mr.x2
10-05-2007, 08:28 PM
Bus accidents jump 43%
Running red lights, speeding, talking on cellphones, hogging the road -- some of the police complaints about bus drivers
Gerry Bellett, Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, October 05, 2007
All 3,000 Coast Mountain Bus Co. drivers have been ordered to take refresher driving courses following a deluge of complaints from the public and Vancouver police and a huge increase in accidents.
The number of preventable accidents involving Coast Mountain buses has jumped by 43 per cent in the past four years, according to documents obtained from Coast Mountain under freedom of information legislation.
Other documents showed the major complaints from the public and police include:
- Drivers deliberately running yellow and red lights and using the "honk-and-run" tactic -- drivers leaning on their horns to clear out intersections when they run yellow or red lights.
- Drivers bullying other road users by cutting them off or forcing them out of their lane using the "Thanks for the brake. Please Yield: It's the law" sign on the rear of the bus as justification.
- Drivers hogging the road, preventing other motorists from passing.
- Speeding buses.
- Drivers talking on cellphones or listening to Walkmans or MP3 players while at the wheel.
A preventable accident is described by Coast Mountain as "a contact between a motor vehicle and anything, where the driver of the vehicle did not take reasonable action to avoid a collision."
In 2003 Coast Mountain -- which operates most of TransLink's buses in Metro Vancouver -- recorded 290 preventable accidents. In 2006, that rose to 415.
Non-preventable accidents increased by only 16 per cent in the same period, from 1,124 to 1,307.
Overall, the total number of collisions increased 21 per cent in 2003-2006 -- from 1,466 accidents, including 52 involving pedestrians, to 1,777 including 55 involving pedestrians.
Coast Mountain operated 1,116 buses in 2003, and was running 1,252 by the end of 2006.
There was a time when Vancouver bus drivers were generally regarded as the safest on the road, reliable and courteous, who could be counted on to obey all the rules.
But the new statistics combined with concerns by Vancouver police and city officials, plus the volume of complaints from the public, point to a deterioration in driving standards.
It is something Coast Mountain says it is attempting to reverse. The company blames the problem on perhaps five per cent of its drivers.
This summer, all 3,000 company drivers, regardless of their driving records, were ordered to take a two-day refresher course aimed at promoting safe driving practices. The program will cost more than $500,000 a year and is still being developed by Coast Mountain.
Late last year, Vancouver police asked for a meeting with the bus company in response to public complaints and concerns from the department and city hall.
No outside agency keeps track of transit driving standards. The Insurance Corp. of B.C. said it was unable to provide current statistics on deaths and injuries in accidents involving buses.
Vancouver police don't keep track of the number of tickets issued to bus drivers, and no one in the 80-person traffic section is specifically assigned to bus issues.
However, minutes of a Coast Mountain meeting with the police last December included these comments:
- "Operators have been seen to be inattentive to their driving because a fair number are seen talking on cellphones or listening to Walkmans or MP3 players. Operators have been observed not taking corners wide enough, doing it one-handed, not seeing pedestrians, crosswalks or traffic lights."
- "The big one is running yellow and red lights. It has become known among city workers as 'honk-and-run.' "
- "Speed is a big issue. Traffic enforcement is currently doing an enforcement project on Granville St. Enforcement will take place when buses are seen to be speeding excessively. Two coaches had been clocked at 100 km/h and 90 km/h on city streets recently."
- "Yield to buses only when [they are] pulling out of designated bus stops and only when it is safe to do so. Some operators have been observed forcing themselves into traffic during lane changes without consideration to the traffic around them, which forces cars into oncoming traffic."
- "Operators need to be more aware of pedestrians, particularly in the downtown core. ... Last year VPD investigated 98 incidents where pedestrians had been hit by buses [all buses, not just transit buses]."
As a result of the meeting, a notice was sent to drivers in January headed "Safety Starts With You." It listed the main police concerns.
Meanwhile, from 2003 to the middle of this year, approximately 19,000 residents complained about the way buses or services were being operated.
The Sun asked for access to letters of complaint, but because of the sheer volume, the newspaper settled for a sample of 50 received within the last year on the topic of how buses were being driven.
Insp. Andy Hobbs, who heads the VPD traffic section, says the vast majority of bus drivers are professional and doing a good job.
"They are serious about their responsibilities to get the public around the city in a safe manner as well as protecting the public that isn't actually on the bus," Hobbs said. "But there is an issue with a minority of drivers."
He said the "honk-and-run" phenomenon is common.
"We've all seen it. It's something that shouldn't be condoned or done. When you stop people for running lights, the typical argument is it wasn't safe to stop, or, 'I didn't have enough time,' or 'It's a full bus with people standing and I don't want to slam on the brakes.'
"However, the reality is, yellow lights are yellow for a substantial time and if you are going the speed limit you have enough time to stop safely. So I don't accept the argument it's not safe to stop. We do take enforcement action when we see that," said Hobbs.
"And I'd like someone to explain to me why a bus should be exceeding the speed limit. We asked the bus company how much of an issue is it for drivers to be on time and on schedule, given the problems they can have in traffic, and unless I'm mistaken we were advised there weren't repercussions for being late.
"So there's no excuse for going through a yellow light . . . or for cutting vehicles off because you think you have this arbitrary, all-encompassing right to pull into a lane -- because you don't. That's not what the law says," said Hobbs. "The 'Thanks for the brake' bumper stickers are cute and catchy but they're a little bit misleading and probably have led -- in a minority of cases -- to a bit of misuse," said Hobbs.
While Section 169.1 of the Motor Vehicle Act says drivers have to yield to buses when the bus is attempting to pull away from a stop, this right is trumped by Section 169.3, which says, "Despite subsection 1, a bus driver must not move a bus into the travelled portion of the highway unless it is safe to do so."
"And that's the key," Hobbs said. "The bus driver must not pull into traffic unless it is safe to do so. That means that if you are travelling at 50 km/h and are a car length behind a bus that then signals to pull out, you don't have to slam on the brakes so the bus can pull into the lane," said Hobbs.
"Bus drivers do not have carte blanche to just pull into traffic. They have to do it when it's safe to do so. And most operators realize that and don't do it. But there are some that do," he said.
Of the 50 complaints lodged with Coast Mountain Bus that were given to The Sun, 22 were from drivers who had been cut off in traffic by buses pulling into their lane.
It's even happened to Hobbs while he was off-duty. He said he was driving alongside the rear wheel of a bus when it suddenly moved into his lane. To avoid a collision, he was forced over the centre line into oncoming traffic. The bus just kept going.
Hobbs said the December discussion with the company was "constructive and helpful."
Stan Sierpina, Coast Mountain's vice-president of customer service, says the company puts safety above all else. He said he told a graduating class of drivers recently that "Safety is job one . . . . I told them if you have to speed to keep on a schedule, that's wrong, and you have to bring it to our attention so we can fix it," Sierpina said.
As for the rise in preventable accidents, Coast Mountain's Mike Madill, vice-president of regulatory and consulting services, said drivers have to report every accident and "a vast majority" were were minor.
"It's concerning to us that this type of thing happens but it probably happens a little more because of all the reroutes," said Madill, referring to 100 bus routes in the City of Vancouver that have been disrupted by Canada Line construction and other roadwork in the past year.
He said Coast Mountain started its driver refresher course because, "Things change, society changes and demands on operators change and we want to continue to equip our operators and drivers with the skills and tools they need to be successful in their profession."
He said the company started planning the program about 18 months ago.
Some of the accidents can be attributed to an increase in service hours of 14 per cent from 2003 to 2006, he said.
Sierpina said Coast Mountain was concerned about the police, city and public complaints.
Madill said that in the last year, about five per cent of drivers -- about 150 -- have either been cited for a preventable accident or were found to have engaged in unsafe driving.
Sierpina said employees are not allowed to use personal cellphones. The company has issued 500 cellphones to drivers for company use, but they are not to be used while driving except in an emergency. MP3 players and personal CD players are forbidden.
Sierpina said the bus company wants to hear from the public about major infractions. But buses display no information about how the public can file complaints with Coast Mountain. Even the TransLink newsletter, The Buzzer, does not include a complaints number for Coast Mountain.
Sandra Hentzen, director of people strategies and privacy officer for Coast Mountain, said that will change. The company is working on a plan to post information on buses.
Coast Mountain is also looking at changing its website so the public can e-mail complaints or commendations, she said.
As for the 19,000 complaints that have flooded in since 2003, Sierpina said the bus company carries 197 million passengers a year.
"That's not to discount the importance of any complaint. But we have to keep them in context. We've also received a lot of commendations during that period."
All complaints concerning reckless driving were thoroughly investigated, said Sierpina, and if substantiated could lead to a driver being ordered to take remedial training or disciplinary action.
Jim Houlahan, vice-president of CAW Local 111, which represents transit drivers, said the union is not convinced the 43-per-cent increase in preventable accidents shows a deterioration in driving habits.
"We don't know for sure what that figure means," Houlahan said. "If you are asking, 'Is driving really worse?' we're not certain. The numbers at first blush seem to indicate that, but there are a number of factors we believe could be responsible for the increase," said Houlahan.
He noted the number of bus drivers had risen by 25 per cent over the four years in question, and said preventable accidents tend to happen during the first years on the job.
"It happened to me," said Houlahan, who smashed three mirrors in his first year driving a bus, then went 25 years accident-free.
"We've had a 30- to 40-per-cent ridership increase and a 15- to 20-per-cent increase in the number of buses on the roads," he said.
"Then '06 was the worst year on record for bad weather and that's significant when you are considering accidents."
Houlahan said drivers running red lights and forcing their way into traffic can't be condoned, but 95 per cent of bus drivers receive safe driving awards from the company each year.
He said pressure to finish routes on schedule is felt by all drivers.
"There's constant pressure regarding schedules. ... We're always under time pressure. We can't go to the bathroom or eat a sandwich until we finish our route."
The increase in complaints was a sign of dissatisfaction with overcrowded routes and a shortage of buses, Houlahan said.
"We know complaints are increasing every quarter. We're 500 buses short of what we need, and we've got 58 overcrowded routes that we have pass-ups on, and 50 routes where we're always running late, so this is a bus system that's under siege."
On Thursday, the union issued a news release saying it was concerned this story would be sensationalized, because the paper began promoting the story before Houlahan was interviewed.
gbellett@png.canwest.com
JUST A FEW OF 19,000 COMPLAINTS ABOUT BUSES
The Vancouver Sun asked Coast Mountain for a list of complaints the company received from the public since 2003 and was told there were too many to process -- some 19,000 -- so it was agreed that a sample of 50 complaints would be provided. While not all 19,000 complaints were levied at unsafe driving, The Sun asked that the sample be restricted to complaints about the way buses were being driven, as this was the main concern of the Vancouver police and city officials. The largest group of the 50 complaints (22) was from drivers who had been cut off by buses pulling out into their lane. Seven complained of buses going through red lights and 21 covered a variety of other unsafe driving practices. Here are some of the complaints:
I am getting fed up with drivers of buses driving like they own the road. I would have pulled out if the bus wasn't doing 70 km/h in a 50 km/h zone on Westminster Highway. Then he turns on Boundary Road and does not signal and then he turns on Ewen and doesn't signal again. Then when I go to overtake him at a stop on Ewen, I am three-quarters of the way [past] the bus when he pulls out.
- - -
Operator pulled out without signalling. Caller's vehicle was parallel to the front of the bus .... caller had to swerve into oncoming traffic lane. A black car had to swerve onto a gravel side road to avoid a head-on collision.
- - -
Caller had to slam on brakes to avoid collision after operator pulled out from stop. Caller's dog fell in car and her groceries are all over. Not impressed.
- - -
Caller was driving west on Water Street. Operator who was in lane 2 caused caller, who was in lane 1, into the curb. Caller was honking continuously and operator ignored caller. Caller caught up with operator at bus stop and asked if operator had heard honking. Operator said no, but he had the yield law anywhere. Caller knows it is just from a bus stop. When told operator had not heard honking, caller asked if it was because he had his music too loud from his MP3.
- - -
Caller reports that for conditions and amount of people on the bus, operator was driving erratically. Caller said operator drove through a crosswalk while people were crossing and taking corners too fast and was going into lane 2 and cutting cars off.
- - -
Bus went right through a red light. Caller has phoned about this before and says it happens all the time. Next time the caller is going to the community police station.
- - -
I had stopped at a red light on Boundary Road ... and along came a bus which blew through the light to make a left turn onto Kitchener and then a right into the yard. ... Although the driver did reduce speed, it was only enough to negotiate the turn ... the light did not turn to green until the bus had disappeared from sight. I see infractions occurring all the time and buses are top offenders. ... I've noticed a marked increase in the more dangerous and blatant acts lately.
- - -
Operator was in lane 2 and caller in lane 1 when they reached intersection and then ran red light. Caller had to slam on brakes to avoid a collision. The concern of running red light is worse to caller than caller being cut off.
- - -
Caller states this driver is a maniac. He is slamming on the brakes and opening his door 30 feet before he gets to the stop. He is also speeding. I need you to talk to the driver and call me back please.
Gerry Bellett, Vancouver Sun
Running red lights, speeding, talking on cellphones, hogging the road -- some of the police complaints about bus drivers
Gerry Bellett, Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, October 05, 2007
All 3,000 Coast Mountain Bus Co. drivers have been ordered to take refresher driving courses following a deluge of complaints from the public and Vancouver police and a huge increase in accidents.
The number of preventable accidents involving Coast Mountain buses has jumped by 43 per cent in the past four years, according to documents obtained from Coast Mountain under freedom of information legislation.
Other documents showed the major complaints from the public and police include:
- Drivers deliberately running yellow and red lights and using the "honk-and-run" tactic -- drivers leaning on their horns to clear out intersections when they run yellow or red lights.
- Drivers bullying other road users by cutting them off or forcing them out of their lane using the "Thanks for the brake. Please Yield: It's the law" sign on the rear of the bus as justification.
- Drivers hogging the road, preventing other motorists from passing.
- Speeding buses.
- Drivers talking on cellphones or listening to Walkmans or MP3 players while at the wheel.
A preventable accident is described by Coast Mountain as "a contact between a motor vehicle and anything, where the driver of the vehicle did not take reasonable action to avoid a collision."
In 2003 Coast Mountain -- which operates most of TransLink's buses in Metro Vancouver -- recorded 290 preventable accidents. In 2006, that rose to 415.
Non-preventable accidents increased by only 16 per cent in the same period, from 1,124 to 1,307.
Overall, the total number of collisions increased 21 per cent in 2003-2006 -- from 1,466 accidents, including 52 involving pedestrians, to 1,777 including 55 involving pedestrians.
Coast Mountain operated 1,116 buses in 2003, and was running 1,252 by the end of 2006.
There was a time when Vancouver bus drivers were generally regarded as the safest on the road, reliable and courteous, who could be counted on to obey all the rules.
But the new statistics combined with concerns by Vancouver police and city officials, plus the volume of complaints from the public, point to a deterioration in driving standards.
It is something Coast Mountain says it is attempting to reverse. The company blames the problem on perhaps five per cent of its drivers.
This summer, all 3,000 company drivers, regardless of their driving records, were ordered to take a two-day refresher course aimed at promoting safe driving practices. The program will cost more than $500,000 a year and is still being developed by Coast Mountain.
Late last year, Vancouver police asked for a meeting with the bus company in response to public complaints and concerns from the department and city hall.
No outside agency keeps track of transit driving standards. The Insurance Corp. of B.C. said it was unable to provide current statistics on deaths and injuries in accidents involving buses.
Vancouver police don't keep track of the number of tickets issued to bus drivers, and no one in the 80-person traffic section is specifically assigned to bus issues.
However, minutes of a Coast Mountain meeting with the police last December included these comments:
- "Operators have been seen to be inattentive to their driving because a fair number are seen talking on cellphones or listening to Walkmans or MP3 players. Operators have been observed not taking corners wide enough, doing it one-handed, not seeing pedestrians, crosswalks or traffic lights."
- "The big one is running yellow and red lights. It has become known among city workers as 'honk-and-run.' "
- "Speed is a big issue. Traffic enforcement is currently doing an enforcement project on Granville St. Enforcement will take place when buses are seen to be speeding excessively. Two coaches had been clocked at 100 km/h and 90 km/h on city streets recently."
- "Yield to buses only when [they are] pulling out of designated bus stops and only when it is safe to do so. Some operators have been observed forcing themselves into traffic during lane changes without consideration to the traffic around them, which forces cars into oncoming traffic."
- "Operators need to be more aware of pedestrians, particularly in the downtown core. ... Last year VPD investigated 98 incidents where pedestrians had been hit by buses [all buses, not just transit buses]."
As a result of the meeting, a notice was sent to drivers in January headed "Safety Starts With You." It listed the main police concerns.
Meanwhile, from 2003 to the middle of this year, approximately 19,000 residents complained about the way buses or services were being operated.
The Sun asked for access to letters of complaint, but because of the sheer volume, the newspaper settled for a sample of 50 received within the last year on the topic of how buses were being driven.
Insp. Andy Hobbs, who heads the VPD traffic section, says the vast majority of bus drivers are professional and doing a good job.
"They are serious about their responsibilities to get the public around the city in a safe manner as well as protecting the public that isn't actually on the bus," Hobbs said. "But there is an issue with a minority of drivers."
He said the "honk-and-run" phenomenon is common.
"We've all seen it. It's something that shouldn't be condoned or done. When you stop people for running lights, the typical argument is it wasn't safe to stop, or, 'I didn't have enough time,' or 'It's a full bus with people standing and I don't want to slam on the brakes.'
"However, the reality is, yellow lights are yellow for a substantial time and if you are going the speed limit you have enough time to stop safely. So I don't accept the argument it's not safe to stop. We do take enforcement action when we see that," said Hobbs.
"And I'd like someone to explain to me why a bus should be exceeding the speed limit. We asked the bus company how much of an issue is it for drivers to be on time and on schedule, given the problems they can have in traffic, and unless I'm mistaken we were advised there weren't repercussions for being late.
"So there's no excuse for going through a yellow light . . . or for cutting vehicles off because you think you have this arbitrary, all-encompassing right to pull into a lane -- because you don't. That's not what the law says," said Hobbs. "The 'Thanks for the brake' bumper stickers are cute and catchy but they're a little bit misleading and probably have led -- in a minority of cases -- to a bit of misuse," said Hobbs.
While Section 169.1 of the Motor Vehicle Act says drivers have to yield to buses when the bus is attempting to pull away from a stop, this right is trumped by Section 169.3, which says, "Despite subsection 1, a bus driver must not move a bus into the travelled portion of the highway unless it is safe to do so."
"And that's the key," Hobbs said. "The bus driver must not pull into traffic unless it is safe to do so. That means that if you are travelling at 50 km/h and are a car length behind a bus that then signals to pull out, you don't have to slam on the brakes so the bus can pull into the lane," said Hobbs.
"Bus drivers do not have carte blanche to just pull into traffic. They have to do it when it's safe to do so. And most operators realize that and don't do it. But there are some that do," he said.
Of the 50 complaints lodged with Coast Mountain Bus that were given to The Sun, 22 were from drivers who had been cut off in traffic by buses pulling into their lane.
It's even happened to Hobbs while he was off-duty. He said he was driving alongside the rear wheel of a bus when it suddenly moved into his lane. To avoid a collision, he was forced over the centre line into oncoming traffic. The bus just kept going.
Hobbs said the December discussion with the company was "constructive and helpful."
Stan Sierpina, Coast Mountain's vice-president of customer service, says the company puts safety above all else. He said he told a graduating class of drivers recently that "Safety is job one . . . . I told them if you have to speed to keep on a schedule, that's wrong, and you have to bring it to our attention so we can fix it," Sierpina said.
As for the rise in preventable accidents, Coast Mountain's Mike Madill, vice-president of regulatory and consulting services, said drivers have to report every accident and "a vast majority" were were minor.
"It's concerning to us that this type of thing happens but it probably happens a little more because of all the reroutes," said Madill, referring to 100 bus routes in the City of Vancouver that have been disrupted by Canada Line construction and other roadwork in the past year.
He said Coast Mountain started its driver refresher course because, "Things change, society changes and demands on operators change and we want to continue to equip our operators and drivers with the skills and tools they need to be successful in their profession."
He said the company started planning the program about 18 months ago.
Some of the accidents can be attributed to an increase in service hours of 14 per cent from 2003 to 2006, he said.
Sierpina said Coast Mountain was concerned about the police, city and public complaints.
Madill said that in the last year, about five per cent of drivers -- about 150 -- have either been cited for a preventable accident or were found to have engaged in unsafe driving.
Sierpina said employees are not allowed to use personal cellphones. The company has issued 500 cellphones to drivers for company use, but they are not to be used while driving except in an emergency. MP3 players and personal CD players are forbidden.
Sierpina said the bus company wants to hear from the public about major infractions. But buses display no information about how the public can file complaints with Coast Mountain. Even the TransLink newsletter, The Buzzer, does not include a complaints number for Coast Mountain.
Sandra Hentzen, director of people strategies and privacy officer for Coast Mountain, said that will change. The company is working on a plan to post information on buses.
Coast Mountain is also looking at changing its website so the public can e-mail complaints or commendations, she said.
As for the 19,000 complaints that have flooded in since 2003, Sierpina said the bus company carries 197 million passengers a year.
"That's not to discount the importance of any complaint. But we have to keep them in context. We've also received a lot of commendations during that period."
All complaints concerning reckless driving were thoroughly investigated, said Sierpina, and if substantiated could lead to a driver being ordered to take remedial training or disciplinary action.
Jim Houlahan, vice-president of CAW Local 111, which represents transit drivers, said the union is not convinced the 43-per-cent increase in preventable accidents shows a deterioration in driving habits.
"We don't know for sure what that figure means," Houlahan said. "If you are asking, 'Is driving really worse?' we're not certain. The numbers at first blush seem to indicate that, but there are a number of factors we believe could be responsible for the increase," said Houlahan.
He noted the number of bus drivers had risen by 25 per cent over the four years in question, and said preventable accidents tend to happen during the first years on the job.
"It happened to me," said Houlahan, who smashed three mirrors in his first year driving a bus, then went 25 years accident-free.
"We've had a 30- to 40-per-cent ridership increase and a 15- to 20-per-cent increase in the number of buses on the roads," he said.
"Then '06 was the worst year on record for bad weather and that's significant when you are considering accidents."
Houlahan said drivers running red lights and forcing their way into traffic can't be condoned, but 95 per cent of bus drivers receive safe driving awards from the company each year.
He said pressure to finish routes on schedule is felt by all drivers.
"There's constant pressure regarding schedules. ... We're always under time pressure. We can't go to the bathroom or eat a sandwich until we finish our route."
The increase in complaints was a sign of dissatisfaction with overcrowded routes and a shortage of buses, Houlahan said.
"We know complaints are increasing every quarter. We're 500 buses short of what we need, and we've got 58 overcrowded routes that we have pass-ups on, and 50 routes where we're always running late, so this is a bus system that's under siege."
On Thursday, the union issued a news release saying it was concerned this story would be sensationalized, because the paper began promoting the story before Houlahan was interviewed.
gbellett@png.canwest.com
JUST A FEW OF 19,000 COMPLAINTS ABOUT BUSES
The Vancouver Sun asked Coast Mountain for a list of complaints the company received from the public since 2003 and was told there were too many to process -- some 19,000 -- so it was agreed that a sample of 50 complaints would be provided. While not all 19,000 complaints were levied at unsafe driving, The Sun asked that the sample be restricted to complaints about the way buses were being driven, as this was the main concern of the Vancouver police and city officials. The largest group of the 50 complaints (22) was from drivers who had been cut off by buses pulling out into their lane. Seven complained of buses going through red lights and 21 covered a variety of other unsafe driving practices. Here are some of the complaints:
I am getting fed up with drivers of buses driving like they own the road. I would have pulled out if the bus wasn't doing 70 km/h in a 50 km/h zone on Westminster Highway. Then he turns on Boundary Road and does not signal and then he turns on Ewen and doesn't signal again. Then when I go to overtake him at a stop on Ewen, I am three-quarters of the way [past] the bus when he pulls out.
- - -
Operator pulled out without signalling. Caller's vehicle was parallel to the front of the bus .... caller had to swerve into oncoming traffic lane. A black car had to swerve onto a gravel side road to avoid a head-on collision.
- - -
Caller had to slam on brakes to avoid collision after operator pulled out from stop. Caller's dog fell in car and her groceries are all over. Not impressed.
- - -
Caller was driving west on Water Street. Operator who was in lane 2 caused caller, who was in lane 1, into the curb. Caller was honking continuously and operator ignored caller. Caller caught up with operator at bus stop and asked if operator had heard honking. Operator said no, but he had the yield law anywhere. Caller knows it is just from a bus stop. When told operator had not heard honking, caller asked if it was because he had his music too loud from his MP3.
- - -
Caller reports that for conditions and amount of people on the bus, operator was driving erratically. Caller said operator drove through a crosswalk while people were crossing and taking corners too fast and was going into lane 2 and cutting cars off.
- - -
Bus went right through a red light. Caller has phoned about this before and says it happens all the time. Next time the caller is going to the community police station.
- - -
I had stopped at a red light on Boundary Road ... and along came a bus which blew through the light to make a left turn onto Kitchener and then a right into the yard. ... Although the driver did reduce speed, it was only enough to negotiate the turn ... the light did not turn to green until the bus had disappeared from sight. I see infractions occurring all the time and buses are top offenders. ... I've noticed a marked increase in the more dangerous and blatant acts lately.
- - -
Operator was in lane 2 and caller in lane 1 when they reached intersection and then ran red light. Caller had to slam on brakes to avoid a collision. The concern of running red light is worse to caller than caller being cut off.
- - -
Caller states this driver is a maniac. He is slamming on the brakes and opening his door 30 feet before he gets to the stop. He is also speeding. I need you to talk to the driver and call me back please.
Gerry Bellett, Vancouver Sun
