My youngest lad was coming home yesterday from school and as the title suggests, was very nearly taken out by a local bus. He had stopped at the traffic lights which were green, pressed the button and waited until it turned to red and beeped. The traffic to his right had stopped and about 50 meters away there was a bus coming from the left which looked like was slowing down, as he got about a 1/2 way across his side he got the feeling that the bus wasn't going to stop and thankfully had enough about him to stop, as he anticapated the bus sped up and jumped the red light in front of him. By this time he was about 8-10 feet away from the bus and felt the whoosh as it went past.
So most of my day has been spent phoning the local council to see if the CCTV footage would span the incident, due to privacy I'm not allowed to view the footage and have to to speak to the police beforehand.
They have given me an incident number and they advised me to make contact with the bus company that he thought it was and to speak to the BP garage which could have potentially picked up the incident on their CCTV. This I've done and it appears they will look at any footage tomorrow and update the police accordingly. The bus company have taken it very seriously and advised that all of their buses have cameras fitted and if it is them then it will almost certainly have been picked up.
NO harm was done other than him being shook up but if he hadn't had his wits about him I might have been facing something very unthinkable yesterday.
FFF
Glad he's ok.
I witnessed an elderly man very nearly being taken out by a bus on a pedestrian crossing a couple of weeks ago. Luckily somebody grabbed his arm & pulled him back. He'd crossed because he said the man had turned to green, which it had. I went up to the bus driver's window & told him that he'd gone through a red light & nearly killed somebody. His response was "It was on amber". Er yes, amber means stop. Didn't seem to give a toss.
I see this all the time and it makes me so angry...also cars, trucks etc blocking the crossing outside my boys school. To be honest it's cyclists I've had the most close calls with, even when I'm waiting for the green man with my four year old son we start crossing and they come flying past, I've had to put my arm out at times to protect my son. Glad your boys ok, but it goes to show, you can't take a green crossing light for granted!
Bloody Hell Dudley, glad he's ok. It goes to show how important awareness and anticipation is on the roads from everyone from drivers to pedestrians. Glad your son has a bit of a head on him.
I think most buses have cameras these days so if the drivers done wrong, it'll come to light.
TBH, before I phoned the police etc I grilled him for about half and hour to make sure his story added up and just to check his phone wasn't in his hand and he didn't have his headphones on or something stupid.
Cheers Dave.Originally Posted by Dave O'Sullivan
I wanted to go in guns blazing tbh however given his obvious shock of the incident he negated to take much info other than the colour and approx time, it looks like it is one of the local larger operators however I don't have the firm proof. Upon reflection the guns blazing approach was the wrong choice.
FFF mate you did as any Father would do! I have been personally knocked over by a bus (a long, actually amusing story that I shall tell some other time) and the only reason I reported it was because my Dad told me to in no uncertain terms!
Glad he's okay!!
A parent's worst nightmare. And often we think that these youngsters are to blame. This time the CCTV is very useful and I would have done the same to find out about the whole story.
Give him an extra hug before he goes to sleep tonight. He needs it and, tbh, as a father myself I would need it too.
Menno
This.
Someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.
I'm aware that I am tarring all service bus drivers with the same brush here, but I hate them. They expect EVERYONE to give them right of way, yet they are pig ignorant of any other road users.
I passed one once as it was at a bus stop. As I passed the back of the bus (he hadn't indicated showing his intentions) he just started pulling off keeping me alongside him and there was oncoming traffic that I only just missed.
FFF, glad your boy is ok, and I hope you do manage to nail this bus driver down.
you can get to see the cctv, go to a solicitor, he can requests the footage.
Go down to the same junction tomorrow with him around the same time and wait. It'll soon jog his memory with which firm /bus it was. Then approach the company. I'm
Sure they'll have a few days footage saved.
It's this kind of story that terrifies me as a father. Our 10 year old starts secondary school next September and will be biking it there and back. Mainly using back roads but with some busy crossings en route.
The traffic in this corner of East London is bad at the best of times, and the amount of near-misses and examples of really bad, careless, and often reckless driving I see makes me want to go on a Falling Down rampage.
He's a sensible lad, but he's not superhuman, and it's not really his behaviour I worry about.
Glad your boy's OK and definitely chase this up. Good luck.
Glad your boy is ok.
Without wishing to divert the thread, what good's seeing a solicitor going to do?
Glad your son wasn't day-dreaming, Franky. Just as we say about American baseball, life is sometimes a game of inches! You may feel like hugging your boy every day forward.
Good idea. Go a little earlier. Big chance that the bus driver had to make up for lost time: he should have been on that junction a few minutes earlier, hence his behaviour...
Menno
Glad he's ok. If you know the bus company they will have a record. Ask to speak to the transport manager. They will know which drivers are on which routes.
Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk
Sorry to hear this FFF, but very glad your son is OK and had his wits about him.
I'm somewhat surprised that the police are not getting involved directly and are expecting you to be taking this forward. A while ago now I witnessed a child being hit by a car in similar circumstances. Terrible to see and I stopped to help, as did others. Not a pleasant experience, and it played on my mind for a long time. Fortunately the child wasn't seriously injured. Police took a very active stance on the matter.
Agree with going back to the scene with him around the same time. There's no excuse for this kind of thing and I hope you get all the information you need to get the driver fully investigated.
Agree with giving your son a big hug too, often. Stay safe.
Best Regards - Peter
I'd hate to be with you when you're on your own.
A couple of years ago I reported a driver (to the bus company) for texting whilst driving. Never heard anything else about it.
That's exactly what I thought, they asked to to ring the garage and the bus company and ask if they have cctv and to then update them with the info. I noticed this morning that all calls to 101 cost 15p so perhaps it's part of a cost cutting exercise to get the members of the public to do the leg work?
2nd time I phoned 101 so guessing it's always been like that, however didn't hear that message yesterday.
any private CCTV in offices or shops nearby?
Everyone has the right to get footage from CCTV that they are in.
The only way to get traction here I think is to take a picture of the driver and tweet it...difficult to ignore and the press usually love a good 'texting at the wheel' story so it will most likely get picked up by local/national press. Funny how all of a sudden bus companies can't do enough to help!
That is basic common sense on the road.
Good to read the OP´s son has it!!
Had two examples since this Sunday.
One was a van driver looking the wrong way and broadsiding us. A complicated junction and he was going ever so slo, just made a mistake and I saw it coming so avoided most of it. If I had simpy driven on through the green lights, I would have carreered of the bridge.
The next was Monday; me driving off when my light changed green and when halfway accross the junction a young bloke impressing his gf on the back of hit hotted up moped screemed past through red. I slammed the brake before consciously seeing them. The onlookers at the other side where shocked as they were seeing a horrific accident unfolding. My gf is still shuddering at the thought.
Last week I was the culprit myself. Coming off the highway, slowed down for the traffic lights which changed to green when I was still slowing down. So I continued to go right on the junction. Immediately on that road there is a pedestrian crossing which most times has it´s light on flashing ambar and a ditto flashing ambar light for motorists. It is a stupid set up not taking into account the exit from the highway, but nevertheless it is up to ME not to take the corner at the ´allowed´speed but at a speed which enables me to stop for a pedestrian crossing. The pedestrian had common sense and saved our day. I did stop, but I would have nudged her.
Apart from the odd exception all road users try to drive safely and road signs/traffic lights structure our behavior. Even the ones filling this framework with good intentions make mistakes, so one hás to make allowances.
As to the bus driver. They make mistakes too. By and large, just like lorry drivers, they have a very tough job made more so by pressure from employers* and are extremely good at it.
* Consumers are always looking for the cheapest buy and as such put pressure on the drivers.
Before crucifying one, do think of the consequences for him and his family. He who is without sin cast the first stone.
Shut up! He ran a red light, he could have killed someone - no excuses, it's one of the most basic rules of the road. A professional driver should be more aware of this than anyone.
Interesting thread, are the standards for bus driving declining, two weeks ago I was driving through Chelmsford, on dual carriageway at 40mph, a bus pulled out of a layby without signalling right in front of me, there was no way I would have stopped in time fortunately the outside lane was empty so threw the car into it. I hooted and the bus driver flashed at me several times like I had done something wrong,
It was the closest near miss I have had in years.
It seems impossible to contact stagecoach by phone, I complained on the form on Stagecoach's website, they still haven't responded.
To be absolutely fair to the bus company they've taken everything on board and are taking it very seriously.
I've stressed to him in advanced (and apologised in advance) that this is a fact finding exercise and it may well turn out his company were not to blaim. He's currently checking the route that day, correlating all the buses that would have gone through (approx 1 every 10 minutes) so that he can get the discs from the units when they come in. It may possibly take a few days however he's on it today and will update me when and if they find anything.
Glad your boy is OK. All parents will empathise I'm sure, the prospect of opening the door to a couple of officers, one probably a woman, doesn't bear thinking about.
Kudos to your boy from being so aware, most, including my 4yo, are in la-la land most of the time.
Apart from the odd exception all road users try to drive safely and road signs/traffic lights structure our behavior. Even the ones filling this framework with good intentions make mistakes, so one hás to make allowances.
I get that we all make mistakes from time to time, we're all human and things happen however in this instance I feel that an allowance is wrong.
I don't want his job or looking for anything......my son was essentially unharmed and other than being shook up he lived another day. That really isn't the point, clearly on that day something was wrong, wether it was a momentary lack of concentration or something more deep routed I don't know. The fact still remains he ran a red light in a bus, he needs to know what he did and the consequences of what could have happened. I would think at least he needs to sit down in a classroom and do some retraining.
I agree with that and Joe Average gets this opportunity and although the láw treat professionals in a comparative way, employers can take quite a different approach as they avoid to be held responsible. Again understandably yet it can mean the equivalent of capital punishment for a pro driver. But then some will think that great. I dont. I have been on the road for over a million kms and although a very safe driver who does not speed and has never caused an accident, I have had my fair share of stupid moments. If stupid moments with extrapolations of what coúld have happened would mean being taken off the road than most driver´s would be banned within a day. Yes, the lot here too. Just ask any cyclist about 4 inches of space and such.
Have a nice day with the righteousness.
"all road users try to drive safely"
I'm afraid I don't believe this contention. My experience suggest a significant proportion of road users are not primarily focused on their driving, they are on the phone, handsfree or otherwise, in a hurry because they've left too late, chatting to their passenger or lost in their music. Their attention is primarily elsewhere and driving is getting just enough to do it to the basic level required.
We do all make mistakes but some do whilst applying themselves to their driving and some do because they are not applying themselves to their driving.
Good to hear that your son had his wits about him.
scooter
Good job the OP's son had his wits about him (that's what you need to teach your kids!), but with respect, none of you were there.
We only have a third hand report that the bus jumped a red light, so hurling abuse stating facts is rather presumptuous.
Personally, I'd be glad my son was aware enough to have clocked the bus was coming, rather than wasting my time, but obviously if you can find the bus company and CCTV proving he jumped the lights, you may be able to get him reprimanded (or fired if he's a repeat offender).
There are plenty of scenarios, though, where, maybe, this wasn't exactly as it seems to be (eg a lane for buses with different light sequences), so I'd not jump to the conclusions some have (I can understand the OP's shock and anger, but not the indignation of some others).
M.
Cilla.
A year ago today I lost my mum, Tuesday I Nearly lost my son atleast have been seriously injured and lying in some hospital bed.
Anyone who runs a red light needs to be talked to, in this instance it happened to be a bus driver.
Like I said I wouldn't want anyone to lose their job over this however if the police deem it serious enough to pursue and a prosecution is possible then so be it.
Who knows this may not be an isolated incident, if further training is needed which could potentially save someone's life then it has to be a good thing....doesn't it?
Firstly,I'm glad to hear that FFF jnr wasn't injured or worse.
Secondly,Cilla.....you really talk some utter nonsense at times. Are you telling me that if a bus driver intentionally ran a clear red light and nearly wiped out your son you would be ok with that?
And if he loses his job, tough! He should have thought about that before jumping the red light.
Careless driving makes me angry like nothing else. If you're operating in excess of a ton of powerful machinery in the near vicinity of cyclists, pedestrians, and other vehicle users, your mind should be wholly on the job of operating that machinery safely.
The amount of people who have no consideration whatsoever for the possible consequences of them doing their hair, texting a mate, eating a burger, looking in shop windows, etc, while driving a frigging car is astounding. And there's no one to stop them, so if an example needs to be made of the bus driver running a red light, so be it.
This! it's maybe a bit strong to generalise but our local bus operator comprise 80% douchbags, only to be outdone by our local cyclists. Glad the boy is ok and hope you nail the scum bag.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Glad your son is ok, the end of my commute sees me in St Albans where the bus drivers are something else; either their inability to hold position in a lane ends up with a 10 minute added commute as 2 lanes simply become one as they can't judge width, some can, so it's not the fact the road is too narrow. The worst are the drivers coming downhill, jumping red lights due to momentum through crossings.
For alleged professional drivers it disgusts me.
Hope you get the footage you require, so glad your son wasn't listening to music or looking at his phone to have his wits about him.
It seems that the bus company have full CCTV in all their buses apart from the one that ran the red light....surprise suprise! Luckily the footage from the garage shows the incident, car stopped to the right and bus then goes straight over. Unfortunately however it doesn't show the lights because they are obscured by a petrol pump. According to the woman from the police traffic dept I spoke to this afternoon the footage will be seized from the garage and inspected for proof of running the red light....not too sure where it'll go there from there.
The bus company have narrowed it down to 2 buses now and so they'll be speaking to the drivers in due course.
Hopefully a slap on the wrist and made to take some kind of awareness course at the very minimum.
Which -in a way- gives you the certainty that your boy was telling the truth, paying attention, not messing with his phone etc during these dire moments! All those little things you (we!) think is important when raising kids. This, in a strange and unwanted way, is very reassuring for parents.
On the matter of proof: busses and lorry's have tacho-meters inside that exactly show what happened at a certain moment.
Menno
glad to hear your son is ok.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
