More bus discussion

An email from a city bus driver informed me that people in automobiles display some crazy behavior around busses.  At the time, he did not specify those antics, but his topic encouraged me to speculate about some of those behaviors in last week’s column.

Now, G.F. has sent me a follow-up email stating a few of the inconsiderate, ill-advised and unappreciated actions he sees.

When guessing those driver foul-ups last week, I hit upon one of them now relayed by G.F.  That was the recurring driver behavior of racing past a bus, then pulling back in front of it and braking to make a turn.

Or, as G.F. put it, “This one covers any coaches as well as any big rig! If you need to get all the way over to make a right hand turn into a parking lot don’t speed around it [the bus or truck] and slam on the brakes to make the turn! Busses carry people, if you’re slamming on the brakes to make the turn imagine what is happening to all the people and kids on that bus!”

Also, as I wrote last week, people have time issues and perceive busses as obstacles impeding their forward progress. G.F. reminds us “I would like to start with the RCW 46.61.220 that is posted on the rear of every coach to let everyone know to give right of way to coaches reentering traffic! People hate to get behind a bus so they do stupid stuff to keep from letting the bus in.”

Then he continued, “Maybe you could also let people know that when the bus is making a passenger stop it only takes seconds to load and go as long as they [passengers] have their money or pass out and ready to go, so have some patience!”  Just as with the wait for red lights, regularly considered major holdups to hurried drivers, the duration of the delay is generally only one minute and almost always less than two minutes.

Another issue G.F. wrote of is when a bus is making a passenger stop and blocking half of the lane.  He suggests moving to the next lane to the left to pass if two are provided in the same direction of travel, to provide ample clearance.  As a witness to this behavior he noted, “I see it over and over that people stay in the same lane, moving into the other just enough to clear the bus then cutting back over. This is a dangerous situation when you have riders loading bicycles that may step out towards traffic. I do believe the police made it mandatory to move over. Why wouldn’t you do it as well for a coach doing a passenger stop?

G.F. has a valid point and is referring to RCW 46.61.212 that specifies moving left when possible away from the lane or shoulder occupied by a stationary emergency or police vehicle.

His final suggestion concerns downtown where certain lanes have pavement markings designating “transit only.” In his words, “Plaza driving is another thing! Busses only lane is just that, not for cars or just dropping off or bicycles!” I imagine it is very difficult for bus drivers to watch for cars and other entities where they are not supposed to be in that congested region.

G.F. seems concerned with safety — let’s heed his tips.

Readers may contact Bill Love via email at precisiondriving@spokesman.com.