Should Buses Have the Right-of-Way?

[Antilogic]

So I was nearly killed today when the bus I was riding took a left-hand turn into an intersection full of traffic. The car that nearly hit us was driven by an irate lady who screamed "What the hell is wrong with you!?!" as the bus pulled through. I can confirm this is what she said because if the window wasn't there I could have reached out, knocked on her hood, and told her to pipe down because she was trippin'.

As far as I can tell, the buses are trained not to wait for right of way but rather to take it. The drivers pull into the intersection and then take a left-handed turn at the first possible break in traffic. They will cover one lane while waiting to cross a second, forcing other cars to wait. I'd imagine this is to keep to schedule, but does it create a safety issue with other commuters?

Poll coming.

 

[Ajidica]

Well, busses are very big and as a driver I don't want to get in the way of something very big, like a bus.
So yes, I would argue that in most cases busses have right of way.

 

[Formaldehyde]

How did you almost get killed in a collision between a bus and a car?

Buses are supposed to follow the same traffic laws as everybody else does. But you can tell by the way they are operated that bus drivers in many areas are almost completely immune from being charged with traffic violations.

I was once involved in a traffic accident with a bus. After the driver hit my left rear while I was stopped, he realized what he had done and immediately backed up to make it appear like I had hit him instead.

 

[Antilogic]

So should this just be a matter of the size of the vehicle? I think people would have less patience for an 18-wheeler turning left into traffic than a bus turning left into traffic. But nobody has a problem if a firetruck does (and indeed they should be deferring right-of-way if the sirens are running).

How did you almost get killed in a collision between a bus and a car?

Buses are supposed to follow the same traffic laws as everybody else does. But you can tell by the way they are operated that bus drivers in many areas are almost completely immune from being charged with traffic violations.

I was once involved in a traffic accident with a bus. After the driver hit my left rear while I was stopped, he realized what he had done and immediately backed up to make it appear like I had hit him instead.

I was sitting in the closest seat to where the car would have hit the bus.

 

[timtofly]

If I was riding the bus, I would probably answer yes. If I was not riding the bus, I would probably say no. If buses were treated differently when it comes to merging one would have to remember every time they see a bus whether or not in this case the bus has the right-of-way unless it is clearly posted. If it is clearly posted, then it would be the fault of the driver who was not paying attention to the traffic signs.

I have no problem obeying traffic signs that allow preferential treatment of buses, even if it puts me as a driver at an inconvenience. I would also hope the bus driver would obey and comply with the traffic laws.

 

[DroopyTofu]

I don't see many public transit buses, but in my town, school buses are obnoxious. I've seen a string of them run a red light during heavy traffic. other times, one driver will block traffic so that another bus can turn left. So I voted no, they should not automatically get right of way, though they try pretty hard to take it anyway.

 

[Formaldehyde]

I was sitting in the closest seat to where the car would have hit the bus.

This was a regular full-sized bus weighing somewhere between 25,000 and 40,000 lbs depending on the number of people onboard, and a typical passenger car weighing perhaps 3500 lbs? Unless the bus somehow flipped over and fell down a nearby cliff while bursting into flames, the odds of you even being injured are fairly small.

 

[Antilogic]

Might it be a complacency issue? After all, these guys are driving full shifts, most people are commuting for a much shorter period of time.

EDIT:

This was a regular full-sized bus weighing somewhere between 25,000 and 40,000 lbs and a typical passenger car weighing perhaps 3500 lbs? Unless the bus somehow flipped over and fell down a nearby cliff while bursting into flames, the odds of you even being injured are fairly small.

Maybe so. I only mentioned it because I was in the closest seat to where the impact would have been, so I probably would have been tossed around a bit. Death is probably an exaggeration.

 

[Camikaze]

Yeah, bus drivers often tend to be proponents of 'might is right'. Sure, they might not have right of way in some situations, but what are you going to about it?

I think it makes sense to give buses right of way in a lot of places, where otherwise they wouldn't have it. But it should be clearly marked, so that it's safe. For example, you might want to create a bus lane at traffic lights and give it the green a few seconds before everyone else, to allow it to get ahead of the rest of traffic. But then it's clear that there is a bus lane with a separate green light. Otherwise it's simply dangerous.

 

[BvBPL]

Hell no, they shouldn't.

For one, it is an immense hassle to every other driver on the road.

For two, if you gave busses the right of way there would always be people who ignore it. This can actually make busses more dangerous because the bus drivers will assume everyone has yielded to them when, in fact, they may not have.

 

[timtofly]

That would be the fault of the irresponsible driver, not the fact that buses have the right-of-way.

 

[Formaldehyde]

Many people simply don't think about what the bus needs to do, especially after making left turn lanes onto multi-lane roads. They must frequently immediately get into the right lane so they can drop off and pick up passengers. They might even have to make the very next right hand turn. They don't have the option to wait for breaks in traffic to eventually move over as cars typically do. So their only real choice is to try to either force their way over as much as they possibly can, or to stop dead in their tracks until a suitable opening arises.

 

[Antilogic]

Yeah, bus drivers often tend to be proponents of 'might is right'. Sure, they might not have right of way in some situations, but what are you going to about it?

I think it makes sense to give buses right of way in a lot of places, where otherwise they wouldn't have it. But it should be clearly marked, so that it's safe. For example, you might want to create a bus lane at traffic lights and give it the green a few seconds before everyone else, to allow it to get ahead of the rest of traffic. But then it's clear that there is a bus lane with a separate green light. Otherwise it's simply dangerous.

One problem with this might be the cost of installing all these additional turn lanes, especially in crowded cities where there might not be the space to expand roads any more. And if there is just a bus light in an ordinary turn lane, there's no guarantee the bus will be at the front to take advantage of it.

Hell no, they shouldn't.

For one, it is an immense hassle to every other driver on the road.

For two, if you gave busses the right of way there would always be people who ignore it. This can actually make busses more dangerous because the bus drivers will assume everyone has yielded to them when, in fact, they may not have.

I think the bus drivers might already be assuming other drivers will yield to them if they haven't already. But yeah, there's a conundrum here--if either the bus or average car is more alert than the other, where should the maximum alertness be?

Many people simply don't think about what the bus needs to do, especially after making left turn lanes onto multi-lane roads. They must frequently immediately get into the right lane so they can drop off and pick up passengers. They might even have to make the very next right hand turn. They don't have the option to wait for breaks in traffic to eventually move over as cars typically do. So their only real choice is to try to either force their way over as much as they possibly can, or to stop dead in their tracks until a suitable opening arises.

True. Some of the routes are pretty aggressively drawn and look good on paper but are much harder to drive.



Also, I just joined the 5-digit club. Might fall below when a serial thread is archived, though.

 

[shadowplay]

You're supposed to yield to buses here. The logic is the bus is full of people and there's usually only maybe 1 or 2 people in each car. I don't have a problem with them, at least as far as their driving skills go - they're professional drivers and they do a good job. Same with truckers. I have a MUCH bigger problem with SUV guy/woman trying to kill me.

 

[Antilogic]

Where is here, for reference?

 

[shadowplay]

Toronto

 

[Antilogic]

I know it sounds weird, but I thought I was taught the same thing (yield to buses and emergency vehicles) in my driver training in Georgia. But based on some of the driver reactions I'm seeing in Boston, I don't know if they were trained to follow the same rule.

And because I haven't gotten a new driver's license in MA, I've never taken the test up here.

 

[Formaldehyde]

Colorado recently passed a "yield to bus law". But it appears to only pertain to buses reentering traffic after stopping.

Washington and New Jersey have similar laws. Other states probably do as well.

 

[illram]

Driver reactions in Boston are never a good barometer for anything related to normal driving.

But, buses should have right of way*, although pulling into oncoming traffic is not a right of way I don't think, that's just a bus driver being a bus driver. Right of way is things like letting them pull back into traffic, etc., like the law Forma cited. Every big city bus driver I have ever seen generally acts the same way. I think when you get used to driving those things you learn to establish an aggressive posture. I am sure it is not too easy driving buses in a large, dense, traffic riddled city like Boston, or NY, or wherever.

* They should still yield to pedestrians though.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

There are some bus drivers around here (usually the county transit, not Metrobus) who drive as if they own the road and it's your duty to get out of their way, even if you're in the spot they're merging into, but then our county transit is notorious for being incompitent, particularly with their drivers, so I've always chocked it up to that.

I think they should obey the same traffic laws as any other motor vehicle. The only thing on the road that I can imagine deserving unique treatment (apart from emergency vehicles) would be trams and trolleys.