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Double Deckers. Do you feel safe?


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The reason I am posting this is to gain another perspective and hear some thoughts on Double Decker buses. On Friday Jan 11, a DD bus here in Ottawa was involved in one of the worst public transit accidents in Ottawa history. 3 people were killed, 25 hurt, with 10 in critical condition. It's the second fatal accident involving  DD buses here in  Ottawa since they were  introduced in 2011. In 2013, six people  were killed when I DD bus collided with a train. I won't go into detail on how the accident happened. If you want just google "Ottawa OC Transpo bus accident". Some people are blaming the driver, some the weather conditions, what is coming out now, is the safety of Double Decker buses. Alot of Ottawa bus riders now saying they will never ride a Double Decker bus again, as they fear they are unsafe. Now my question, as I have friends and family who take these DD buses on a daily basis, have you ever felt unsafe, or worried about driver error while riding a DD bus. My understanding is the driver has to keep checking a screen to see what is happening in the top deck at all times, which I believe, threatens the safety of passengers as he or she is not focused on driving 100 percent of the time.  Also is the speed of the bus with the added weight and design. Is it built properly for public transit? The one thing that is completely different from Scotland, is the weather. The winters here in Ottawa can be brutal, but on the day of the accident, weather conditions were favorable, just the possibility of black ice. I do not know if these are the same type of buses that are driving around Scotland. From what I understand they are manufactured in the US, but a double decker, is a double decker. So the big question. Do you feel safe on a DD, have there been many accidents involving DD. The city of Ottawa is in shock over this accident, and like I said, lots of people want these DD buses gone completely. Would be interesting to here some input from other cities...

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Think the biggest worry people have is the speed. The accident happened when apparently the bus started to slide a bit, then the driver lost control. I am only going by what is said in the news. Ottawa has the arrticulated buses, but they always get stuck in the snow, that is why they opted for DDs, problem is at higher speeds, they are harder to control if there is an issue. Maybe it's a case of people still being in shock and looking for blame. I know alot of folk calling in in the radip program were saying the stairs to the upper level were very small and narrow. It will take months to figure a definate cause of this terrible tragedy, but as I mentioned, people are nervous getting on these DD now. 

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2 minutes ago, Tartan_McCole said:

If a bus got banjo'd by a train then I'd imagine it would have happened whether it was a wee bus or a big bus. As for the accident itself you mentioned, Googling it alone has the fault at the driver.

Yes, correct. There is alot of finger pointing at the moment which is unfortunate. I have not travelled on one of these DD, my mother takes the express route which has no stops. She has told me it makes her nervous and she has travelled in Glasgiw many many times with no nerves whatsoever. Don't know, as I believe these DD are safe if driven properly. I operate heavy equipment at work and the most important thing is to drive within the speed limits and give extra space for braking. Just so unfortunate this whole accident. 

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46 minutes ago, sbcmfc said:

I’d probably rather be on the top deck of a double decker than a single decker if I had to be on a bus that got hit by a train....

Once again I think people were blaming the DD design. But as a fellow poster pointed out, getting hit by a train has no bearing on what vehicle it is. 

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7 hours ago, Brummie Hibs said:

London got rid of their bendy buses as they were too dangerous. Too many blind spots when around cyclists.

DD are safe, although upstairs at the back can be a bit intimidating when on ones that go to less desirable areas of town.

 

I always remember someone ( I think it was Danny Baker) suggesting that those bendy buses should make a loud accordian sound when they went round a corner. 😂

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I'm not particularly great with heights and a few years ago I went over the Manhattan Bridge (itself a double decker bridge) on the top deck of one of those open top tour buses at (what felt like) about 70mph on a very windy day and thought I was going to die. I had a similar experience on the Coronado Bridge in San Diego a few years later which was even more terrifying due to the way the bridge sweeps round.  I now sit downstairs.  

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