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Snow, buses, and pedestrians

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  • Snow, buses, and pedestrians

    Old one but a good one. We're supposed to get a lot of snow this winter. This reminded me of a story from the last big snowy winter we had a couple years ago.

    I was in University, and I took the buses to and from campus. University is on a rather steep hill, and that winter, it snowed. By snowed, I mean about two feet, which is a lot for our town, especially with steep hills.

    Now, the main road through campus is always full of pedestrians and buses, and they just kind of crowd together and make it work. If buses waited for pedestrians to cross, they'd never move, likewise pedestrians would never get across if they waited for the buses or other cars that strayed in there (the road was closed during the day except to buses and campus traffic, but that didn't stop some idiots from getting around the barriers), so everyone just had to share the road at once.

    Now, things get very slippery in the snow (our city owns just one snowplow, since we seldom see significant amounts), and buses are heavy, so perhaps the pedestrians would use more prudence when crossing in front of the bus in those conditions. Oh wait, forgot where I was posting for a second.

    Picture this: the bus sliding downhill. We aren't even facing the direction we're moving -- the front left corner of the bus is pointing downhill and the rear right corner of the bus is point uphill. So we're sliding down at an angle, pedestrians are walking out right in front of the bus, and the driver isn't even batting an eye! In fact, I seemed to be the only one who found it terrifying. Really, if one of those people suddenly slipped on the icy road surface, there would have been no way to stop the bus in time!

    (I've since come to the conclusion that bus drivers here are either very brave or batshit insane in the snow, 'cause they just seem to plow right along like the snow and ice weren't even there.)
    Last edited by bhskittykatt; 11-11-2010, 05:49 PM.
    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

  • #2
    There is no emoticon for my face right now.
    Wow. Just... wow. It's like playing tiddlywinks with dynamite caps or something. Or being in an ice rink with a cannon or something. That is a game of dominos I do not wish to play. I'd've called in or stuck to sidewalks on streets that weren't major roads. o________o I can picture these (several ton) buses ('cuz engine + frame + people...) just, just struggling up to the top of the hill, then sledding down... that's nerve-wracking in a tiny car on a shallow hill with nothing to run into!
    No words.
    seriously. .__.
    "Is it the lie that keeps you sane? Is this the lie that keeps you sane?What is it?Can it be?Ought it to exist?"
    "...and may it be that I cleave to the ugly truth, rather than the beautiful lie..."

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    • #3
      Quoth bhskittykatt View Post
      (I've since come to the conclusion that bus drivers here are either very brave or batshit insane in the snow, 'cause they just seem to plow right along like the snow and ice weren't even there.)
      I am told that in Jerusalem, the municipal bus authority only hires former IDF tank drivers. Nobody else is crazy enough to try and drive a bus on the streets of Jerusalem. Perhaps your city got some of these guys as well...

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      • #4
        That sounds really scary!

        I know you said the drivers didn't bat an eyelid about the pedestrians, but that's probably a good thing. I take it to mean that they aren't going to freak out, start panicking and taking unnecessary risks.
        If they got hit though, it would be the drivers fault, so maybe they had accepted that and just tried to get on with their jobs.

        My student halls were at the bottom of a hill, and when it snowed, the university shuttle wouldn't go down the hill, taxis wouldn't and it was trecherous to walk up. We were effectively stranded, in the middle of no where. 1500 students, snow and isolation... good times were (generally) had by all

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