Unsuck DC Metro: "Nearly Killed by Metrobus"

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

"Nearly Killed by Metrobus"

From J.

On May 16th, in the afternoon, I was nearly killed by a Metrobus that jumped a red light turning from 15th left onto K St. NW.

A bunch of us were in the crosswalk already, and the 16Y (2666) bus tried to follow another Metrobus that was in front of it.

So I backed up quickly to avoid getting hit, then raised my arms in the air like "WTF?" to which the driver gave me the finger.

So I went over to his window, and he told me to "shut the f*ck up, b*tch" and slammed the window shut.

At this point, many of the other pedestrians were cheering me on, because they had also almost been hit.

I started to walk away, but then got more angry, so I returned with my camera phone.

Just as I was about to snap the picture, the driver told me to "f*ck off" and ducked out of the way.

The light was about to turn green, so I had to get out of the middle of the street to avoid getting run over.

When I got onto the Metro, I attempted to report it to the station manager.

He gave me an incident report and sent me on my way.

When I got to Pentagon City, I told the Metro police officer about what had happened. He was more helpful. The officer, along with the station manager, gave me a direct line to call and told me I should insist on talking to the bus supervisor, no matter what the person taking the call told me.

I did call. and I was transferred to a L. H. Rucker, who took my complaint.

He also gave me his email address so I could email him the pictures that I had taken, which included the bus number, and the driver trying to duck out of view of my pictures.

What I am really worried about is that he also took down my name and home address, under the guise of needing to send me some kind of letter. No letter has arrived.

Other items:
Charges dropped against man in wheelchair (WaPo) Less weaselly article (WJLA)

Comments (61)

Logging you in...

Dashboard | Edit profile | Logout

Logged in as

+16 Vote up Vote down

HurricaneDC 76p · 722 weeks ago

WMATA employees are literally some of the most unpleasant people to interact with. Yeah there are a few exceptions, but generally that is the rule.

+27 Vote up Vote down

Soylent Green Line · 722 weeks ago

J,

Congratulations on not getting killed, and even more kudos to you for having the presence of mind to document the incident and follow through.

I’m sure that most of these incidents go unreported precisely because people don't think it's worth it to follow through, but hopefully in this case you can prove them wrong.

This is an example of how Unsuckers can best Unsuck DC Metro: document these incidents!

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

+1 Vote up Vote down

Guest · 722 weeks ago

Make sure you also post the complaint on the WMATA website with the 4-digit bus unit number

+1 Vote up Vote down

Kat · 722 weeks ago

I can understand that little bit of worry about them having your personal information. This would be a good time to establish a relationship with your local police officials. You haven't said what jurisdiction you live in, but in DC at least it is very easy to get to know the local cops. At the very least it would give you some peace of mind.

+2 Vote up Vote down

· 722 weeks ago

He seems well suited for a customer service job.

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

+2 Vote up Vote down

mike · 722 weeks ago

Correction-
He seems well suited for a customer service job at METRO. :-(

+2 Vote up Vote down

jeff · 722 weeks ago

I had the same experience on 19th and K with a circulator. I emailed their complaints and never heard back.

+2 Vote up Vote down

Anony · 722 weeks ago

I will say that if the 16Y buses and the other buses that travel primarily down K Street didn't run red lights at the end, they'd never get through. The buses are unreliable in terms of time due mainly to traffic conditions so these red-light runnings do have their benefit for Metrobus users. (This is why there has been talk of dedicated bus lanes, etc.)

That being said, the response in this incident was typical of a Metro employee. He should be fired based on the response alone, but won't because Jackie Jeter would never allow it.

+7 Vote up Vote down

Anonerly Ever · 722 weeks ago

Yesterday Dan Stessel ended his guest post with, "Let the conversation begin." Wonder what he'd say to this not-so-surprising bus encounter? Wonder if he's even reading the Unsuck blog after having his 5 minutes of Unsuck fame here?

+27 Vote up Vote down

J.M. · 722 weeks ago

I am the person this happened to, and I have to say that mistakes happen. I would not have been so worked up about the whole thing if the guy has just said "sorry"... or not said anything at all. But to practically mow down a bunch of people then get belligerent about it is totally unacceptable. He was so aggressive and nasty!

I will say that the Metro Police officer that helped me at Pentagon City was fantastic. She was immediately concerned and even brought me over to the station manager so they could discuss the best way for me to get a complaint logged. The station manager was also pleasant and concerned, so that was at least something encouraging.

-49 Vote up Vote down

paid too much · 722 weeks ago

If the light is red for the bus making a left turn as is the OPs story, then the crosswalk signal logically had to be DON'T WALK. The bus driver was within his right to be mad, and the OP obviously thinks they are entitled to walk even when they are given instructions not to do so. Sorry, you can't blame Metro here.

6 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

+16 Vote up Vote down

Sam · 722 weeks ago

Sorry, but you are mistaken. The signal doesn't have to be don't walk. There are dozens of scenarios that would have given this pedestrian a walk signal and the bus a red light.

For example, the bus may have had a steady red light indicating that it could not turn left while the regular traffic in those lanes had green lights. In this case, the pedestrian would have had a walk signal.

Also, there are many intersections in DC where the walk/don't walk signals run for a few seconds after the light turns red but before the other light turns green.

And what's with the "you can't blame Metro here"? When did it become acceptable to tell a customer to "shut the f*ck up, b*tch" and "f*ck off"? Try that in your job and see what happens. Unless, of course, you work for Metro... which judging by your post, you may. In which case, you might get a promotion.

+12 Vote up Vote down

anon · 722 weeks ago

The bus driver has a right to be mad... for making a LEFT turn on red and nearly running over people in a crosswalk?

If the bus driver had a red light and was turning anyway, that means that the pedestrians crossing in front of it had the right of way. Even if they didn't have the light going their way, it's really quite illegal to run them over. In fact - and I swear this is true - you can't even legally run them over even if they're not in a crosswalk.

+16 Vote up Vote down

Corresponding Toads · 722 weeks ago

Logically, no one should turn into a crosswalk clearly filled with people, regardless of what a signal indicates.

But who needs logic when we have science!
Science dictates the rules of the road!
If a signal says DON'T WALK,
and you come across humans WALKING,
feel free to murder them with your vehicle!
FOR SCIENCE!!
PEDESTRIANS, DON'T BECOME A VICTIM OF SCIENCE.

Also, don't become the victim of a reckless Metro bus driver.

+9 Vote up Vote down

More is More · 722 weeks ago

I believe "paid too much" misread the post. The OP states that there were TWO Metro buses making the left hand turn. Apparently, when the light turned yellow (or red) the first bus completed its left-hand turn safely. It was the SECOND metrobus that ran the red light and almost mowed down the lot of pedestrians.

Please pay attention to details before you make such a nasty comment and try to blame things on the pedestrian and not the bus driver.

0 Vote up Vote down

Soylent Green Line · 722 weeks ago

What Sam said (about the various scenarios for turning left). You're wrong.

+1 Vote up Vote down

fdsfgsd · 721 weeks ago

How so?

When a turning lane has a green arrow that means (typically) that pedestrian traffic is on a red hand hold signal. Only when that green left turn arrow goes off or turn red does the pedestrian arrow turn to a white cross signal.

Nowhere will you find a "walk" signal to cross into the path of left turning vehicles given the green arrow. As it was here, the arrow was red for the bus, white cross signal for pedestrians, and two busses blew that and went through the crosswalk.

Not that hard to understand.

+8 Vote up Vote down

Guest · 722 weeks ago

I guess the driver will get a nice long paid vacation because of this.

+12 Vote up Vote down

KWM · 722 weeks ago

Surly, unpleasant, and unprofessional WMATA employees, beware! We have camera phones, pen and paper, and can remember times, dates, and bus numbers! You WILL be held accountable for your actions! Well done poster!

I think I would offer my work address and contact info instead of my home address.... I'm sure I wouldn't have thought of it myself at the time, but after reading this, it sounds like it might be a good idea for any of us who plan to take on WMATA's worst cases in the future.

+12 Vote up Vote down

Stephen · 722 weeks ago

Oh, didn't you hear?? Metro addressed that, after one of their drivers DID kill two women a couple of years ago.

And they did it in an elegantly Metro fashion.

They installed flashing lights on their buses, to warn people: "Metrobus coming through, regardless; BETTER GET OUT OF THE WAY, BECAUSE WE AIN'T STOPPING!" Then later, they installed audio announcers to warn us, we're making a turn--better get out of the way, 'cause we WILL run you down.

It's Metro's answer to every problem: Blame the public, and give us more instructions.

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

+2 Vote up Vote down

Guest · 722 weeks ago

Reminds me of the ED-209 from Robocop:

Please put down your weapon. You have 20 seconds to comply...You now have 15 seconds to comply...You are in direct violation of Penal Code 1.13, Section 9...You have 5 seconds to comply...Four... three... two... one... I am now authorized to use physical force!

0 Vote up Vote down

MadAsHeck · 722 weeks ago

Dan Stessel,
Any comments on this situation? What action will Metro take to investigate this?
Thank you in advance.

2 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

+7 Vote up Vote down

Corresponding Toads · 722 weeks ago

Dan Stessel is Unsuck's new best friend! Expect him to respond to every one of our comments.

Just kidding. Dude's got bigger fish to fry than this silly bloggy blog.

+4 Vote up Vote down

lmnop · 722 weeks ago

Yea. Like the response to carjacking/shooting at Largo being a bag check at Cleveland.

+3 Vote up Vote down

WashingTina · 722 weeks ago

I would send a letter/email to the City Councilperson in charge of the neighborhood where this happened, or barring that, the councilmember who sits on the WMATA board. I have had luck with this when I had a complaint. I cc'ed Jim Graham and got a response from both he and Metro.

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

-1 Vote up Vote down

Stephen · 722 weeks ago

Actually, you got a response from HIM, not HE.

But that said, isn't Graham the one who publicly stated that he never rides Metro (or should that be, HIM never rides Metro) because it's "too inconvenient"?

+17 Vote up Vote down

Corresponding Toads · 722 weeks ago

Can't wait for one of the driver's relatives to post comments here, anonymously defending him. It will look something like this:

"Just so you guys know, when a bus is inside an intersection and the light turns yellow, he's supposed to continue through the light. Don't judge a book by it's cover. It's not over til the fat lady sings. Metro haters. Get your facts straight. This guy has a family. Etc., etc., etc. to infinity."

3 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

+1 Vote up Vote down

James · 722 weeks ago

+6 Vote up Vote down

KWM · 722 weeks ago

Additionally - the fact that we have an expectation that a Metro bus driver should stop for pedestrians (much less behave with some semblance of civility) must mean we must believe in slavery.

Have we beaten that quote to death yet? Probably....

+4 Vote up Vote down

hrh king friday 13 · 722 weeks ago

Woot, J! Woot indeed. It's a horrible thing that happened to you but that pic makes me giggle with anti-Jeter glee. Thank you for having the balls to use your camera phone and go public-- you may infact save lives down the road. And when you're done using those balls, can you lend them to Sarles?

-5 Vote up Vote down

mirrorballdc 114p · 722 weeks ago

No, you were nearly HIT by a Metro bus. You MAY have been killed.

But other than that, bus driver sucks.

+5 Vote up Vote down

dcn8v · 722 weeks ago

I wouldn't worry about them having your home address and contact info. If you make a complaint and some legal action came of it, they need a way to contact you. That seems pretty typical of filing any kind of incident report. It also prevents less scrupulous people from filing incident reports just because they don't like someone or out of personal spite.

Glad you're safe, glad you reported. Hope things go better next time. Sounds like they should do a traffic study in that area if it's as bad as Anony says above.

-2 Vote up Vote down

iolaire 71p · 722 weeks ago

Anyone in this situation should remember to take a second wide range photo that shows the metro bus number. With only a photo of the driver they probably will do nothing, but if you can get the bus number and the time you have a slight chance of forcing the supervisor to talk to the driver.

1 reply · active 722 weeks ago

+7 Vote up Vote down

Corresponding Toads · 722 weeks ago

I know, sometimes you can't read EVERYTHING...

"He also gave me his email address so I could email him the pictures that I had taken, which included the bus number, and the driver trying to duck out of view of my pictures."

+15 Vote up Vote down

Gobama · 722 weeks ago

Also, taking photos of Metro bus drivers is racist.

+4 Vote up Vote down

J.M. · 722 weeks ago

paid too much... your comment makes no sense. the light was RED for the bus. He was on 15th. The Walk signal was activated for pedestrians crossing 15th in front of the bus that had the red light. Why would this be difficult to understand?

Also, I think another poster commented on the difficulties the drivers face. Well, they just installed a special left turn lane and light from 15th onto K at this very intersection just to accommodate such issues! The only reason I can think that this driver jumped the light is that probably the bus in front of him went on yellow, and he could not see the light (it would be in front of him and to the left, blocked by the turning bus), so he just assumed he would have time to go. Which, as I said, I understand. He has a schedule to keep. But the swearing and the attitude is what was totally unnecessary.

as for mirrorball correcting my english, carm down! This is not "unsuck my grammar", it's a blog. About Metro.

+1 Vote up Vote down

J.M. · 722 weeks ago

iolaire... I did that too! and it was also emailed.

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

+2 Vote up Vote down

iolaire 71p · 722 weeks ago

Good, make a formal request in writing for the incident report if there is such a thing.

+3 Vote up Vote down

Gobama · 722 weeks ago

Busses get a free left on red, obviously.

+3 Vote up Vote down

guest · 722 weeks ago

wow. this makes the guy pissing off the platform at twinbrook this morning small potatoes...

i feel your pain though; i used to live on capitol hill, and walked home up penna ave; crossing LA ave one day (on a walk signal, with a "left turn on green arrow only" sign quite clearly visible) a metro bus ran the light so close behind me i felt it brush the back of my skirt. another couple of inches and i would have suffered the same fate as those two FTC workers who were dragged under a bus a few years ago.

i started walking up the other side of the street after that.

0 Vote up Vote down

LadyDI DC · 722 weeks ago

This happened to me, too back in February. A Metrobus driver ran a red light on 14th St. when I had the walk signal, & I had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit. I reported it to Metro, along with the exact location, date & time, & bus route #, but a Ms. Wendy Harrison, a Consumer Representative in WMATA's Office of Customer Service, told me they could not proceed with filing the complaint because I didn't get the 4 digit bus number. Gee, sorry, I was too busy trying not to get hit! Plus, you know, I thought having an EXACT time, date, location & bus route # would be enough for WMATA to figure out who the driver was - it's not like they don't have schedules! I even pointed this out to Ms. Harrison because I looked up the bus schedule & it pretty much had to be the driver of the bus that was supposed at 5:46, unless a bus was 15 mins late or 15 mins early (unlikely). The reality is Metro doesn't really punish the bus drivers for their unsafe actions & terrible customer service when they are reported, so there is no reason for the drivers to stop acting this way.

5 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

0 Vote up Vote down

Guest · 722 weeks ago

They can track the bus with GPS and WMATA knows it, they can also check to see which driver signed out which buses that day

0 Vote up Vote down

Sam · 722 weeks ago

"it pretty much had to be the driver of the bus that was supposed at 5:46, unless a bus was 15 mins late or 15 mins early (unlikely)"

What makes you think this is unlikely? Buses are off schedule a LOT. That is why a bus can be 15 minutes late or 15 minutes early and still be considered "on time". Can you prove beyond a doubt that it was not the previous bus running late or the next bus running fast? Schedules only prove who was SUPPOSED to be at a specific stop at a specific time, not who actually was.

The only way to do so is to know the bus number, since it doesn't matter where that driver is in his/her route, the bus number is static and is always relative to a particular driver.

Put yourself in those shoes. Let's say you drive a silver Civic (certainly not a rare car). Someone calls the police and says that a silver Civic drives by their house each morning at 9am and today, the car nearly hit them. You were driving past that house at 9. Would you be okay with getting in trouble or would you have wanted the accuser to provide proof, like a license plate number, that it was you?

+2 Vote up Vote down

BradK · 722 weeks ago

Sam-

The point wasn't that she reported 'a bus on a road', rather she reported a metro bus which is on a schedule, which has a gps tracker, which was at a certain location, which wasn't this bus, or wasn't that bus due to again, the schedule...

the report is not in a judicial court system it is with the person's employer.

By your logic, if I send a letter to my boss telling him to F off, even though i signed the damn thing, and someone saw me slip a letter under my boss' door, i can't be held accountable because no one saw the contents of said letter.

I do respect what you are trying to get across, but if there had been a serious injury, i am 100% certain WMATA would be able to find the bus driver that should be held accountable given the information at hand.

I don't care who is at fault here, that discussion happened further up the comment thread, but be reasonable. The only thing prohibiting WMATA from finding the driver responsible is either their incompetence or an equipment failure, both of which need to be dealt with in an urgent manner.

-3 Vote up Vote down

Sam · 722 weeks ago

Your analogy of the letter to your boss is completely different. Because YOU signed it and someone saw YOU put it under a door. That's positive identification. This is more like a letter was placed under your bosses door on the same day you worked around the same time that you might have been at your desk, by your logic it must be yours, right?

Furthermore, there's a different between a bus causing serious injury and an anecdote about how a bus almost hit someone. Yes, if the bus hit someone and seriously injured them, I would expect them to use all available resources to find who did it. But if someone sends an email accusing someone of something with no verifiable evidence, I would hope that they wouldn't go fire that person willy nilly. Everyone's watch is different. Just because my watch says 5:46 pm and the scheduled bus was supposed to be in that area around 5:46... what if my watch is 5 minutes fast and it is only 5:41 and the 5:36 bus was the one that just passed? The GPS transceiver is there simply to provide the NextBus data... not to provide a historical audit history of every bus. Where would they store all that data? How long should they keep it? Who is paying for that storage and retention?

0 Vote up Vote down

VeggieTart · 722 weeks ago

GPS has its limits, just like every technology. I wouldn't expect that it could save where a particular bus was at a particular time or what bus was in a particular location at a particular time. I gather it's more like monitoring cameras than recording cameras.

Getting the bus number ensures that the right driver is named, although chances are s/he won't be disciplined. I sympathize with LadyDI and understand her situation, but not a lot Metro customer service can do.

+3 Vote up Vote down

guest · 722 weeks ago

I almost got hit last year in a cross walk (where the walk signal had been in my favour for at least 10 seconds before I even started to cross the street). I submitted a complaint including the bus number, route, and time/location of the incident. Never heard anything back at all. What a fucking joke.

0 Vote up Vote down

Steve · 722 weeks ago

I think someone literally got killed today at Metro Center. Tons of cops, fire trucks, ambulances.

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

0 Vote up Vote down

dcn8v · 722 weeks ago

There was a man hit by a train, but he lived.

Here's the WaPo story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dr-gridlock/p...

+13 Vote up Vote down

Lovin Key West · 722 weeks ago

Greetings from Key West! I'm the driver of that bus! I'll be back in a couple weeks once this grievance thing clears up... I was WRONGED!

Right on red's only for fools; left on red's where it's at!

+5 Vote up Vote down

LadyDI DC · 722 weeks ago

Sam- the point is, Metro could find out who the driver was if they wanted to. As the person above you pointed out, they can track the bus with GPS & they can figure out what driver signed out what bus. Also, come the f*ck on. This incident happened at 5:50 PM. The only D6 scheduled around that time was the 5:46 one. You really think it was the 5:32 one 18 mins late or the next scheduled bus 15 mins early?? You don't need Columbo to figure this one out. Also, how is a person who has never almost been hit before supposed to know to get the 4 digit #? Esp. if it's only on the front of the bus, or obscured, which it often is. The bus was speeding and ran a red light, so I sure as hell didn't think to myself, "Let me get that bus #" before it almost hit me. Put yourself in the shoes of pedestrians who almost get hit or DO get hit - Metro has GOT to do something about safety! I'm not saying it's always the fault of the driver - lots of people jaywalk. But every day I see Metro bus drivers run red lights, make left turns on red & fail to stop in crosswalks when pedestrians are present.

3 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

-1 Vote up Vote down

Sam · 722 weeks ago

"they can track the bus with GPS"

Where do you people come up with this stuff? Having a transceiver broadcast the bus's location to a server is not the same as logging historical data. Do you think they keep the GPS coordinates of every bus on every route every minute of the day? Do you think they are going to log into some system and say "Ok, which bus was at this coordinate on February 1 at 5:46"? That's ridiculous and it is not near what they use GPS for (NextBus).

Was your watch in sync with Metro's dispatcher? Do any other bus routes run along the area in which you were nearly hit (even out of service ones traveling to and from routes)? Even if a bus ran a red light... buses don't sneak up on you. It is also your duty as a pedestrian to also ensure - even with the right of way - that you'll remain safe while in the street. Just like defensive driving, BOTH sides have the responsibility to make sure everyone is safe.

+3 Vote up Vote down

Ugh · 722 weeks ago

Even if they had the data, they wouldn't know how to use it.

0 Vote up Vote down

anon · 722 weeks ago

"Where do you people come up with this stuff? Having a transceiver broadcast the bus's location to a server is not the same as logging historical data."

Guess what? They can do both. They're not mutually exclusive. See, the data is sent by the GPS to the main office, which then logs it. Now, it's possible they're not doing this, but that isn't the same as saying it's "ridiculous" - it's clearly possible and plausible. In fact, a normal company would want it so they could more easily manage their workforce. Yes, I said normal.

+3 Vote up Vote down

Herb · 722 weeks ago

I was cursed out with vile language and homophobic statements by a MedRide Inc driver (a WMATC certified and insured contractor) on May 13. I called the Medride main number and all the woman wanted was the van number (which I provided), She said she did not need my contact information or any other details of the incident. In other words,go away!

When is Metro and its contractors going to realize it is unacceptable to curse out the public?

+5 Vote up Vote down

Brian · 722 weeks ago

I had an incident with an ART bus nearly mowing me down one. Was super impressed how they handled it --- quickly, took proactive, correct and fast action and kept me informed.

Kudos to Arlington County, you could learn something WMATA

+3 Vote up Vote down

Guest · 722 weeks ago

It is terrible that citizens need to defend themselves on the streets in the course of a normal day. Bus drivers have been on a power trip for a long time... they dominate union meetings and any union members interested in improving the union are lost.

+3 Vote up Vote down

Just ME · 722 weeks ago

"as for mirrorball correcting my english, calm down! This is not "unsuck my grammar", it's a blog. About Metro."

LOVE IT!!

Don't be worried about the driver contacting you, they are not allowed to give him your info, that may be legally protected. If he contacts you, Metro can add a huge amount of cash to your retirement funds.

Thank you for not letting this bastard to get away with harassing you.

-5 Vote up Vote down

alkebulan · 722 weeks ago

What if she was one harrassing the driver? There are always two sides to the story.

0 Vote up Vote down

master · 688 weeks ago

i Cant believe it !!!!!!! smh!!!!!! people like all of you need to realize that the street was made for cars !!!!!! and no for BIKES!!!!! i honestly think that they also need to make rules and punishments more aggressive for the bikers as well........