were the causes of this fatal collision, as some have said they are currently describing it.
This intersection is such that it could have been very easy to have made a small but fatal mistake; on the driver\’s part, on the cyclist\’s part, or both. That\’s the single thing that TriMet would be very well advised to recognize and work to correct.
I agree with wsbob. I have witnessed a traffic fatality that was the fault (neglect) of the victim, the \”vulnerable road user\”. News reports don\’t say \”the victim didn\’t look left\”, they say \”the victim was struck\”. It\’s amazing how quickly that spirals out of control.
Can this be the case here? Perhaps. Perhaps not. We don\’t know.
I\’m guessing that none of you were there. Keep that in mind before showing up with torches and pitchforks, please.
\”I\’m tired of hearing legislators and county officials talk about it…I\’d much rather see actions and safety devicies put in place above and beyond green paint on the road..\”
So take action
Trimet, start out simple.
Try using those blinky lights on the bus. They\’re called turn signals. Look it up.
Woah woah woah JE that is just plain old crazy talk. Using turn signals.sheesh. Aren\’t the bicyclists supposed to be the law breaking scofflaws? Oh right, usually we\’re the ones being reasonable road users…
Right there, they lost me. Can someone please inform TriMet that bicycles are vehicles?
If Tri-met and the BTA want to sincerely make improvements, then they should be in Salem and Washington.
The teachings that arise from improving
Driver/bike awareness should start at the family level and continue to academia (drivers ed) on up to DMV testing.
It doesn\’t take a rocket scientist to see that both vehicle drivers as well as 2 wheeled travelers at times, need to pay closer attention to their surroundings.
Apparently there\’s a higher penalty for not picking up your dog\’s poop than running down a cyclist/Pedestrian
Will the higher level of Saftey education help? absolutely.
In the long run, I\’d prefer to see groups like The BTA Tri-Met, Kaiser, UPS
VA, all at least showing solidarity towards educating ALL drivers and potential drivers an education.
untill then, if the DA won\’t even pursue
drivers that obviously ignore the laws,
or influenced drivers that shouldn\’t even be anywhere near a wheel,
it\’s toothless rhetoric.
Steven J:
You just did it, too.
How can we expect TriMet to get it right if cyclists themselves forget they\’re operating vehicles? I\’m sure you didn\’t mean it, but words do have meanings.
I can\’t believe that I am in agreement with a few of the regulars regarding this post. I just wanted to comment about safety education, though. Many of you post stating that improved education about safety is in order for everyone involved. So just what is, \”Safety Education.\”? I mean doesn\’t, \”Don\’t die.\”, pretty much cover it? What I see you all saying is something entirely different.
I think instead of actually educating cyclists, and motorists about safety, many of you would like to control personal behavior. These same folks preach safety by rote and tomb. If you think about it, safety is a pretty short topic. But the advocates of safety education seem to think this is some deeply involved long and drawn out process. There is no such thing as safety education. There is such a thing as attempting to control the behavior of your fellow citizens. If I choose to be a type A personality, and cavort about with a frown on my face, all in a hurry and what, that is my choice.
Furthermore, who is going to educate me about anything, when it comes to urban cycling in Portland, Oregon? With my credentials, I will be doing the educating, fools, not you. Certainly not some Nanny State fascist from the BTA either. And when did the BTA get elected to represent the interests of all cyclists?
At least Tri-Met is performing the task which they\’ve been assigned. They are indeed getting motorists off of the road. Killing them before they are even old enough to have a Driver License is an incredibly effective tactic.
JE #30, Mike #31, here\’s the deal with this intersection (you might be able to figure out by looking at the overhead photo on the other thread). Assume the cyclist did look left for the bus and indication on the part of the driver to turn. The driver might have turned the signals on at some point in the intersection, but where?
This is a very wide, fast intersection with gentle corner radius\’s designed I presume, to enable turns that can be made more swiftly than on most streets; keep the traffic flowing smoothly, see? If the driver, intending to turn into the close at hand bus turnout, turns on the signals too soon, motor vehicles waiting in line to turn right will assume they have clearance to make their own right turn on red.
The cyclist on the other hand, sees the bus with no turn signals on as an indication that the bus driver is proceeding straight ahead, leaving his modest bike lane to the far right of the main lane of traffic open for a right turn on to it.
Meanwhile, the bus driver has now passed the point at which a turn signal might falsely indicate an indication to turn right to waiting drivers. Perhaps midway into this intersection and still traveling swiftly, the bus driver turns on the turn signals. Except that, by this time, the cyclist has turned his gaze from the left and is himself preparing to turn right into the bike lane that is aligned with the bus turnout located quite close to the intersection. And then, the bus begins to turn right into the bus turnout, right onto the cyclist.
This is just a scenario, and by no means a definite claim to be what happened. How did the bus driver come to roll over the cyclist? I hope the people studying this incident will be able to figure it out. At any rate, I\’m convinced that this intersection was made for an accident to happen
Meg, #18: I can\’t tell from your scenario, but were you in the right-hand turn lane waiting to turn right, or were you in the right turn lane waiting to go straight?
Maybe the bus driver thought that, since you were in the turn lane, you were turning.
You know, since you\’re a good road user and all.
Everyone else: I sure hope people from Tri-Met, ODOT, etc don\’t read any of this stuff. They try to change, people get on here and blast their efforts. Where\’s their incentive now? They can\’t make you happy, why should they try?
Don\’t die does not cover it perhaps it is rule number one. But no it doesn\’t cut it.
Effective safety education? It may be a short topic but some of it can is and should be taught. Not everyone has as much common sense as you or I may have. If I see a car with a right turn signal on at the front of a line at a stop light I will not pull up next to it on the right. Some people do perhaps they could be taught that it would be safer to stay out of the path path the car. Common sense to me, necessary learning for others. Perhaps a better example would be hand signals for turning. They are taught, not something one just knows through intuition. I\’m surprised how many adults don\’t know how to signal a right turn with there left hand (the one that cars following closely will see.)
From the article-
“it became clear to the leadership at TriMet and the BTA that preventing future crashes like this one would take more than simply admonishing bicyclists and drivers.”
Here is yet another in a long line of reasons to tell the BTA to go to hell. I guess we should be happy that they finally understand that admonishing the victims is not effective?
What a joke.
Oh yeah Vance,
You sir, are a total tool.
The beginning of processes like this is never that exciting, but you have to start somewhere in order to get results at the end. I am optimistic to see TriMet state clearly what they see as problem areas, and make clear commitments to progress. Now we, the community, need to let TriMet know that we are eager to see results, and that we are paying attention to their commitments.
Buses and police officers are supposed to be our friends, but bad drivers and bad cops do end up killing us. It is a tough job. I ride the bus enough to know that steering the bus is not the toughest part of the job. And I am not interested in a career change that would have me spending my time dealing with the meth set. Fixing problems with Trimet is not and will not be easy. Stay on them. Write letters, call on the phone or e-mail complaints. BTA may not be for everybody but they do have force in numbers and the contacts with people who can make important decisions. Just do not let up. Let them know how you feel. Make Fred Hansen accountable. That\’s why he gets the big bucks.
I am a Bus Operator. I suppose one could say, \”better late then never\” but the fact that they knew for years there was a serious problem with the internal hatred and harassment of Operators against bicyclists and chose not so much as seriously acknowledge it until this child\’s death literally sends chills up my spine.
Ellen Fox
Harrlett 43, You are bold and brave to make this statement. A few more voices like this and maybe there is enough of a force to push this forward. If this is what you say it is and ca be backed up, it is very serious.
I agree that it is very courageous for Harriet to speak out about this, and even more so to voice her dissent against the actions of fellow employee\’s and the inactions of her employer\’s.
It gives me hope, even after my many years of \”sharing\” the road with Tri Met, that one day safe passage will not be a dream, or a good idea, but a fact.
Bravo!
I am a Bus Operator. I suppose one could say, \”better late then never\” but the fact that they knew for years there was a serious problem with the internal hatred and harassment of Operators against bicyclists and chose not so much as seriously acknowledge it until this child\’s death literally sends chills up my spine.
Um, does anybody else think this kind of statement from a TriMet driver is a big deal? It sure explains a lot of what I\’ve seen. Jonathan?
Thank you, Harriett!
I am a bus operator also. I think there are some operators that can\’t stand bikes on the road, but I don\’t believe they are in the majority. Not by a long shot. I also believe that there are some regular motorists who can not stand bikes on the road. I drive as safely as I can around bikes and other traffic. I also ride a bike on the roads. I do resent being blamed for every bike bus accident. And as far as the Beaverton accident is concerned, I have not yet seen the results of the completed investigations, not the police or Trimets. Unsafe people are unsafe whether they are on a bicycle or in a motor vehicle. Some of you should realize that and get off your high horses!!
PS..To a.O. post #2
What about the safety of the passengers on the bus when I or some other operator gets cut off by a bicyclist and has to hit the brakes? Causing heads to fly forward; packages to fall and contents to hit someone; or any or all standees to end up on the floor by the front door farebox. Does their safety not count? Think of someone else once in a while!
The bus /bike lane overlap is a risky one no matter what training Tri Met gives it\’s drivers.
The only real solution is separation of both modes, concrete berms comes to mind, routes that don\’t rely on the intersection of bike/bus.
So sad that someone so young and full of life has to be taken from us before we begin to address these issues.
What about the safety of the passengers on the bus when I or some other operator gets cut off by a bicyclist and has to hit the brakes? Causing heads to fly forward; packages to fall and contents to hit someone; or any or all standees to end up on the floor by the front door farebox. Does their safety not count? Think of someone else once in a while!
I\’m gonna guess that busses get cut off by motorists a heck of a lot more than by cyclists, and that if the bus drivers weren\’t speeding half the time in order to meet their schedules, this would be much less of an issue.
What about the safety of the passengers on the bus when I or some other operator gets cut off by a bicyclist and has to hit the brakes? Causing heads to fly forward; packages to fall and contents to hit someone; or any or all standees to end up on the floor by the front door farebox. Does their safety not count? Think of someone else once in a while!
I\’m gonna guess that busses get cut off by motorists a heck of a lot more than by cyclists, and that if the bus drivers weren\’t speeding half the time in order to meet their schedules, this would be much less of an issue.