I have had two very close calls with Metro buses while biking; and was yelled at to "bike on the sidewalk" by a Metro employee driving his own personal car on her own time. Both close calls with Metro buses happened while biking on West Washington - basically passing me very close and fast. Again, yelled at while stopped at the intersection to "bike on the sidewalk". I never reported these - but these encounters are indeed very scary. I'm glad you and your family are safe tonight. Margie
On Sun, Aug 7, 2011 at 9:37 PM, Jay Ferm <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi folks, > > I figured I'd share my report of a Metro bus buzzing incident and Metro's > response. Aside from contaminating my name, I am satisfied enough with the > response, such as it is. But the incident got me wondering... > > What is the view among bicyclists of how Metro bus drivers interact with > bicyclists in general? I would like to hear from the list if you feel there > are issues regarding how Metro drivers interact with bicyclists. > > Have any LCIs, transportation or family cyclists from the bicycling > community reviewed Metro's training protocol regarding bicyclists? It might > be interesting to assess their training against best practices. > > (I have cc:ed Chris Olson, a Metro General Operations Supervisor. If you > have anything to report, please cc: him, too.) > > Thanks, > Jay Ferm > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Olson, Chris <[email protected]> > Date: Wed, Aug 3, 2011 at 10:13 AM > Subject: Your Feedback Received on 8/2/2011 - #31933 > To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> > > Mr. Germ > > I reviewed the video from bus 947 to investigate your safety concern. It > showed you making a left turn and the bus moving over to the right to go > around you and your children. The video recorded the bus going the posted > speed limited. I did talk to the driver and felt he should've slowed his bus > when approaching bicyclist from behind. I truly believe you and your > children were not in danger from the driver's maneuver to pass you. I > apologize if this incident made you feel threatened by our bus. We do take > safety very seriously at Metro and continue to train our driver's with > refresher training every year. We also use the video as a tool to show > drivers how to handle situations on the road and change driving habits. If > you've any questions please feel free to contact me. > > Chris Olson > Metro transit > General Operations Supervisor > 608-267-8762 > colson@cityof madison.com > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Your Feedback: > Dear Metro, > > I write to tell you of a dangerous driving on Sunday, July 31 involving a > Metro bus. My family were riding our bikes on the eastside. I was pulling a > bike trailer with our two toddlers. We had turned right from Ivy St. onto S. > Fair Oaks Ave. northbound. Preparing to turn left onto Thorp St. we > positioned ourselves in the left lane and signaled our turn. As we waited > for southbound traffic to pass I noted a Metro bus approaching us from the > south. As the bus approached it did not slow down to a safe passing speed. > With oncoming traffic and the load of the trailer and kids I could not get > out of the bus' way. It passed us going much too fast and much too close. I > sensed, but cannot confirm (since my attention was split between front and > back), that the driver swerved the bus around us. It was not clear to me > that we were safe and that the driver was aware of our presence prior to > passing. > > I am very angry about what happened. The driver put me and my children at > risk. > > The number on the bus was 947 and it occurred at about 5:38pm. > > I would like to...request the incident be investigated. > > Best, > Jay Ferm > > _______________________________________________ > Bikies mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org > >
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