Bus driver texting while driving

foggy_lad

i was on a regular bus service from carlow to dublin recently and as the bus pulled out of the bus park in carlow the driver was writing text messages and sending them and reading the replies! he was doing all this while negotiating traffic through the town then out past deerpark and the business parks only stopping his texting frenzy after passing the roundabouts out where the motorway offramp is.

i would not have minded if he quickly answered a call while driving or answered then pulled in to continue the call but to be texting for around 15 minutes while driving in fairly heavy traffic seemed very risky.
what do you think? should i report this to the guards? or should i report it to the company?

apologies if this is misplaced in this forum i thought it better suited here than consumer issues.

xp90

It does open a debate, but in fairness bus drivers are one of the safest users of the road imo due to the amount of time they spend on it, travelling the routes they do is probably second nature to them, although I agree it is unlawful

foggy_lad

most accidents happen on roads which people are familiar with so i will be reporting this to the company and let them decide if it is acceptable for their driver to openly break the law while putting passengers at risk! thepart of the journey while he was texting was not a bit smooth due to late braking and jerky steering so he was not safe as texting while driving was not 2nd nature to him.

xp90

Fair enough!

January

xp90 wrote: »

It does open a debate, but in fairness bus drivers are one of the safest users of the road imo due to the amount of time they spend on it, travelling the routes they do is probably second nature to them, although I agree it is unlawful

It doesn't open up a debate at all, what he was doing was against the law and probably against company rules. He could have caused a serious accident, whether he knew the roads or not. I'd report him to the company.

Run_to_da_hills

Its down right dangerous and even more so that he is carrying a load of passengers and sharing lanes with cyclists.

Cookie_Monster

That's nothing, try Dublin bus for a day

Reading books / on phone / texting / smoking / chatting to people beside them / playing with the display computer / playing with a personnal radio / etc etc etc

angel01

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

That's nothing, try Dublin bus for a day

Reading books / on phone / texting / smoking / chatting to people beside them / playing with the display computer / playing with a personnal radio / etc etc etc

lol that is true I have stopped looking and remarking now. :eek:

xp90

Really, if ya had any stones you would have mentioned it to the driver on the day instead of going behind his back.

Out of curiousity, did you make it home safely after that journey??

QED

Cookie_Monster

xp90 wrote: »

Out of curiousity, did you make it home safely after that journey??

What has that got anything to do with?

Alun

xp90 wrote: »

Really, if ya had any stones you would have mentioned it to the driver on the day instead of going behind his back.

With the net result that a) he would have told you to fook off and mind your own business and b) he would have just carried on doing it regardless.

'Going behind his back' as you describe it (it gets more like a school playground here every day) might see him get a deserved bollocking from his boss, and with the threat of losing his job if he gets another warning he might just stop.

I know which I'd choose, and it has nothing to do with having any 'stones' as you put it.

kingshankly

im with xp90 whats wrong with telling the driver you dont appreciate him texting and that you will be reporting him,id say you have more chance of him stopping that way than of your report ever being sorted by dublin bus.
you say your worried about safety well what about all the people that will be on his bus between then and when(if ever) its sorted.

whosedaddy?

according to this US study testing is much worse than taking a call

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10296992-94.html

After examining the behavior of truck drivers covering more than 6 million miles of road, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute concluded that people who send text messages while driving are 23 times more likely to be in a crash (or what they call a near-crash event) than nondistracted drivers.
....
By contrast, talking on a cell phone, which allows drivers to keep their eyes on the road, represented an increased risk of only 1.3 times that of a nondistracted driver.

AlekSmart

Cookie_monster roared....

That's nothing, try Dublin bus for a day

Reading books / on phone / texting / smoking / chatting to people beside them / playing with the display computer / playing with a personnal radio / etc etc etc

To which I would add,breathing and nose-picking... I would ask for the deletion of the "Playing with the Display Computer"....I`m assuming that is the Ticket Machine display...?

I would far prefer to fiddle with that as little as possible except for the fact that newly publicised tickets such as the City Centre 50c Fare demand a substantial amount of extra fiddling...especially if a change-ticket is involved.... :eek:

xp90

Sorry if I appear to be a smart arse, i didnt mean to slate the OP. What Im trying to say is that if it were me in the same position, I wouldnt like to be the one to have got the driver sacked, it would be too much of a burden on my concious, especially in these times, hes only trying to make a living for himself and his family. And yes you could argue deaths in a crash etc. would be worse I know, but in fairness how many buses have crashed in the republic in recent times to due to the driver being on his phone? Once again my apologies. Report him if it bothers you.

Cookie_Monster

AlekSmart wrote: »

Cookie_monster roared....

spoken quietly and meekly and slightly sarcasticly

AlekSmart wrote: »

To which I would add,breathing and nose-picking... I would ask for the deletion of the "Playing with the Display Computer"....I`m assuming that is the Ticket Machine display...?

I would far prefer to fiddle with that as little as possible except for the fact that newly publicised tickets such as the City Centre 50c Fare demand a substantial amount of extra fiddling...especially if a change-ticket is involved.... :eek:

No I mean the screen and buttons above and right of the driver above the window that control the outside display (destination and numbering). Not something that should even need to be changed while the bus is moving.

meanmachine3

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

No I mean the screen and buttons above and right of the driver above the window that control the outside display (destination and numbering). Not something that should even need to be changed while the bus is moving.

the screen your on about cookie is the panel for the digital scroll. most drovers wouldn't even attempt to touch this while driving for the simple facts ,it's too small and the buttons are to close to each other but the main point being most of these are situated behind the driver in a corner and any attempt to change this would mean the driver literally looking back over their right shoulder. i'm a seasoned driver and theres not a hope in hell of me even thinking about doing it. but i have seen private operators within dublin texting while driving .the o.p. doesn't say whether it was a bus eireann bus or a private operator.
dublin bus management are very strict when it comes to things like this. even the wearing of an ear piece is strictly forbidden so much so there are inspectors out on the streets watching out for this sort of thing.
heres an article that was in the papers some months ago and it's related to the o.p.'s experience.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0316/1224242905277.html

Cookie_Monster

I am in no way saying it is only DB driver that do these things, I've seen carzy thing done with all companies. However most of my experience would be with DB so would obviously see more "antics" there then elsewhere.


As for using the display screen, noticed it once or twice when drivers switching to out of service when bus is full or similar.

Sharik

For people with low or average motor skills it is hard to imagine what other people are capable of. The fact that a driver is texting while driving means nothing to me by itself.
Having exceptional motor skills and reaction, I see traffic in slow-motion and adjust my driving in order not to scare others and to avoid fines. However, personally I could be driving some 50% to 150% faster in many situations and could be texting, playing a video game etc at the same time.

I would watch the driver and the actual vehicle and as long as the vehicle behaves normally and the driver masters the situation, I wouldn't worry about it.

bangersandmash

Sharik wrote: »

For people with low or average motor skills it is hard to imagine what other people are capable of. The fact that a driver is texting while driving means nothing to me by itself.
Having exceptional motor skills and reaction, I see traffic in slow-motion and adjust my driving in order not to scare others and to avoid fines. However, personally I could be driving some 50% to 150% faster in many situations and could be texting, playing a video game etc at the same time.

I would watch the driver and the actual vehicle and as long as the vehicle behaves normally and the driver masters the situation, I wouldn't worry about it.

You'll excuse me if I don't trust your self-assessment of your own "exceptional motor skills" :rolleyes:

The same arrogant argument has been trotted out by drink drivers for years to justify their own reckless behaviour.

For people with low or average tolerance for alcohol it is hard to imagine what other people are capable of. The fact that a driver has had a few pints while driving means nothing to me by itself. Having a high tolerance for alcohol I adjust my driving...

Cookie_Monster

Sharik wrote: »

For people with low or average motor skills it is hard to imagine what other people are capable of. The fact that a driver is texting while driving means nothing to me by itself.
Having exceptional motor skills and reaction, I see traffic in slow-motion and adjust my driving in order not to scare others and to avoid fines. However, personally I could be driving some 50% to 150% faster in many situations and could be texting, playing a video game etc at the same time.

I would watch the driver and the actual vehicle and as long as the vehicle behaves normally and the driver masters the situation, I wouldn't worry about it.

How can you drive with your head that far up your own ***? Must indeed be super dooper skilled!

Sharik wrote: »

Having exceptional motor skills and reaction, I see traffic in slow-motion and adjust my driving ...

Thats a very basic skill of driving.

Sharik

bangersandmash wrote: »

You'll excuse me if I don't trust your self-assessment of your own "exceptional motor skills" :rolleyes:

The same arrogant argument has been trotted out by drink drivers for years to justify their own reckless behaviour.

For people with low or average tolerance for alcohol it is hard to imagine what other people are capable of. The fact that a driver has had a few pints while driving means nothing to me by itself. Having a high tolerance for alcohol I adjust my driving...

You have obviously no reason to trust my self-assessment and are gladly excused. Your analogy to alcohol is logical. While I wouldn't claim an exceptional tolerance for alcohol, I would claim average to above average driving ability even when intoxicated to an extent of being unable to walk.
I understand that you cant imagine that and do not expect you to believe me.

I object to the word "arrogant" though as I wasn't at any point. You don't have to believe me but you haven't proved me wrong.

bangersandmash

Sharik wrote: »

You don't have to believe me but you haven't proved me wrong.

Your claims about your exceptional ability to drive while intoxicated or texting are just that - claims. There's nothing to disprove.

However I would like to wish you the best of luck when it comes to explaining your dangerous or drunken driving to the Gardai or in court. I'm sure they will happily believe that you are truly exceptional, just like everyone else.

Sharik

You are an inattentive reader. Both my posts dealt with the ability to drive fast/drunk. I never said I actually do it. I also may have the capacities required to chop up pedestrians at 100km/h with skilled strikes of my nihonto. In view of that very real threat, why not alarm the Gardai already?

LiamD

It's pretty impressive that you don't hear of many Dublin Buses being involved in accidents. I'm a frequent bus user and the drivers on my route have top notch driving ability. I haven't seen them use their phones frequently but when they do I'm not too bothered. As motorists they are streets ahead of most other road users.

Cookie_Monster

LiamD wrote: »

It's pretty impressive that you don't hear of many Dublin Buses being involved in accidents. I'm a frequent bus user and the drivers on my route have top notch driving ability. I haven't seen them use their phones frequently but when they do I'm not too bothered. As motorists they are streets ahead of most other road users.

That's a good point actually. As much as I will complain about particular aspect of driving / driver habbits here the overall standard of driving in DB is very high.
I'm going to assume that this is more down to the sheer volume of time on the roads over training experience in general however.
In general I also find bus drivers to be by far the most courtious drivers on the road and I will always give them more time than other road users as a result.

January

Sharik wrote: »

For people with low or average motor skills it is hard to imagine what other people are capable of. The fact that a driver is texting while driving means nothing to me by itself.
Having exceptional motor skills and reaction, I see traffic in slow-motion and adjust my driving in order not to scare others and to avoid fines. However, personally I could be driving some 50% to 150% faster in many situations and could be texting, playing a video game etc at the same time.

I would watch the driver and the actual vehicle and as long as the vehicle behaves normally and the driver masters the situation, I wouldn't worry about it.

Can you tell me what parts of Dublin you usually drive around so I can avoid them?

I'm sorry, but no matter what kind of a driver you think you are, you shouldn't be playing video games while driving!

AlekSmart

Cookie_Monster clarified....

No I mean the screen and buttons above and right of the driver above the window that control the outside display (destination and numbering). Not something that should even need to be changed while the bus is moving.

Ahh Mea Culpa...I stand (sit ?) corrected.

The Hanover "eric"display contoller as installed in most Bus Atha Cliath vehicles is indeed mute testimony to the levels of detachment which exist between senior Bus Engineering staff and the uneducated oik`s who are expected to drive the vehicles.

Although now interfaced with the Wayfarer Ticket Machine,the display of correct destination remains something which Most Busdrivers subconciously tend to check and re-check all along the journey.

Bus Atha Cliath`s use of the destination systems possibilities remains hampered by a statutory requirement to display in the first official language which effectively reduces the space available to display information which is important to MOST intending passengers in favour of positively discriminating for those who require Irish language versions in order to discern a Bus`s destination.

Whilst the destination display IS automatic it can not be automatically assumed that such operation is faultless and I have had many occasions where I sailed blithley past stops with Out-Of-Service writ large on the front whilst the Ticket Machine display proudly showed Balbriggan or some such exotic location......Yes it DOES happen and for that reason a Busdriver is well advised to do an occasional over the shoulder and behind the head check.

The point is......The damn controller SHOULD be mounted within the Drivers line of sight not stuck up behind the Right Ear in a totally inaccessible location.

It should also be noted that Some Buses are fitted with Vultron diaplay equipment which is NOT interfaced with the ticket machine and which can catch a Driver out when,for example,switching vehicles from a Hanover to a Vultron equipped Bus.

Also,in some cases there are route differences which could require a mid point alteration to display this information.
For example...via Drumcondra.
via Ballyfermot,via Santry or whatever.
Having passed through these via points it is superflous to keep it displayed when it could be showing the next major via point automatically.
Whilst the possibility is there to automatically adjust the via diaplay through the update of fare stages on the Ticket Machine this has never been enabled on our system.

By far and away the clearest Destination displays one can wish for are to be seen in Edinburgh where Lothian Buses remained true to old-fashioned,spotlessly clean and highly legible traditional Destination Blinds....it is rare to see a Lothian Bus with anything less than a fully legible set of blinds...in stark contrast to the First Group competitor who`s destination displays run the gamut from A4 Scribbled sheets to brand new LED`s installed behind the filthiest of glass.....But..I admit that`s going OT OT OT.

Terrontress

I'd say London has some of the clearest destination displays ever but they also have the internal display and announcement which the drivers are constantly fiddling with and looking at. I think the same device gives them, to within 10 seconds, how early or late they are running.

But you get all sorts of announcements like "There is more room upstairs", "Please vacate the wheelchair area" and "No standing upstairs" while the bus is moving.

foggy_lad

xp90 wrote: »

Sorry if I appear to be a smart arse, i didnt mean to slate the OP. What Im trying to say is that if it were me in the same position, I wouldnt like to be the one to have got the driver sacked, it would be too much of a burden on my concious, especially in these times, hes only trying to make a living for himself and his family. And yes you could argue deaths in a crash etc. would be worse I know, but in fairness how many buses have crashed in the republic in recent times to due to the driver being on his phone? Once again my apologies. Report him if it bothers you.

i would/will lose no sleep over getting a driver sacked for breaking the laws of the land and his own company rules while driving for a living! in fact i would/will have no hand in having him sacked he has done that himself by breaking company rules and road traffic laws!

it was a privately operated bus and the driver had poor english but still should have known/understood the rules of the road before taking a bus out on the road. i would describe his driving as dangerous as holding a mobile phone and texting while negotiating the roundabouts outside carlow is sheer lunacy(several trucks have overturned at one of these roundabouts) as one small mistake or losing grip on the wheel for a second could easily result in an overturned bus or much worse!

meanmachine3

foggy_lad wrote: »

it was a privately operated bus and the driver had poor english but still should have known/understood the rules of the road before taking a bus out on the road.

thanks for clarifying that foggy