Tag: bus

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Buses, Merging and Kindness

Q: I know transit buses have a right-of-way when entering traffic from a bus stop. They have a special yield blinker light that they illuminate separate from the left turn signal. I saw a driver use the yield blinker when entering the freeway. Do I have to yield to a bus merging onto the freeway? Legally is the question. I always try to not be a danger/nuisance when large, slow vehicles are trying to deliver children, goods and other things I can’t imagine not having in my life.

A:  Just as a matter of survival, it’s always wise to yield to buses. Maybe it’s not always the law, but it is the rule of lug nuts. If you’re not familiar with that rule, it states that in any given collision between two vehicles, the one with the most lug nuts wins. Using the word “wins” in the context of collisions is admittedly crude, but you get my point. For anyone concerned with their own well-being, the rule of lug nuts should be enough. I appreciate that you went beyond that and also have concern for the people (and goods) onboard big vehicles.

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A School Bus Driver’s Perspective

Summer in Washington is like a good nap; amazing while it’s happening but never long enough. One of the first signs that summer is wrapping up? The school buses that are on the roads starting this week. We’ve covered the topic of school buses before (and you can find those articles at TheWiseDrive.com) so I’m not going to repeat myself here. Instead, let’s hear from an actual school bus driver. I had the privilege of talking with a local bus driver and asked him about some of the things he sees, both good and not so good, as he’s driving kids to and from school. What follows are some of my questions (in italics), followed by a loose paraphrase of his accumulated bus-driving wisdom.

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How to Cross The Street Around a Bus

Q: What are the rules for crossing the street after getting off a bus? Should I cross in front of the bus or behind it?

A : If there is a rule in our state law that applies exclusively to this situation, I haven’t seen it. But there are laws about crossing the street, and in the case of crossing the street after getting off a bus, there is one specific sentence in the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) that is useful in this scenario. Continue reading “How to Cross The Street Around a Bus”

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Should School Buses Have Seatbelts?

Q: Why are there no seatbelts in school buses, public transit buses, or private transportation vehicles like charter buses? In regard to these transportation types, we still seem to be in the “let ‘em fly” era, when car occupants – kids and all – were just loose cargo going every which way in the event of a crash.

A: You just brought up a four billion dollar question. But I’m getting ahead of myself. First, the good news for seatbelt advocates: In 2013, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced that commercial carrier buses (the ones you hire or buy a ticket to ride on) would be required to have seatbelts, starting in 2016. The rule only applies to new buses, and does not apply to public transit buses or school buses. Continue reading “Should School Buses Have Seatbelts?”

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Jumping The Queue – It’s What Buses Can Do

A few days ago I received a question, or actually a report of complaints, by way of the folks at Whatcom Transportation Authority. It seems that people have been calling them to report bus drivers running red lights at a couple of locations in Bellingham. Maybe you’ve also seen bus drivers sneaking ahead of the traffic on Lakeway Drive at Lincoln Street or on Alabama Street at James Street.

What you’re seeing isn’t actually a violation of the law; at those two intersections WTA has worked with the City of Bellingham to set up queue jump lanes. Perhaps you’re not familiar with queue jump lanes. If that’s the case you’re not alone. Besides the angry calls to WTA, I heard a rumor (I won’t give up my source, but I’m pretty sure it’s true) that a police officer, unaware of the queue jump lanes, stopped a WTA bus driver intending to give the driver a ticket for running a red light. If queue jump lanes create so many complaints, why do we have them? The simple answer: they solve a problem. Continue reading “Jumping The Queue – It’s What Buses Can Do”