February 20, 2007
Making Metrobus Safe
This past Saturday, Metrobus claimed its fifth pedestrian victim in just eight months. The news that a young woman was killed by a Metrobus in Congress Heights came just days after two women were struck and killed crossing Pennsylvania Avenue in Penn Quarter. Along with other recent collisions, these accidents have fueled outrage among city residents who do not want to live in fear of what should be a safe and productive part of our transportation system.
The saddest part of this tragic and frightening trend is that no one seems to be surprised. The aggressive and dangerous driving habits of many Metrobus drivers are so well-known and commonplace, the only surprise for many was that accidents have not been more frequent.
Photo uploaded anonymously to the DCist Flickr Pool.
In response to the rash of recent collisions between Metrobuses and pedestrians, Metro’s general manager John Catoe has responded by announcing that all Metrobus drivers would be required to retake 1-2 days of pedestrian safety training. Metrobus supervisors began meeting with drivers to reiterate the responsibility to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks. Reminders have been posted at all bus facilities, and an official notice emphasizing pedestrian safety was issued to drivers.
If this list left you thinking, “That’s all?,” you are not alone.
Imperiled pedestrian safety is a symptom of a larger problem at Metrobus. There are many skilled drivers who operate safely every day. However, any regular bus passenger, pedestrian, cyclist, or driver will tell you that aggressive driving is widespread among Metro’s bus drivers. While the cause of such habits are unclear, simply reminding those who pilot thousands of pounds of steel around the city to be safer is far from adequate, no matter how many times it is done. Metro must fight this culture of poor driving among its ranks in more creative and proactive ways.
First, Metro should work to identify poor driving early and hold operators more generally accountable for their driving habits. Though Metro encourages riders to report unacceptable behavior such as aggressive driving or bus bunching via its website, this complaint system is neither transparent nor accessible. Riders who file a complaint receive no indication that their information was acted upon. Riders should be able to follow up and track their complaints to see what, if any, actions have been taken. Metro should summarize complaints received and disciplinary actions taken, and publicly release these statistics. Also, each bus’s 4-digit identification number should be more prominently displayed inside the vehicle for passengers to note.
Second, Metro must more aggressively police itself. Rather than relying solely on riders to report poor driving, Metro should also employ quality control officials. These officials would ride along with every driver, unannounced and unidentified, at least once a month, to observe driving behavior and identify problems. Most drivers would likely drive more carefully if there was a chance they were being observed, and those that did not change aggressive behavior would be identified.
Finally, there must be consequences for drivers with habits that are aggressive and dangerous, or generally not conducive to good service. Positive consequences such as bonuses, extra paid leave, more desirable shifts, and schedule flexibility would reinforce a record of good, safe service. Retraining, reprimand, lower salary increases, docked pay, and forced unpaid leave could all act as effective negative consequences for various infractions, in addition to traffic tickets or other legal repercussions.
Metro’s responsibility to ensure the safety of pedestrians and others on District roads extends beyond its own civil, criminal, and moral liability. City buses are essential to District life, filling a crucial roll in our transit system. We see Metrobuses everyday, and many of us ride them just as often. Without them, Washington would lose a valuable mobility option that many rely upon as their main form of transportation. Indeed, Metro's new general manager was hired because of his experience running a far more extensive bus system in Los Angeles, and his promise to put Metrobus on par with Metrorail in terms of reliability and service quality.
The innovative new service ideas Catoe has offered are certainly worthwhile; Washington D.C. deserves a better bus system than the one it has. However, any such effort will be in vain if residents of this city cannot have faith in the single most important feature of any transportation service - it's ability to operate safely.
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Placing the entirety of the blame at the feet of the bus drivers is not warranted. While I agree there are far too many overly aggressive Metrobus drivers out there, pedestrians have to do their part as well. Obeying crossing signals and actually using the designated crosswalks and not crossing in the middle of the road are laws which pedestrians are obligated to follow. The aggressive bus driving must be curbed but pedestrians must also follow the laws and not think they are above them simply because they are on foot. This problem, like all others, cuts both ways.
how 'bout a kinder, gentler site?
www.metro-sucks.blogspot.com
Ryan -
I agree that pedestrians, like cars and cyclists, have a responsibility to obey laws, and I have recently written in support of greater enforcement of pedestrian and other traffic laws by DC police. However, this post is about the bus drivers and the system that allows aggressive driving to continue unchecked. Everyone on the road has a responsibility to safety, but without an effective enforcement mechanism, we will see little change.
What training do drivers currently undertake? Aside from pedestrian safety, what messages are being delivered to the drivers? Is timeliness being stressed so much that safety is taking a backseat to other issues?
(pun intended)
Although I'm a big fan of increased safety training for bus drivers, I think when the plowed snow causes people to stand in the middle of traffic waiting for a light to change, accidents are going to happen. I work in the 7th and Penn area, and almost every night last week, I saw a close call with a bus. And crazy driving wasn't always the culprit.
One of the local news outlets (Channel 9 or Fox 5) followed buses in NW and SE taping their driving and caught only one questionable turn on a red by a metro bus driver. They caught tons of jaywalking and other improper behavior by pedestrians. Including a man jaywalking in front of a bus on Park Rd. where one of the incidents occurred.
I see people crossing 16th Street nowhere near a crosswalk all the time--not even running or walking quickly across, but strolling. I'd venture that DC pedestrians are among the worst in the country at obeying the law.
What are the chances that with the advent of NextBus, Metro will be able to identify drivers that are excessive speeders?
Frankly, I can't wait for them to roll that out for other reasons, but I'm also hopeful that it can be used as a tool to measure the performance of specific drivers, or at least bus lines.
"Including a man jaywalking in front of a bus on Park Rd. where one of the incidents occurred."
It's not possible to jaywalk in front of a bus at that intersection. If the pedestrian has a don't cross light, then the light for the bus is red. Either the pedestrian has a cross signal, or the bus is running a red light. Either way, at that particular intersection, a collision with a pedestrian is _de facto_ the drivers fault. I'm not saying that someone didn't step out mid block at a different place on Park, but it wasn't at the same intersection.
Alright, people-
We know there are bad pedestrians out there, but this post is about the recent Metrobus accidents, in which pedestrians have not been the guilty party. A bus driver was ARRESTED for the double-killing of pedestrians at 7th and Penn last week, for cryin' out loud.
Although I can hardly wait for NextBus to be implemented system-wide, I wonder if it is going to make the speeding worse. If performance is dependent on how well the drivers keep to the schedule, wouldn't that be an incentive to speed?
DC pedestrians have nothing on New Yorkers, particularly outside of Manhattan. I saw kids in Brooklyn and the Bronx just standing in front of angry cars. Bus drivers must learn to drive in the real world. If they can't, then they should do more training. I am a frustrated driver often beset by obnoxious bicyclist and confused pedestrians, but this amount of death is unheard of!
i agree that pedestrians in DC are terrible. but, to my knowledge, all the recent deaths have involved pedestrians crossing in the crosswalk, legally.
there is something else going on here, i think. i like your suggestions, colin, for how things might begin to change. perahps you can actually suggest them wmata? i would like to see them have a community meeting to discuss their ideas with us and also, get some much needed feedback.
having almost been hit head on by a bus on u street last week that had ran a red light (long after it had changed), i now feel very personally about this issue.
Though Metro encourages riders to report unacceptable behavior such as aggressive driving or bus bunching via its website, this complaint system is neither transparent nor accessible. Riders who file a complaint receive no indication that their information was acted upon.
Maybe it was because I filed a complaint about Metrorail, but when I used the online form, I received an email confirmation within a few hours and then a detailed message on my home voice mail explaining the problem and apologizing. I agree that there should be some public documentation of such complaints, but consider the volume of correspondence, especially if - I might be remembering this incorrectly - a hiring freeze was recently instituted. From a logistical standpoint, that seems a bit unrealistic.
The safe and cautious driving habits of many Metrobus drivers is being ignored here. I have used Metrobus for 15 years and rarely see any sign of poor or dangerout driving habits. I have often seen Metrobus drivers do all they can to avoid accidents, even though pedestrians and other drivers are being careless or stupid. Yes, it's terrible that several pedestrians have been killed lately in accidents, and certainly Metro needs to take action but it angers me that suddenly the public is taking on this attitude of "all Metrobus drivers are aggressive and careless".
I feel so bad for the driver who hit the two women crossing at 7th and Penn. last week. He had a good record and is probably in deep pain and shock over this. No, the t-shirt is not funny. Why even mention it on this site?
"to my knowledge, all the recent deaths have involved pedestrians crossing in the crosswalk, legally."
The latest incident, the pedestrian was in the road due to ice. The one before the Penn. Ave. incident (Park Rd. NW), afaik it was undetermined if the pedestrian "jumped out" or not.
Re: "It's not possible to jaywalk in front of a bus at that intersection."
What about if the signal was flashing don't walk prior to the pedestrian entering the crosswalk? I had the news report in question on in the background, but didn't pay enough attention.
"What about if the signal was flashing don't walk prior to the pedestrian entering the crosswalk? I had the news report in question on in the background, but didn't pay enough attention."
DCMR 2301.3- "Pedestrians facing a STEADY YELLOW SIGNAL are thereby advised that there is insufficient time to cross the roadway, and any pedestrian then starting to cross shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles."
So yes, it does seem that if you leave the curb after the light starts flashing, it is _possible_. However, I'd argue that a flashing DONT WALK ought to be treated the same as a yellow light. That is, legal to proceed through, but a warning of impending change. Apparently DC doesn't extend the same courtesy to pedestrians as it does drivers (leaving out the fact that the yellow light timing here in DC is criminally short in order to generate more redlight camera revenue).
But once again, the light is timed (or at least legally ought to be) so that the flashing DONT WALK and the yellow traffic light are on at the same time. If the pedestrian is stepping out into a flashing dont walk, then the bus is turning across a yellow light. That's not going to be the case at every intersection, my argument is completely fact specific, based on the linked timing of the light and crosswalk at Park and 16th.
I too have coexisted with metrobuses for a few years now, and I don't know why everyone is coming out of the woodwork only now, claiming that bus drivers are the scourge of the streets. It's always someone else's fault. Bikes, pedestrians, old people, now bus drivers. Everyone experiences stress on the road and is looking for a pariah. If anything, those buses are just moving traffic obstructions that force me to switch lanes a lot.
As a regular pedestrian and Metrobus rider, I think there is plenty of blame to go around. Every day I see oblivious pedestrians who jaywalk without bothering to check for traffic. If you're going to jaywalk, you could at least make sure there aren't any vehicles coming toward you. I've also been on ly plenty of Metrobuses where drivers are talking on cell phones, running yellow and red lights, and not pulling all the way to the curb at stops even when there is room.
I like the idea of an undercover observation system, but I also think Metro should take advantage of technology. Blackbox type recorders can keep track of things like speed and breaking. If things out of the ordinary or recorded, go back and take a look at the camera footage to see what was happening.
BrodyV: At any intersection I've been through, the DON'T WALK flashes while the traffic light is still green; it stops flashing at the same time the traffic signal turns yellow.
The thing about bus drivers is that the vehicle they operate is so disproportionately massive that those who drive it are more encouraged to act with the same sort of reckless impunity that the average driver would want to have, if they dared. I mean, I doubt that buses are operated by a particularly bad sort of driver. In all probability, they're operated by good drivers that have developed a skewed perception of the cost/benefit of behaving as selfishly as the rest of us would if similarly unconstrained by self-preservation.
Yeah, I'm spreading the indictment around.
Metro is just another out of control government monopoly. PRIVATIZE IT!
Chris:
That's not how I recall that particular intersection working, but I'll admit that it's been a while since I was at it. I'll go by tomorrow. I'm interested in checking the timing of the yellow light that the buses are turning across anyway.
Mr. McBride:
Please go spread your libertarian claptrap somewhere else, and let adults consider how it might be possible to effect change in a public service. If you privatized Metro, there'd be about 3 routes in the city- the 42, the Ss, and the X series. Maybe the Ls and 50s. But otherwise the idea is just another "fuck you" to anyone that has the poor sense to live outside NW in order to perpetuate the heavily disproven myth that somehow private enterprise is more efficient.
Not all walk/don't walk signals nor the timers attached to them work the same way. Most seem geared to when the parallel light turns yellow, a few to when the perpendicular light turns green. Obviously they should be well maintained and standardized.
There's a few crosswalk that are only white for about the time it takes a pedestrian to step off the curb, then turn flashing orange and steady orange pretty quickly. An example is when you try to cross I street on the west side at 15th St NW. I hate that intersection because so many cars (and buses) turning onto I from 15th hound any poor pedestrian trying to cross the street.
Metro needs a better system for following up on complaints & reports. A few months ago I twice reported on Metrobuses on the 64 route running red lights, providing the bus ID number. I never got a reply and have no idea if anyone followed up on the report.
I have been on buses that leave the bus stop after the light has already turned yellow. Many time I have worried a car would crash into the side of the bus. Maybe this will be the next scandal.
Ugh, who let the libertarian in here?
The notion that aggressive bus driving is common is false. I ride the bus every day, and most bus drivers are careful and conscientious.
Maybe what's really needed is better enforcement of rules governing passengers talking to the driver, and standing ahead of the yellow line (thus blocking his view).
It's also worth looking at why all these accidents have happened recently. Metrobus drivers didn't just suddenly change their driving habits.
BrodyV: Crazy fool. The lights in DC don't stay yellow as long as they do in Lorton or Germantown because the speed limit is lower in DC. There is no need for 10 second yellows in DC you idiot.
Since all you DC people love to compare to yourselves to Manhattan... yellow lights in Manhattan are just as short (and in some cases, shorter) than the yellows in DC.
So shut up.
BrodyV: Crazy fool. The lights in DC don't stay yellow as long as they do in Lorton or Germantown because the speed limit is lower in DC. There is no need for 10 second yellows in DC you idiot.
Since all you DC people love to compare to yourselves to Manhattan... yellow lights in Manhattan are just as short (and in some cases, shorter) than the yellows in DC.
So shut up.
SL: Your complaints weren't investigated probably because the entire metro area is made up of lazy self righteous people... but you probably knew that.
Actually, your complaint was probably thrown away immediately (if it was even taken down.)
Most of the pedestrian deaths were NOT the fault of Metrobus drivers. In fact, nearly all the pedestrian accidents were the result of jaywalking. Despite this, no one's calling for a major anti-jaywalking campaign. Why is that?
have a look at the british side of things...
buses.securehotel.org.uk
In addition to getting runover, here are some of the other joys of riding our beloved MetroBus:
# Bunching" -- bus drivers claim that two or three buses on the same route traveling together is due to traffic flow, when in reality the lazy SOBs can't be bothered to pick up passengers and won't have to when they travel in packs.
# Very late buses, almost total lack of schedule - As a bonus, after waiting 30 minutes for a bus which supposedly comes every 10 minutes, you get an extremely crowded bus. You may not even be allowed on its so crowded but you won't want to be either -- this excrutiating sweatbox will creak along at 5 mph and stop at every single corner.
# Bus drivers who decide not to stop, pointing over their shoulder as if another bus is coming soon, as they leave you stranded on the sidewalk.
More at destruct-of-columbia.blogspot.com