Reckless WDW bus drivers

[Lew]

We're at WDW right now staying at OKW.

On our first two trips between the MK and OKW three drivers went through red lights. On two occassions the light was not just turning from yellow to red, but had already been red for a couple of seconds. The third time the driver took a right on red, but didn't bother to stop.

We always rent a car for our WDW stays, but almost always take the bus to and from the MK...not anymore! Last night we drove to the Poly and took the monorial to the MK.

I hope these instances are not becoming the norm at WDW. These drivers need to think more about their passagers and less about being on schedule. We'd much prefer to arrive a few minutes late and in one piece than risk being in an accident.

 

[billybaruch1]

I thought this was going to be a post about a list of WDW bus drivers who had perfect driving records - no wrecks! Instead, it's about "reckless" bus drivers.

 

[Lew]

Originally posted by billybaruch1
I thought this was going to be a post about a list of WDW bus drivers who had perfect driving records - no wrecks! Instead, it's about "reckless" bus drivers.

Ooops... I guess my brain is on vacation too! Thanks.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

I have never run into (literally or otherwise) reckless DW drivers but I have had the thought that they get extra points for taking the curves faster when they have standing passengers. (smile)

Slightly Goofy/Linda

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

I am in no way defending those drivers with what I have to say. I was not there, and do not know the situation. However, I would like to offer the following.

Often times, I'll be driving down Buena Vista Drive, (or any other road for that matter, but BVD for this example), and I'll be doing the posted speed limit of 45mph. I will see a light turn yellow ahead. I now have a split second to decide whether to stop, or if I can make it. At that speed, you can't just slam on the brakes, especially with standees.

A bus is VERY different from a car. Our stopping distances are much greater. In addition, a car, you can hit the brakes relatively hard, and not feel much effect. However, in a bus, especially with standees, you really can't slam on the brakes without throwing passengers.

There are times when it actually might be safer to run the yellow light as it turns red... If I slam on my brakes, my passengers would get thrown, plus, I would end up stopped in the middle of the intersection. If I run it, the light turns red as I go under it. The opposite side will turn green after the delay, and by that time, I will be clear.

That's just my perspective. Now, if the light was red, and had been red, and there was plenty of time for a BUS to stop, then, yes, running it would be unacceptable.


By the way... if the right on red is the one Im thinking of (Vista to Bonnet Creek)... there's a green arrow in that light when the straight part is red. We've been having problems with the bulb in that light, and there are many times when the green is dim, and is hard to see at first glance. In fact, there are times when I've stopped on the green because I haven't seen it. But *shrug* like I said, I wasn't there so I can't say for sure. Just offering a possibility.

 

[PammyK]

Originally posted by Lew
We're at WDW right now staying at OKW.

We always rent a car for our WDW stays, but almost always take the bus to and from the MK...not anymore! Last night we drove to the Poly and took the monorial to the MK.

You may be interested to know that the parking facilities at the Polynesian resort are for the use of guests staying or doing business (such as dining or shopping) at the Polynesian. Guests staying at other resorts should park at the TTC when visiting the Magic Kingdom.

 

[seashoreCM]

>>> I have had the thought that they get extra points for taking the curves faster ...

It seems to me that there is no great loss, or no loss at all, if the bus driver stops before going through a green right arrow that was hard to see or even not so hard to see.

The bus has to be going very slowly to avoid throwing passengers during a sharp right turn. So stopping first is hardly noticeable to passengers.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

Even stopping in the middle of the intersection instead of slamming on the brakes does not seem like any great loss. When the dust has settled, hopefully no collision occurred and no passengers lost their balance, and the bus can creep out of the intersection safely.

Blowing through the intersection just as the green appears for the opposing side actually has less of a chance of any collision compared to stopping reasonably safely but overshooting the stop bar on the pavement. In addition to the all-red time before the opposing green appears, it takes some time for the opposing traffic to get going, too./ Hosever, if a collision does occur, it will be a severe high spped one. But blame the lawyers for this next one. If the bus blew through, a collision will more likely have the car broadsiding the bus with the car at fault. While if the bus tries to stop and overshot instead, any collision wil more likely have the bus broadsiding the car with the bus at fault. In the U.S. who has the green light or who has the right of way carries very little weight in court. When the light turns green, you are supposed to wait until everything stops moving before starting up.

Since Disney owns the roads and traffic lights within the World, its imagineers should have installed everything so problems of this kind don't occur with careful bus drivers.

There have been experiments with countdown timers for motorists (5, 4, 3...) similar to those attached to some Walk lights at WDW and elsewhere. One comment about these is that they lead to too much driver complacency and in turn inattentive to other traffic conditions beside the timer readout. Also, to make traffic lights change faster when nobody is coming the other way, the timer can't start at 30, although they could start at 7 or 6 without unduly delaying other waiting drivers. They should be invisible until after the signal has decided it is going to change and then the 7 appears.