About the Bus crash in ATL
 

Today they showed a video of that ramp the Bus went up: By the time he saw the exit sign, it was too late to get off the ramp in my opinion. When you get to the sign warning of the stop signs theres visible skidmarks consistent with a Bus. They arent long, so i think the ABS kicked in there. To the stop sign itself it looks like 200 ft, maybe another 100 across the overpass and then the fateful wall. I dont think the Bus driver had a chance if he went 65mph, let off when he went on the ramp and got confused due to the left exit, .5 sec brake reaction time... I dont know what the actual distances are at that location due to insufficient info. Also I do not know what the stopping distances are for a BUS with 38 passengers aboard and athletic cargo.

(EDITED TO FIX SCROLLING ISSUE)

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/03/bus.crash/index.html

I will admit that left hand exits can tend to "suck you in". This is because of not seeing them that often and not paying attention. News reports say there have been other problems at this intersection. But I'm not ready to take the driver's side. People died because of his mistake. He couldn't have been focused on his driving. If he was confused or unsure then he shouldn't have been in the left lane to begin with. This is typically where the faster traffic runs. Whether it was unfamiliarity or lack of attention I dont know. Bottom line is he lost his life and so did five others. I put all the blame on the driver. Atlanta highways are pretty wild with many lanes to pick from. All the more reason to step up your attention level. You have to be looking far down the road and reading all the signs. This accident was a great tradegy for all involved and I send them my sympathies.

I'm kinda with you, Snowman. He wasn't paying attention. I haven't seen any real "video," and the "animations" I'm not sure are correct. From what I heard:

1) He was in the far left HOV lane. At that time of the morning in Atlanta, early rush hour traffic in the other lanes would dictate this was a good move. I hope I understand it correctly, all OTHER HOV lanes that I'm aware of in Atlanta are the far left lane. (I've never been on THAT stretch of road.)

2) He had passed 3 other exits that went off to the right, meaning he was to stay LEFT for thru traffic.

3) THIS was the first LEFT EXIT from the HOV lane. Confusing, yes, but should have been fairly well marked. Unfortunately, most HOV lane exits are simple Black and White signs, instead of the flourescent yellow signs that mark EXIT ONLY or LEFT EXIT found on regular interstates throughout the country.

4) Once ON the exit, there were reflective markings on the road surface warning of a stop ahead. However, the stop was controlled by a simple stop sign.... not a light!

5) The exit went UP a hill, which we all know, would cause him to floor the pedal to keep from losing momentum (since he thought it continued through.)

6) They had just switched drivers, and he should have been well rested and ALERT.

7) He had his WIFE with him, which might have been distracting him from his "professional" duties.

8.) I don't know if he'd ever driven in the L.A. area, but many times out there, the HOV lane DOES go "up and over" and back down onto the level road. This "EXIT" obviously, did NOT!

9) Once he realized his mistake, I believe he did everything possible to avoid the accident, but it was too little, too late.

10) Like ALL buses, I believe he was driving too fast! I've NEVER been passed by trucks as much as I have been by BUSES! If "I" wreck, I kill me and my codriver, maybe. A BUS has 30-40 souls on board! They should be restricted to 60 mph everywhere in the country!

My condolences also are with the families of the dead, even the driver. But, in this case, I believe that even though the markings MAY have been insufficient, he was NOT concentrating on his JOB!

I don't know if it would help people to realize the seriousness of their jobs, but I think the CDL should be renamed from "Commercial Driver's License" to PDL.... "Professional Driver's License." We are not just a "commodity" in the economy. We are Professional drivers! Our skills should be in line with a Nascar driver. We MUST remain alert at all times, and we MUST be better than the average driver at handling emergency, high speed situations.

ONE: Just in case this thread takes off a little, could you resize it, please? Your "link" should be sufficient. That big long "string" before it, which is probably unnecessary, is what has caused this thread to be "expanded." Could you delete it? Thanks.

His wife was his co-driver.

Is that true?? I was wondering about that! Either way, they had just switched out.... and HE was supposedly rested.

And SHE might still have been a "distraction." You know.... sitting up there in the front "jump seat," talking to him, about blah, blah, blah....

As I usually drive "team," MY last co-driver spent WAY too much time in the jumpseat.... and he distracted me from my driving duties quite often!

I certainly didn't mean any disrespect about his wife being up there with him. It was "strictly" a professional observation.

I do agree about speed issues with busses. Most of the time I don't have a problem with them (as much as I do taxis, I *hate* taxis, 99.999% of them cannot drive worth shit). I do however believe there should be nation wide speed limits and regulations involving passenger carrying CMVs.

Doesn't help school bus drivers only make like $12 in a lot of areas either. It is a shame they don't pay them more for carrying such a precious commodity. Not sure what athletic team bus drivers make...

While I was stuck this week in Nebraska (I-80 and others closed) I was inside the truck stop a few times and the news they had on was CNN (can't stand them but had no choice) and every report they did on the crash ONLY mentioned and expanded on the lives of the players, they never mentioned anything about the driver and his wife :evil: I sent an e-mail to "[email protected]" expressing my displeasure with their disrespect towards the driver and his wife....

I agree. Bus drivers drive like heck! Why is this? Is it because the long wheelbase, smooth and quiet ride encourage this?


6) They had just switched drivers, and he should have been well rested and ALERT.

Not nessesarily; With my current situation, since i'm on an irregular schedule, i have no idea what my hours for any given day will be until the actual day of the shift. Thus, i'm used to waking up in the morning. So, for example yesterday i woke up at 7am--------i started work at 11pm!!! I don't have to tell you that didn't work out too good.

So, "fresh" in the commercial driving world does not nessesarily mean fresh.


I nearly dumped a set of double in Kearny NJ trying to get on the turnpike late at night. i was unfamilar with the area, it was dark, and really the signage was poor to non-existant.
Maybe what they should do in atlanta is put in rumble strips on the off ramp and use flashing yellow lights and put up bigger signs.

I'm not ready to blame the driver just yet.