Driver Radios on Dublin Bus - Allowed?

GerrardsSocks

Afternoon Folks,

Quick question for you - have recently had cause to take some of the 27's or 42's and am noticing that a lot of the DB drivers have a radio in the cab which is playing music or talk shows are whatever.

Now I was wondering if there a DB policy on this or is it the drivers acting off their own bat?

TBH I'm not sure where I stand on it, but if there was a crash could someone claim that the driver had been distracted by the radio? I understand we all listen to radios while in the car, but we aren't driving 70 people around at the time and have responsibility for their safety.

I also think that this is quite unprofessional of the drivers to be listening to radio - in other countries have never seen urban drivers listening to the radio while performing their job.

So, anyone know if its allowed and does anyone have any thoughts as to whether they should have radios on when driving?

GS

ciaran76

I don't see any big deal really. Could be worse ....they could be on the phone or reading a paper which I have seen been done on more the one occasion :eek:

irlrobins

As you say yourself, everyone has a radio in their car. If this was dangerous, your chances of having an accident due to it would be the same regardless of how many people are in the vehicle with you.

I see no problem with it, unless it was an annoying song at full volume.

r3nu4l

Don't know what the official policy is but it would bother me, not because of safety but because I generally only like news, politics and current affairs on the radio.
I listen to MP3s for music, and would hate the driver inflicting Dave Fanning or Tony Fenton on me.

Red Alert

I've absolutely no problem with it at all. In fact I think DB should stop this silly policy of ordering the PA system on the bus 'sans radio'. The blank slot where the communications radio is put is actually for a car-stereo radio like coaches are fitted with. Then the driver could have it on for himself or the whole bus as he pleases.

Maybe the LUAS drivers wouldn't get so bored if they were allowed have their radios with them.

Wishbone Ash

I occasionally drive a bus. Most of the fleet are equipped with radios but a few are not. It can be very boring doing a twelve hour shift without a radio. You sometimes think that the world could be at war without you knowing it. It also leads to the practise of drivers bringing in their own radios which can be more of a distraction than a fitted radio.

(I've noticed quite a few DB drivers with earphones on while they are driving - not an ideal practise IMO).

europerson

I don't really think it's a problem for them to have a radio with them.

jimmycrackcorm

GerrardsSocks wrote:

TBH I'm not sure where I stand on it, but if there was a crash could someone claim that the driver had been distracted by the radio? I understand we all listen to radios while in the car, but we aren't driving 70 people around at the time and have responsibility for their safety.

Perhaps you could start by quoting some statistics about how many car accidents occur from car drivers listening to the radio. And then look at conversations - especially with wives and girlfriends giving out to you while you are driving - very dangerous imho.

I also think that this is quite unprofessional of the drivers to be listening to radio - in other countries have never seen urban drivers listening to the radio while performing their job.

Happy workers do a safer better job. Bored workers do not.

saobh_ie

I used to commute by bus all the time but now I only use them occasionally and remember seeing bus drivers with their own portable radios in the cabs for as long as I have been busing. In my mind, it’s a good thing. Gives you something to listen to if your standing beside him on a full bus and makes his job a little less monotonous. Plodding around in 7mph traffic for 8/10/12 hours a day could put you right to sleep or send the mind wandering far far away from the task at hand.

Their probably is some manger in Dublin Bus somewhere whose put out orders that they can’t have radios, read books, wear sunglasses when passengers are getting onto the bus and all sorts of petty crap that just makes life difficult and doesn’t affect the standard of the guys driving and only makes him more miserable, every job has people whose job is to try and freak you out. I doubt its something the majority of driver’s supervisors would actually give out about.

GerrardsSocks wrote:

I understand we all listen to radios while in the car, but we aren't driving 70 people around at the time and have responsibility for their safety.

Actually, you are responsible for the safety of everybody that could potentially get near your car and of course for your own safety. I don't think its a safety issue because a professional driver who can't drive sucessfully and listen to the radio at the same time isn't going to have a job for very long.

Red Alert

A safety issue.... so by similar token an articulated lorry should not have a stereo.

FYI many surgeons listen to music when doing long procedures in theatre.

andrew163

Red Alert wrote:

FYI many surgeons listen to music when doing long procedures in theatre.

Now *that* scares me...:eek:

As for bus drivers, don't see anything wrong with it. If it improves morale a little then it's a good thing.. and as someone else said it helps when the bus is stuffed to capacity and you're stuck standing near the driver's cab.

MiniD

Personally, I don't have an issue with drivers having a radio with them, however, if a driver has a radio in his cab playing music then legally Dublin Bus should be paying for an IMRO licence. Potentially, through the course of his/her shift, the music being played could be heard by a few hundred people, and if you mulitply that by all the drivers with radios, then Dublin Bus would have a very heavy public performance bill on their hands.

Victor

Red Alert wrote:

A safety issue.... so by similar token an articulated lorry should not have a stereo.

Nor should any driver compartment. How many drivers would hear a bicycle bell these days? What with 200W speakers and sound proofed vehicles.

FYI many surgeons listen to music when doing long procedures in theatre.

There are various reason for this. It's relaxing, there are no sudden noises and most importantly, the patient doesn't hear the chatter! :eek:

MiniD wrote:

Personally, I don't have an issue with drivers having a radio with them, however, if a driver has a radio in his cab playing music then legally Dublin Bus should be paying for an IMRO licence. Potentially, through the course of his/her shift, the music being played could be heard by a few hundred people, and if you mulitply that by all the drivers with radios, then Dublin Bus would have a very heavy public performance bill on their hands.

I'm not so sure, seeing as it is individual drivers with their own radios, its not public. One would typicly be hard put to hear the radio, nevermind make out what song is playing.

John R

Radios are not allowed but I don't think it is enforced much by the inspectors.

It doesn't bother me much but tbh I think it's a bit much if it means people have to shout over the radio to pay their fare. It's fine on long distance routes where there is little need to interact with the passengers, depending on the driver's taste in music of course. New coaches with CD players can be the worst, a 4 hour journey listening to one country music CD on repeat is enough to make a 200mile walk seem inviting.

the main thing I dislike about it is the horrible tinny sound quality that those portable radios all seem to have, they're ok for speech but not music.

MiniD wrote:

Personally, I don't have an issue with drivers having a radio with them, however, if a driver has a radio in his cab playing music then legally Dublin Bus should be paying for an IMRO licence. Potentially, through the course of his/her shift, the music being played could be heard by a few hundred people, and if you mulitply that by all the drivers with radios, then Dublin Bus would have a very heavy public performance bill on their hands.

For a short while around 1990 or so Dublin Bus put radios in some buses to play to the passengers through the PA system on the peak time express routes, AFAIK they took them out soon after because of a demand for royalty payments from either IMRO or RTE.

shltter

It has nothing to do with safety it is to do with paying IMRO

The wedding Buses are the only buses DB buy that are fitted with Stereos which they remove when the bus is in ordinary service.
Safety does not come into it unless anyone believes that driving people to a wedding listening to the radio is safe and driving people to work/shops listening to a radio is unsafe.
As someone said the IMRO bill would be probably hefty 1000 buses 150 million people

Red Alert

Dublin bus as a semi-state 'could' be exempted from IMRO payments and should be if so. I don't particularly want the buses to be loud or the system to be used excessively, but Morning Ireland or something would be good to have on.

Off-Topic: MiniD, anyone defending IMRO amazes me.

Dub13

If they are worried about IMRO payments they could have Newstalk on,no music = no payments.You would think a radio station would jump on to an idea like this,with Dublin Bus they would have a captive audience of over 150 million passengers a year.

Capt'n Midnight

Red Alert wrote:

A safety issue.... so by similar token an articulated lorry should not have a stereo.

Hey lets ban radios for people with provisional licenses :rolleyes:

Modern cars are too comfortable. Arm chair comfort, warmth, silence, and a gentle rocking motion to dull the senses, and a radio and a GPS. They also accelerate and bake faster then older cars so people travel at higher speeds and have less time to look at signs.

IMHO the sound proofing is more dangerous than the radio as even normal volume will drown out the noise of emercency service vehicles that don't have the LOUDER SIRENS. Regularly see it on Belgard Road where people just don't seem to hear the ambulance or fire engine before they look around to see why other cars are inching to the side to make room for them. Tip - it's worth winding down your window a smidgen so you can hear which direction they are coming from.

MiniD

Red Alert wrote:

Off-Topic: MiniD, anyone defending IMRO amazes me.

I wasn't defending IMRO, far from it, just stating a fact. I really don't think being a semi-state company has any influence over the IMRO payments. If the radio is being played within earshot of the public then you are obliged to pay the fee. I suspect the wedding buses are exempt from this as they are private hire buses, but I could be wrong.
The flip side of this would be Bus Eireann who provide radio on many of their routes, this is actually played through the bus speaker system.

bk

Hell DB could charge a radio station to be carried on their bus and make the radio station pay IMRO.

A radio station would jump at this as it would mean more listeners and therefore more advertising money and might attract new listeners to the station.

Newstalk would be perfect as they wouldn't have to pay off IMRO.

parsi

We have radios as standard on buses here in Cork..so you get to listen to the drivers favourite channel. Not as bad as the time I went from limerick to Cahir and the driver had a tape "Tipperary's Greatest 4,672 songs" (or so it seemed..)

bk

parsi wrote:

We have radios as standard on buses here in Cork..so you get to listen to the drivers favourite channel. Not as bad as the time I went from limerick to Cahir and the driver had a tape "Tipperary's Greatest 4,672 songs" (or so it seemed..)

Quiet, we don't want IRMA to find out

shltter

bk wrote:

Hell DB could charge a radio station to be carried on their bus and make the radio station pay IMRO.

A radio station would jump at this as it would mean more listeners and therefore more advertising money and might attract new listeners to the station.

Newstalk would be perfect as they wouldn't have to pay off IMRO.

Once you have a radio and it can be heard by the public you have to pay imro
does not matter that you listen to non music stations.
The other problem is that you would have to listen to that wagon Orla Barry every morning I would rather stick needles in my eyes than have to listen to her.

irlrobins

shltter wrote:

you have to pay imro does not matter that you listen to non music stations.

Surely IMRO exists to collect royalities for artists whose music is used in public broadcasts. If a station does not play music then no artist is due royalities so no IMRO is required?

shltter

irlrobins wrote:

Surely IMRO exists to collect royalities for artists whose music is used in public broadcasts. If a station does not play music then no artist is due royalities so no IMRO is required?

Yes but if you have a radio it is capable of playing music stations that is all that is required otherwise everyone would argue that they only use it for Newstalk.
It is similar to having a tv but you only use your DVD player and not the tuner you still have to pay a TV license even though you might never watch RTE.

Besides which Newstalk do very occassionally play music.


Have a look at IMROs FAQs it go through a lot of the points raised here

http://www.imro.ie/faq/music_users.shtml#

irlrobins

shltter wrote:

Yes but if you have a radio it is capable of playing music stations that is all that is required

Makes sense

Red Alert

Morton's do pay IMRO afaik as i've seen their sticker on the doors of their buses.

craigybagel

Cork city busses take it a step further and pipe it down the rest of the bus so everybody can hear it, and the radio station seems to reflect whatever the bus driver feels like listening to at the time (and a special thanks to Capwell driver who leaves lyric on all the time ). Is that legal?