This kind of senseless death really bothers me. (1 Viewer)

[MarkHastings]

Some people don't seem to understand this.

I don't think it's really the drivers fault, but it's also the drivers responsibility to get out of harms way.

If your car craps out on the train tracks, you sure as hell better get out of the car and not just sit there. I wouldn't care if I knew that the train conductor knew of my situation, it's common knowledge that "Shit happens".

Again, I'm not trying to shift the blame toward the family (it's a very unfortunate loss), but I know a bunch of cops who agree that if your car breaks down in an unsafe spot, you're just asking for trouble. You need to do everything you can to get to a "safe" area.

When my car broke down, in the left hand lane, on the parkway (a two lane highway during rush hour), I immediately got out and onto the other side of the guard rail. When the cop came by he was PISSED off that I just left my car there. Even though I had a flat tire, he still was mad that I just left it there and didn't make any attempt to get the car off the road and out of the way.

 

[Max Leung]

Uh, trains (weighing in the thousands of tonnes) can't steer out of the way Mark.

 

[Todd Hochard]

As I read that flat tire story, you didn't learn the lesson, until you were scolded for it. Is it any different in this case? Granted, the "taught" lesson is a much bigger pill to swallow than yours, but still...

 

[MarkHastings]

Todd, I didn't stay in the car. I knew the car was in a dangerous situation and I removed myself from harms way even though I couldn't move the car. That was my point.

you didn't learn the lesson

Yes, I didn't learn the lesson until the cop told me, but if I was to pay any price it would have only been the loss of my car and not my life...There's a big difference.

and Max, trains can't steer, but they can stop. Besides, that wasn't the point. The point is, why don't people feel safe when they are stopped on RR tracks, yet they have no problems staying in a car in a bus lane?

Awareness is #1 in survival. Or maybe I'm just more paranoid and am in tune to the fact that even the slightest situation can be deadly.

 

[Todd Hochard]

Mark,

I'll agree 100% on the awareness issue. And, as I said earlier, there is no way that I'd have stayed in that car under any circumstances- even more true now that we know they sat there for 10+ minutes! I'm just very keen on seeing to it that others aren't potentially injured, either. That was the cop's point, I suspect. I'd have done my darnedest to get the car out of ANY moving traffic lane. I'm just like that- when I have to slam on my brakes in traffic, my first instinct is to look in my rear view, as soon as I've determined I'm not going to hit something.

Todd

 

[Malcolm R]

Depending on the length, load, and speed, it can take MILES for a train to come to a stop after the obstacle is seen and brakes are applied (without derailing anyway).

A car with a flat tire can be driven far enough to get it safely off the road. You can't drive at highway speed for 2 miles, but you can creep along for several hundred yards if necessary.

 

[MarkHastings]

when I have to slam on my brakes in traffic, my first instinct is to look in my rear view, as soon as I've determined I'm not going to hit something.

I do the same. I'll slam on the brakes and then pull as close as I can to the car in front of me so that the car behind me has as much braking distance as possible.

One night (while taking my ex home around 2am), I was waiting for traffic to clear so I can make a left handed turn. The turn was just on the other side of a hill so the drunken idiot (who was flying over the hill) didn't have enough time to react (add to that the large amount of alcohol in his system), and he didn't even touch the brakes.

Luckily I was in a Mercury Marquis and my car was only slightly dented. His car (some fiberglass front end car) was virtually totaled. It was scary to think that if I was in a smaller car that I would have been seriously hurt.

I am constantly paranoid about cars hitting me from behind (when least expected).

 

[Ted Lee]

first and foremost, there was a loss of life. nothing anyone says is going to change that. i feel bad for all parties involved - i'm glad i'm not in their shoes.

i've only skimmed through most of these posts, but i'm with mark the whole way.

When my car broke down, in the left hand lane, on the parkway (a two lane highway during rush hour), I immediately got out and onto the other side of the guard rail.

emphasis mine. that is EXACTLY what i would do. you're not supposed to sit in a car stuck on the road. at that point you're basically a huge target.

nobody goes to work to purposely screw up. i'm quite sure nobody goes to work intent on killing someone. we don't know all the details and we certainly don't know what was going on with the driver.

it was an accident. a very tragic accident, but just an accident. the family didn't do the right thing and (it appears) the bus driver didn't either.

neither party is really to blame here...

 

[Leila Dougan]

I don't know where you're all from, but where I live there is no "bus lane" on the freeway. In fact I hadn't heard of places having one until now (though I have heard of HOV lanes).

If I were driving a foreign vehicle in a foreign city with 3 lanes of heavy traffic, I might mistake this ominous "diamond lane" with ZERO traffic on it to be something other than what it was.

There seems to be an awful lot of confusion on the subject of highway safety as well. A quick search on google reveals numerous documents with conflicting information. I have found at least several that state that the best thing to do is remain in your car until help arrives.

 

[Ted Lee]

A quick search on google reveals numerous documents with conflicting information.

well, i would think there are no hard-fast rules on this. ultimately, if someone were to step out of the car (like i would) there is a chance they could be hit by traffic.

then we'd hear stories about how stupid that person was for getting out of the car in the first place.

there's just too many variables.

 

[Micheal]

If I were driving a foreign vehicle in a foreign city with 3 lanes of heavy traffic, I might mistake this ominous "diamond lane" with ZERO traffic on it to be something other than what it was.

Exactly. Not to mention that nobody knows what went wrong with the car. It IS possible that they couldn't get the car any farther off the road.

Things we do know...
The bus driver was warned that a car would be in his path.
The bus driver had brakes.
The bus driver didn't even slow down.
The bus driver takes full responsibility for rear-ending ANY vehicle.

I don't know what the laws are where some of you people live, but in Ottawa you are responsible when you rear-end ANY vehicle. Because in doing so you were either speeding or following too close.

FWIW, You always see buses go around cars that are pulled over in bus lanes. Cops tend to pull people over in bus lanes like the one I saw today. And no, he didn't even have his lights on as he wrote up the ticket but the bus still saw the car (imagine that!) and pulled around them.
I guess that bus driver was actually paying attention to the road. (As is any drivers responsibility.)

I think that some people just don't get it? Maybe if you saw where this happened you might understand why it was obviously the bus drivers fault. Do people keep forgetting that charges are pending against the bus driver?

 

[Ted Lee]

michael -

I think that some people just don't get it?

i don't get why you're so quick to judge. i'm not saying that it was or wasn't his fault. who knows...maybe the guy was high on drugs or something.

or....maybe he just made an honest (but terrible) mistake.

that bus driver had better hope you're not on the jury.

 

[Micheal]

New news

Now we know why they stayed in their car!

that bus driver had better hope you're not on the jury.

He's not being charged because he did everything possible to avoid this accident.

 

[Ted Lee]

no offense meant michael - we all have different opinions and that's cool. i'll edit my post to put a wink in there.

but i still don't get why you're so quick to judge the guy. it's not like he did it on purpose.

anyway, enough of this.

He's not being charged because he did everything possible to avoid this accident.

i assume this is a typo.

 

[Leila Dougan]

Ted, I think Michael means to say:

He's not being charged because he did everything possible to avoid the accident, instead it's because he DIDN'T do everything possible to avoid the accident.

The sentence can be read two ways and I assume it's not just a statement that he's not being charged at all.

 

[MarkHastings]

the driver of a passing tow truck stopped at the family's car and told them to stay in the vehicle.

Unfortunately this drivers advice put them in danger. Maybe the driver should have at least helped push the car off the road? I'm sure this tow truck driver is going to be kicking himself for suggesting that they stay in their car.

Micheal, I'm not trying to disrespect you at all, but even the police officer is baffled by why the bus hit the car. I don't think we're all trying to prove to you that the bus driver is innocent, we are all just as baffled and can't imagine (considering all the facts) how anyone could not see the car. It's either he did it on purpose (which I am trying not to believe that there are people out there like that) or he just made a really bad judgment call for whatever reason. The story is too mind blowing to accept it as the driver saw the car from far away and just didn't stop...Something is very unsettling about that and I think most of us are trying hard to deny it for fear that it may be true.

In some strange way, I hope to god that there is a more reasonable explanation than what we're all thinking really happened.

 

[Micheal]

Leila, yes. I was being a bit sarcastic.

 

[Ted Lee]

The story is too mind blowing to accept it as the driver saw the car from far away and just didn't stop...Something is very unsettling about that and I think most of us are trying hard to deny it for fear that it may be true.

wow mark, i never even thought about that for a second. that would truly be disturbing.

another good point about why the tow truck driver didn't push the car out of the way. i guess something like this just isn't forseeable so he probably thought they'd be okay "for the time being".

 

[Micheal]

Other bus drivers can't understand how he managed to hit the car.

Read here...

The driver who spoke to the Sun said "if you're from out of town, you're not going to know about the bus lane".

I'm not saying that the bus driver should be "put away". I'm just saying that if he can't explain what happened then I don't think he should be allowed to ever drive a bus again. And if it is clear that he heard the warning and just ignored it.... then I hope he has a good lawyer.

 

[Lee L]

Even if the guy has an explanation, unless that explanation is that the car jumped 15 over right in front of him by itself and there are witnesses to back it up, he should never drive a bus again. This is one of those jobs that you should not get a second chance on something like this. Brushing a lamp post or another car while turning, sure, a minor fender bender, OK, but there is no explanation of this I can think of that allows him to keep driving a public transportation vehicle.