Chicken-playing bus drivers to lose jobs
The two MBTA bus drivers caught yelling at each other as they tried to maneuver around a tight turn in Chelsea's Bellingham Square earlier this week will be suspended for 30 days, then fired, the T said today:
Video footage from Bellingham Sq Police surveillance cameras was reviewed and revealed that the operators did not maintain a high level of professionalism, did not comply with all traffic regulations of the city, and failed to operate the buses in the safest manner possible at all times. The safety of MBTA customers is paramount. Employees must not engage in so-called "horseplay" or practical jokes since doing so can lead to injury or damage to property. To engage in this type of behavior is not only discourteous but it also goes against the Authority's training of Defensive Driving and taking the safer course of action at all times.
Chelsea Police cited both drivers for operating to endanger late Tuesday afternoon.
Comments
Suspended *then* fired?
Reminds me of this...
But this wasn't the bus drivers' fault
From the video, it was pretty obvious that a poorly parked Chelsea police cruiser was forcing the buses to pass it on the right, with very little room.
The cruiser was parked on the cobblestone area
Where no one is allowed to park or drive. So if the cruiser wasn't there, the bus would have had to driven illegally on those bricks to get around and probably still would not have made it.
unless the lights are going
unless the lights are going it's illegally parked, right?
You said it yourself, where "no one is allowed to park or drive".
But I guess there IS a dunkie's within 200 feet, which seems to be Boston law, so maybe it's in effect in Chelsea to.
If the cruiser isn't there, the bus makes it. It's simple.
Like I said in the first post.
I've been through here and the cop here parks there and does traffic enforcement and the presense of the car slows down traffic. This isn't a two lane road here, and that section of road that the cruiser is parked isn't supposed to be driven on.
Its my opinion that cruisers can park in some no parking zones so they can either create a presence, or be able to pull out and stop cars that violate the traffic laws in a safe fashion. Many intersections are impossible to enforce the traffic laws because there is no where for the cop to either park or stand safely.
Such a shame cops are FORCED
Such a shame cops are FORCED to use large vehicles. If only they were able to use a more suitable urban vehicle, like a bike. If only. And if only someone invented some kind of electrical assist that would allow cops on bikes to accelerate quickly to stop a car.
I'd call such an invention a "scooting unit" or "motorized two-weelcycle"
Some departments have them.
But they end up costing more since basic calls need to be serviced by safter motor vehicles which are really the only option for responding to 911 calls. Bike and motorcycle patrols are usually extra manpower if you have it. I'm thinking Chelsea is probably pushed to their limit in that department although I do know they do a lot of traffic enforcment there as well.
So, if that section of road isn't
supposed to be drived or parked on, then why wasn't it raised up from the roadway to prevent that?
Answer - Because that "neutral zone" was purposely designed as an 'apron' to accommodate the overhang of large turning vehicles like trucks and buses - and not for the police to use as a improptu traffic enforcement area. The fact it is cobblestones instead of painted markings only demostrates how willing Somerville is to waste taxpayer money on unneeded and costly asthetic treatements.
As this 'apron' was specificaly built into the roadway for the purpose of allowing long vehicles to safely turn, the police office's decision to park his crusier in this area created the situation.
So the drivers may be partially to blame for their 'unprofessional behavior', but the officer who chose to defeat an otherwise useful roadway feature meant to insure traffic flow and safe turning by large vehicles for the purpose of setting up a speed trap should be sancitoned as well.
Somerville ???
Why are you bringing Somerville into this story? This happened in Chelsea.
because...
For the same reason guardrails are made to crunch, and speedbumps can only be a maximum height. Because people can get hurt, and vehicles can get damaged if they go into them.
Hey, I'm not saying the cop was allowed to be there. I don't know Chelseas parking rules and regulations for city vehicles, and I don't know their police departments policy for police vehicles. If he parked there to run a personal errand or to get a coffee, then he probably shouldn't have been there. If he was there to do some sort of offical function like traffic enforcement or responding to a call, then he may have had the right to be there.
Do you not understand that
Do you not understand that buses need to take wider turns?
When you take your car license test, if you make turns that go into the opposing lane, you get a "point" against you.
When you take your bus test, if you DONT take a wide turn, you get a point against you.
The cruiser is absolutely at fault, and the officer should be ticketed and the vehicle towed. It's blatant abuse of power.
Oh ok then
The drivers were just trying to make a turn here and did the only thing they could have. Their jobs should be ok then.
As I posted in the other
As I posted in the other thread, the problem wasn't that they had to squeeze through a narrow space.
Buses are inevitably going to have to drive through one-lane-wide spaces at some point in a city, even if there wasn't a cop car in that particular spot.
The problem is that these drivers got in an argument, screamed at each other, and decided to get physical with their buses.
It was totally their fault.
It was totally their fault. From the news reports it is clear that these drivers got into an argument, were screaming at each other, and were playing chicken.
Good thing
I'm not a bus driver.