And the winner is bus. Ouch!Today's WaPo has a brief item about a Metrobus crash yesterday, and Twitterer TimClarkeJr filed complaints to WMATA and Montgomery Co. about "persistently reckless and dangerous buses turning onto GA Ave in Silver Spring."
We steer clear of them whenever possible while driving, and when biking in DC, they are enemy #1.
In 2004, only 25 percent of passengers felt Metrobus was "safe from accidents," In 2005, that rose slightly to 27 percent, but in 2007 dropped to 17 percent. This is from the same study that recently got a lot of hype for reporting the median income of Metro riders was over $120K (Correx $102K).
Recently, DC Examiner reported that Metro fired 38 bus drivers in 2008 for drug and alcohol violations.
Other news:
Traffic on the decline in DC metro? (WaPo)
Photo: therobbstory
Not that I think that Metrobus drivers are a symbol of safety, but it seems the big problem in that photo is allowing cars to be parked that close to the corner! Corners like that are often no-park specifically so that buses, tractor-trailers, and the like have room to maneuver. Not that I don't feel bad for the owner of the car, and the bus driver definitely should've taken more care… But allowing parking on the corner seems like an invitation for trouble…
ReplyDelete