DRIVER FAILED TO FOLLOW BLIND-SPOT PROCEDURE
-
DRIVER'S SIDE MIRRORS ARE BEING REMOUNTED TO REDUCE AN AREA OF LIMITED VISIBILITY.
-
FATAL METRO TRANSIT CRASH
------------------------------
Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, WI)-February 9, 2012
Author: SANDY CULLEN scullen@madison.com 608-252-6137
A bus driver failed to perform a physical maneuver to overcome a blind spot before hitting a pedestrian in a fatal crash on University Avenue in June, Metro Transit officials said Wednesday.
General Manager Chuck Kamp said Metro is remounting the external driver's side mirror on its buses to reduce the left-side blind spot and is considering adding audio signals to alert pedestrians a bus is making a left turn.
But Kamp said driver Debra Foster didn't follow Metro procedure for dealing with the bus's blind spot before the June 22 crash that killed Maureen Grant, 58, of New Glarus.
Grant worked in the acquisitions department at UW-Madison's Memorial Library.
Foster, a two-year veteran of the transit system, was making a left turn from Lake Street when her bus hit Grant, who was crossing University Avenue in the same direction the bus was traveling before it turned.
Kamp said Grant was in the blind spot of the bus as she began crossing the street and remained in the blind spot of the turning bus until "just a fraction of a second before" she was hit near the center of the intersection.
"It is part of our culture" to perform a physical maneuver - which drivers refer to as either a "rock and roll" or "bob and weave" - to compensate for the blind spot, he said. "That is a key part of Metro's training and has been for years, including on the left side of the vehicle."
Kamp emphasized the findings of a State Patrol collision analysis of the crash that states: "Blind spots and other view obstructions are commonly overcome in the normal operation of motor vehicles and even more frequently in the operation of oversized vehicles such as passenger buses."
The report cites Foster's "failure to identify Ms. Grant as a pending hazard" during the turn as a cause of the crash. The speed of the bus was estimated at 11 to 14 mph before the crash.
Foster is on an unpaid leave, Kamp said.
A disciplinary decision was made last month, he said. She was not fired, but Kamp declined to provide additional details, saying the decision is "subject to grievances." He would not say if Foster is challenging the disciplinary decision.
Madison police cited Foster for failure to yield to a pedestrian. Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne declined to file criminal charges, citing the bus's blind spot.
Kamp said it hasn't been determined if and when Foster would return to work. If she does, she would undergo extensive retraining and wouldn't drive until she and Metro were confident in her ability, he said.
Foster's family asked not to be contacted by media and that their privacy be respected, Kamp said.
Foster received three days paid leave after the crash, then used vacation or sick time before being placed on an unpaid layoff, said Metro spokesman Mick Rusch.
Before the fatal crash, Rusch said, Foster was involved in one minor incident in which she banged a pole in Metro's garage.
Six buses retrofitted so far
Between 2007 and 2011, Kamp said, Metro purchased 67 buses with external side mirrors mounted near the top of the driver's side window rather than near the bottom.
Initially, drivers had mixed reactions to the top-mounted mirrors, which are becoming the industry standard, Kamp said. But the fatal crash propelled the decision to retrofit the other 142 buses in Metro's fleet with top-mounted mirrors, he said.
Six buses have been retrofitted. The cost for parts and labor is about $500 per bus, said Jeff Butler, Metro's maintenance manager.
Kamp said he could not speculate on whether a top-mounted mirror would have prevented the fatal crash, saying "there still is a blind spot" that drivers are trained to manage.
STEVE APPS - State Journal archives
In the June 22 crash, a woman was walking north on University Avenue in the crosswalk and with the walk light when she was hit by a Metro Transit bus that was turning left onto University from Lake Street
CRAIG SCHREINER - State Journal
Mick Rusch, marketing and customer service manager for Metro Transit, stands near a bus with a new driver's side mirror suspended from above that reduces the left-side blind spot. Metro is retrofitting buses that have the driver's side mirror mounted lower, as on the facing bus, after a crash that killed a pedestrian in a University Avenue crosswalk in June.
State Journal graphic
Fatal bus crash: Metro Transit officials say a driver failed to check a blind spot before her bus fatally struck pedestrian Maureen Grant in a University Avenue crosswalk on June 22, 2011.
Edition: ALLSection: FRONTPage: A1
Record Number: 1202089084325Copyright, 2012, Madison Newspapers, Inc.
http://docs.newsbank.com/s/
No comments:
Post a Comment