Very Minor Gripe - Dublin Bus Stopping Distance

ssaye

This morning the driver of the 27 Bus stopped a good bus length past the stop from Walkinstown and subsequently when stopping passed every stop by a good 20 yards until the central bank when he stopped exactly at the stop.

Is it poor driving, bad depth perception or just to piss everyone off ?

As i said a small early morning gripe.

Any thoughts?

And please no inbetweeners quotes. haha

schemingbohemia

Was there another bus behind him/her? Sometimes if buses are running in tandem the first bus will pull up beyond the stop to leave room for the one behind to also pull in safely.

Though I have seen it just happen for no reason, did wonder if there was something up with the driver.

AlekSmart

Ssaye,was the 27 full ?

ssaye

AlekSmart wrote: »

Ssaye,was the 27 full ?

Traffic reasonably light, no buses front or behind just terrible breaking distance, and the bus was quite empty, I know they pass when its packed to let one off one on etc. It was strange.

AlekSmart

No credible explanation for that behaviour at every stop myself...?

foggy_lad

AlekSmart wrote: »

No credible explanation for that behaviour at every stop myself...?

Maybe the driver had his reading glasses on:D or might have had a head cold which can sometimes effect eye focus and was slightly misjudging the distance to the stop? most likely though he was leaving room for another bus to pull in behind if needed.

AlekSmart

foggy_lad wrote: »

Most likely though he was leaving room for another bus to pull in behind if needed.

That,Foggy,was my initial flash of inspiration,until I took a moment to reflect on the OP.....

SSaye: This morning the driver of the 27 Bus stopped a good bus length past the stop from Walkinstown and subsequently when stopping passed every stop by a good 20 yards until the central bank when he stopped exactly at the stop.

....so I decided to ponder a while longer

corktina

i suspect it was one of the older double deckers with the door at the back.

trad

I was on a bus this week (not a frequent user of public transport) and the driver stopped at every stop but up-ended every passenger with his very harsh braking. I'd have rather he overshot the bus stop than use emergency braking to stop at the bus stop.

bmaxi

I've always thought it would be a good idea to have continuous assessment of bus drivers, i.e. anonymous assessors on random routes.
How some regular bus passengers, particularly those standing, survive without serious muscle and ligament injury is amazing.
No doubt the unions would have something to say though, can't have somebody doing the job properly can we?

Tickityboo

bmaxi wrote: »

I've always thought it would be a good idea to have continuous assessment of bus drivers, i.e. anonymous assessors on random routes.
How some regular bus passengers, particularly those standing, survive without serious muscle and ligament injury is amazing.
No doubt the unions would have something to say though, can't have somebody doing the job properly can we?

There has been since 1999. Drivers found to have developed unsafe driving habits are sent back to the training school.

bmaxi

Tickityboo wrote: »

There has been since 1999. Drivers found to have developed unsafe driving habits are sent back to the training school.

Glad to hear it. What constitutes "unsafe driving habits"?
From recent experiences myself, I don't think the drivers concerned were too pushed about whether they were being assessed or not and if the only censure is a holiday in the driving school, why would they?
I recall my first (and last) trip on a no. 27 through Darndale, where there are speed restraints. How anybody survived the trip is beyond me. Apart from the passengers, the steering box, suspension, clutch and gearbox all had good reason to remember the journey. This is an attitude problem, not easily cured by a day or two in Broadstone.

CIARAN_BOYLE

I asked a bus driver who regularly stops after the stop why.

He told me it was so that passengers could get off before people would try to get on since the people trying to get on would have to walk up to the door.

foggy_lad

Tickityboo wrote: »

There has been since 1999. Drivers found to have developed unsafe driving habits are sent back to the training school.

But sure all the drivers would know the secret inspectors so they would drive very carefully after seeing them board their bus?

Carawaystick

I was gonna start a thread on this a while ago. regarding busses which stop with the doors past passengers. I obviously only mean situations where the passengers flag the bus well in advance; not at the last minute, and there's only a few pr one passenger waiting to board. Maybe it's thoughtlessness or maybe it's hard to stop a bus accurately, but
given a bus door is about 4' wide, it should be possible to stop the bus so the bus is directly in front of the passenger.

The trains in Italy and Germany do this, taxi drivers do this. I haven't driven a bus or coach, I don't know if its hard or not to do, if brakes are variable, etc. I know the drivers here have given honest feedback to passenger complaints before. Maybe there's some reason for this.
Maybe they think I'm a whinger for complaining about moving 3' left to get on the bus...

AlekSmart

Taking Carawaysticks point,it's always worth looking closer at the design and layout of a particular Bus Stop for clues.

Many,if not most of our Bus Stops were specifically designed for the REAR entrance Buses of yesteryear.

This usually entails the Bus Pole being placed at the tail of the Bus Bay with the driver ending up stopped 10 Mtrs+ ahead of the boarding passenger if the Bus is brought to a halt within the proscribed statutory markings.

Fast Forward to the Front-Entrance era and one can appreciate that the layout of Bus Stops should have been reversed,with all Bus Stops now placed at the HEAD of the Bus Bay.

Added to this can then be whether or not there are obstructions to the Bus pulling in or away from the Stop,such as parked cars,or Street Furniture which could be clipped by the tail of a departing bus.

A very clear example of this can be seen at the revised NEW !,IMPROVED ! Bus Stops along St Stephens Green North,opposite the Shelbourne Hotel.

At this spot,it is largely impossible to correctly place a bus due to the presence of substantial Concrete Bollards which will impede the departure of an 11. Mtr Tri-Axle for example...the Busdriver here must position substantially further out from the kerb which carries substantial added risk if a wheewlchair or mobility restricted passengewr is involved.

I have before,wondered aloud if any senior personage from Dublin City Council had "considered their position" on this issue,but this being Ireland,I withdraw that on the grounds of it being impossible.

Many Busdrivers also can and do observe the carry-on at a Bus Stop on approach and for example,note if a queue exists to which last minute runners from a different Bus Stop seek to "jump",personally if I see this ahead of me,and I can safely adjust my arrival position to frustrate such carry-on I will,particularly if my Bus is at or near capacity.

Spending 20 minutes watching the behaviour along the O Connell St stops will illustrate the issue here.

The old arrangement here saw Pedestrian Barriers at each stop which provided a physical barrier and directional aid to those in a queue,and also a definitive point at which a Bus Door could be placed....€60 Million later,the NEW !,IMPROVED ! O Connell St dispensed with such nicities along with any grandiose plans for Bus Shelters (:eek:) or other desireable civilised features...(More "consider one's position" stuff ?)

TheUsual

"Very minor gripe"

You need a hobby or something else to cry about.

bk

AlekSmart wrote: »

Many Busdrivers also can and do observe the carry-on at a Bus Stop on approach and for example,note if a queue exists to which last minute runners from a different Bus Stop seek to "jump",personally if I see this ahead of me,and I can safely adjust my arrival position to frustrate such carry-on I will,particularly if my Bus is at or near capacity.

Spending 20 minutes watching the behaviour along the O Connell St stops will illustrate the issue here.

In fairness this is due to DB not putting overlapping bus routes on the same bus stop.