Bus drivers on mobile phones

dbnavan

A few months back I was on a bus on which the bus driver used his mobile phone for about 80-90% of the hour long journey, texting, making and recieving calls, driving 1 handed while the other hand was on his phone, when I got off the bus I rang head office and asked about the policy and i was told drivers where not allowed use phones even hands free. And instructed that i was entitled to remind the driver of this.

Yesterday i was on the same route when i noticed the same driver on his phone again, so i told him what I had been told and I was concerned for the safety of the passengers, at this point he said 'fine, ok' pulled the bus over on side of the road and got out to continue his call, bus eireann have said they will look into it, however were not interested in taking my name or number, thus i will never hear what happened.

2 questions, what would u have done? Do you feel I am entitled to know their course of action?

dts

Since one of these said bus drivers ran into the back of my stationary car I have a loathing for all of them. They drive too fast and should be reported to the gaurds if seen using a mobile phone whilst driving. Get a picture of it as evidence next time and I am sure they can be done for driving without due care and attention.

Bluetonic

dts wrote:

Get a picture of it as evidence next time and I am sure they can be done for driving without due care and attention.

A picture would hardly be ideal evidence. How can you prove if the bus was stationary or moving?

A video is what you need. Wear a sombrero and fit it with a hidden video camera.

Alun

I've even seen Ambulance and Fire Engine drivers using mobile phones while driving. You'd imagine that of any group of 'professional' drivers, they'd be the ones to realise how dangerous it is.

dts

Now you are thinking. lol!

C_Breeze

dbnavan wrote:

A few months back I was on a bus on which the bus driver used his mobile phone for about 80-90% of the hour long journey, texting, making and recieving calls, driving 1 handed while the other hand was on his phone, when I got off the bus I rang head office and asked about the policy and i was told drivers where not allowed use phones even hands free. And instructed that i was entitled to remind the driver of this.

Yesterday i was on the same route when i noticed the same driver on his phone again, so i told him what I had been told and I was concerned for the safety of the passengers, at this point he said 'fine, ok' pulled the bus over on side of the road and got out to continue his call, bus eireann have said they will look into it, however were not interested in taking my name or number, thus i will never hear what happened.

2 questions, what would u have done? Do you feel I am entitled to know their course of action?

youre still alive arent you?? ....you got there on time didnt you?

stop moaning!

course of action .....pffff - do something better wit your time

Alun

C_Breeze wrote:

youre still alive arent you?? ....you got there on time didnt you?

stop moaning!

course of action .....pffff - do something better wit your time

So you consider that driving while talking on a mobile phone and driving one-handed with a bus full of passengers is OK then, is it?

dts

What!
With a possible 50 lives in your hands not to mention the people outside of the bus?
I say hang the c@#@s for it.

dbnavan

C_Breeze wrote:

youre still alive arent you?? ....you got there on time didnt you?

stop moaning!

course of action .....pffff - do something better wit your time

Actually was delayed 6 minutes while he chatted on phone off the bus, stopped for no other reason

How I choose to spend my time is my business, I dont spend it telling people how to spend theirs.

Stop Moaning.....didnt ask you to read my post, u choose to.

Yes he was endangering lifes driving that size of a bus one handed while talking,

C_Breeze

dbnavan wrote:

Actually was delayed 6 minutes while he chatted on phone off the bus, stopped for no other reason

How I choose to spend my time is my business, I dont spend it telling people how to spend theirs.

Stop Moaning.....didnt ask you to read my post, u choose to.

Yes he was endangering lifes driving that size of a bus one handed while talking,

fair enough i suppose.
but as long as he fullfilled his obligation off getting you from point a to point b, i dont see why you should report him.
becuase he was a "potential" danger on the road

everyone on the road , even the ones not talking on phones are potnetial dangers to each other.
every time u step out of the house youre risking your life .
take that bus that crashed into a bus stop a while back , he wasnt on a phone was he?

what im trying to say is

just coz a bus driver was on a phone doesnt mean he was less aware , than a bus driver not on a phone .

not focusing on the road is just as bad! how focused do u think a bus driver that drives a bus full time, is actually focused on the road ??? ..probably just as little as the guy on the phone . 90% of the time a bus drivers mind is elsewhere. IT's just that you cant see that the guy isnt concentraing - why not report them too .

guy was using a phone - big whoop .
buses are autmatic anyway, so 1 hand is free .

dbnavan

C_Breeze wrote:

fair enough i suppose.
but as long as he fullfilled his obligation off getting you from point a to point b, i dont see why you should report him.
becuase he was a "potential" danger on the road

everyone on the road , even the ones not talking on phones are potnetial dangers to each other.
every time u step out of the house youre risking your life .
take that bus that crashed into a bus stop a while back , he wasnt on a phone was he?

what im trying to say is

just coz a bus driver was on a phone doesnt mean he was less aware , than a bus driver not on a phone .

not focusing on the road is just as bad! how focused do u think a bus driver that drives a bus full time, is actually focused on the road ??? ..probably just as little as the guy on the phone . 90% of the time a bus drivers mind is elsewhere. IT's just that you cant see that the guy isnt concentraing - why not report them too .

guy was using a phone - big whoop .
buses are autmatic anyway, so 1 hand is free .

1) if it didnt endanger lives it would be legal.

2) the steering wheel on a bus is that big should require too hands

3) Bus drivers are not even supposed to talk to passengers while driving

4) It is against company policy

5) It is against irish law

should i go on......


as for

every time u step out of the house youre risking your life

I am aware of that, i dont need someone to risk it for me.

MiniD

C Breeze, the fact that it's illegal should be enough reason for it not to happen. It just takes a split second for an accident to happen... or be prevented. I wonder would you hold the same opinion if your child or partner were killed or injured as a result of a driver who was chatting on his phone. Every driver has a responsibility to give 100% attention to their driving, if you can't comply with that then you shouldn't be driving, especially a bus.

Victor

Write to the local Garda and the bus company.

Bluetonic wrote:

A picture would hardly be ideal evidence.

It might, but be very careful to not distract the driver in the process, especially with a flash.

How can you prove if the bus was stationary or moving?

The exterior would blur if moving, the interior wouldn't.

Red Alert

yes all buses are automatic, and the correct way to drive them is with two hands. for safety however you only need ONE hand.

the driver of a bus clocks up a **** load more miles than most other people on the road, and almost all have impeccable accident records. if you don't like a bus because the driver's on his mobile, wait for the next or buy a car. don't waste the other passengers time hassling the driver - if they're on the bus still then they obviously don't agree with you

C_Breeze

Red Alert wrote:

yes all buses are automatic, and the correct way to drive them is with two hands. for safety however you only need ONE hand.

the driver of a bus clocks up a **** load more miles than most other people on the road, and almost all have impeccable accident records. if you don't like a bus because the driver's on his mobile, wait for the next or buy a car. don't waste the other passengers time hassling the driver - if they're on the bus still then they obviously don't agree with you

Damn right, *applause*

dts

Couldnt agree with you more MiniD.
C Breeze there is no way you can believe that any part of your argument is correct.
Bus drivers should be on a taco like truckers and also better vetting off the staff might be a good idea. Alot of these drivers have been driving busses on quiet Irish roads for years. Now its time to get rid of all those old timers or get them re trained to deal with the high volumes of traffic you get on the country roads today.
Another good idea would be to put speed limiters on the buses to keep them below say 50kph.

dts

So red alert, if I use my car and the bus driver runs into me that ruins your argument?

C_Breeze

dts wrote:

Couldnt agree with you more MiniD.
C Breeze there is no way you can believe that any part of your argument is correct.
Bus drivers should be on a taco like truckers and also better vetting off the staff might be a good idea. Alot of these drivers have been driving busses on quiet Irish roads for years. Now its time to get rid of all those old timers or get them re trained to deal with the high volumes of traffic you get on the country roads today.
Another good idea would be to put speed limiters on the buses to keep them below say 50kph.

below 50kmh ?? ...you do realise that equals 30mph??? HAHA good one.
and i really dont think getting rid of old drivers is that great of an idea is it? ...i mean if anything a new generation would be more familiar with mobile phones and ipods etc. - thats even more distractions.
but offcourse thats just an assumption

dts

30mph is what I was after. At this speeds it is easy to over take them and they pose a lot less of a threat to other road users while distracted by phones and passengers.

Dub13

dts wrote:

30mph is what I was after. At this speeds it is easy to over take them and they pose a lot less of a threat to other road users while distracted by phones and passengers.

And how long to you think it would take to go from Dublin to Cork at 30mph...?

dts

Is there a bus from Dublin to Cork?
I would think the train would be a better option, or use your car?
The other option would be a coach for that sort of distance.
Buses are for the village to town routes to try to get people out of there cars.

Santa Claus

I saw a garda car this morning on my way into work which was in the bus lanes beside me with both Gardai in the front seats on mobile phones !

dts

Typical!
This is just what you come to expect after living here for a couple of years. There is just no respect for the law or anyone else.

kippy

I've noticed this on buses before-not to the extent of spending 90% of a one hour journey on the phone but using the phone while the bus is in motion.
It does worry me-simply for the fact that it is against the law. There is a reason for this......
Bus drivers and drivers of heavy vehicles have an added responsibility in that, as mentioned already, they can do far more damage to both lives and property in an accident than the standard car driver (I dont condone using phones in cars either by the way)
Some of the comments raised by C Breeze and others above dont make any sense in the whole scheme of things.
The laws are there to protect people. Anyone who goes on the road is going to be a potential danger-just being there means the odds of you causing or being involved in an accident rise considerably. But without the extra stimulus of alcohol,phones, excessive speed your are considered a safe driver. So you are a potential danger-however when you break the law by being drunk,speeding or using your phone then you are negligent and can go to jail for it. The chances of you being involved in an accident rise condiserably. Hence the law is there to keep the chances of a driver being involved in an accident as low as possible.
I dont intend to get into arguments about speed controls or traffic death figures but thats why the law is the law.
I didnt report the bus drivers I noticed on the phone but thinking about it afterwards I am sorry that I didnt mention to them that I was not happy with how they were performing their job.
That is what I intend to do in future and if I get any problems I will mention it to their employer.
Going to the guards would not be something that I would do lightly-the driver should have a chance to change his/her ways before that step is taken.
C breeze if you believe this to be acceptable behaviour do you believe that speeding and drink driving are acceptable for a bus driver just because they have been driving for years?

dbnavan

c_Breeze if its so ok? why would it be against the law, or is irish law a load of c**p too?

Victor

dts wrote:

Another good idea would be to put speed limiters on the buses to keep them below say 50kph.

Busses do have speed limiters. I saw a certificate I think 70mph on a coach.

Legally they ar elimited to 80km/h / 50mph.

Nevyn

It's about 35mph on a double decker dublin bus due to the sheer size and mass of them.

Turner

Its not against the law to drive while talking on your mobile phone, there is no specific law to make it an offence.

If however your driving was erratic like crossing a white line, running a stop light or you ended up having an accident it could be used as evidence to secure a "dangerous driving" or "driving without due care and attention" conviction.

The same as if you crashed while eating a burger or drinking from a can of coke. Your actions at the time of driving could be used to prove you were driving without due care and attention.

Alun

Rather oddly, you're right. The question is why? I found this on the DoT website ...

Mobile Phones
Consideration is being given to ways of addressing the road safety dimension of mobile phone use in the light of the advice from the Attorney General that the present regulations may be ultra vires and that primary legislation may be required to regulate for the use of such equipment by drivers. It is likely that any such legislation will address the principles concerned with the safe use of information
and communication technologies in vehicles.

Any idea what 'ultra vires' means? Is this another one of those 'it isn't constitutional' excuses that get trotted out when discussing random breath tests, for example?

EDIT: Just noticed this was from 2004 ... has anything changed in the meantime, and if not, why not?

John R

Thaedydal wrote:

It's about 35mph on a double decker dublin bus due to the sheer size and mass of them.

The speed limit for a double decker is 40mph, they all should have limiters fitted and set to 5-10mph above the limit.
The limit for single deck buses and coaches is 50mph and the limiters are usually set at around 60mph.

Both limits are far too low IMO, I have many times driven a double decker on motorways at 70mph without any problems.

dbnavan

Chief--- wrote:

Its not against the law to drive while talking on your mobile phone, there is no specific law to make it an offence.

Just rang local Garda station, even though there is no law specific to mobile phones, you can be done for not driving with due care and attention