Trimess

Friday, February 17, 2012

Reports on The latest TriMet bus crash

This is interesting for several reasons from a bus bloggers point of view. First of all, we see somebody besides Mary Festch doing a high profile news story.  Also the bus driver involved in the incident appears briefly, he's the nicest guy. So sorry for everybody involved in this accident.

UPDATE FEB 19TH HERE! 





So it was another left hand turn, it was night and raining.
Visibility problem?
We all know the old buses have a very serious visibility problem as windows and mirrors get obscured by the rain.
Trimet has never addressed the visibility problems in these old buses
Further information shows this person was wearing dark clothing, not in a crosswalk and dashing across five lanes of traffic!
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Police identified the pedestrian hit last night by a TriMet bus as a 51-year-old Tigard woman.

Jim Wolf, a spokesman for the Tigard Police Department, said Zoe Meade was taken to OHSU Hospital with head injuries. A spokesman said today she is in critical condition.

She was hit on Southwest Pacific Highway, which is also Oregon 99W, just north of Walnut Street about 7:30 p.m. It was dark and damp outside and Mead was wearing dark clothes, Wolf said.

Witnesses reported that she was 30 to 50 feet north of a crosswalk, Wolf said. He said Meade was walking with a relative when she darted across the highway to pop into a convenience store and then was crossing back to join the relative when she was hit.

"It's sad," he said.

A TriMet spokeswoman, Roberta Alstadt, said the agency was "shaken up" by the incident.

The bus driver, who was hired by TriMet in 2006, was placed on administrative leave. Altstadt said the operator will be screened for intoxicants and the bus examined for maintenance issues but she said there were no indications that anything was amiss with the bus or operator.
Pedestrian hit by TriMet bus in Tigard identified as woman, 51 | OregonLive.com

12 comments:

Al M said...

Actually want a job as a bus driver?
YOU GOTTA BE CRAZY!
(I wonder if he was calling a stop at the time?)

Erik H. said...

I absolutely agree that the TriMet spokeswoman did a MUCH better job than Mary Fetsch in sticking to the facts and not speculating on anything. There was no accusation. No statement that pointed the finger at the Operator. Stuck to her job - we're checking everything out, Operator is on administrative leave which is SOP, he is being given a drug screen which is not just SOP but also state and federal law...yada yada yada.

She deserves a promotion...

(I'd hope that the Operator wasn't calling out a stop...because the 45 outbound doesn't make a stop on 99W.) Last stop was Walnut/Grant, next stop is on Main Street.

Al M said...

Hey the rules say 'CALL EVERY TIME YOUR BUS MAKES A TURN'.

He was making a turn, I woulda called it.

MAX Redline said...

It's hard to understand how she survived to age 51, given her apparent level of survival skills.

Adri said...

This is just all around sad. That driver probably didn't even see it coming. Poor operator. I'm going to be really pissed if it is decided that the woman had no fault in this and that is was the operator's fault because it was clearly the woman's fault.

Erik H. said...

Al - you're right. The Operator made the error. They called the turn AS they were making the turn, not while the bus was previously stopped in the left turn lane waiting for the line.

The proper process is to stop in the left turn lane, announce "This bus, Line 45 Garden Home from Portland to Tigard Transit Center, is now turning left, compass North-East with heading Zero-Four-Five, onto Pacific Highway West, Oregon Route 99 West, Oregon Highway 91."

Al M said...

Hehe...Erik....hehe

Erik H. said...

And don't forget to put the bus in park, with four-way flashers engaged. And if you don't have a working PA, you must make sure that your voice can be heard throughout the entire Priority Seating Area.

me said...

I would truely like to meet Max Redline. Your comments about Zoe disturb me.

MAX Redline said...

And that would be...why?

Wearing dark clothing on a dark and rainy night, dashing across 5 traffic lanes and not in a crosswalk seems reasonable to you?

Patti P said...

It is a sad situation for all involved. What in the world was she thinking? I hope she makes a full recovery. Our operator is a very nice guy. I hope they don't pin it on him. I heard David Salle was out investigating it. This situation was totally different from what happen with his daughter. Wishing everyone a speedy recovery.

Unknown said...

She is my grandmother and is currently living with us. She over glorifies the fact she was hit as an act of God. She’s in good hands and was knocked up on drugs that night.