Narrow miss. Bus and student on his mobile

My hubby is an ex-bus driver and I'm an ex-bus route learner - I taught the drivers - and have experience countless idiots like that student who are more obsessed with their stupid mobiles than their lives.

Thank you for backing up the driver! I'm convinced that our planet is used by being from other planets as a lunatic asylum!

I wonder if the student had ear buds in?

He had those big headphones on.

I live in a University City and one area is a nightmare. I’ve seen students step onto crossings without giving traffic a chance to stop.
Many press the button, but step out immediately, not waiting for their green walk sign, especially when in groups.
I’ve seen them just walking on the road, rather than using the footpath in one place. The path is narrow, but so is the road there and traffic has to give way to let buses through.

Often they have their phones clamped to their ears, or they have ear-buds. Even without any distractions, some seem to think they have a God-given right to jaywalk and that traffic will stop for them. It’s frightening!

I’ve appealed here for anyone who knows a student who uses a bicycle around Durham to ensure they have lights, because so many don’t and on dark/wet evenings, wearing dark clothing, they’re almost invisible.

I know locals are probably just as bad, but this is an area of Durham primarily used by students on their way to and from lectures.

Oh yes. The running across the road in dark clothes at 5.30 on a dark wet winter evening to catch a bus or dark clothes on a light less bike. I drive down the A30 beside the Royal Holloway College. How I have missed some young people, and I am a careful driver as I know the road which is just as well. But many drivers won't know it.

I also see a similar thing when parents are out with their young children, some two, three or four years of age. The parents are on their phones with earphones in and the toddlers are walking behind them. Anyone could snatch them and their parents would not have a clue.

When these phone obsessed people get to be in their 60's and 70's, they will have no recollection of their early years as they were on their phones all the time.

Saw something like that a few weeks ago in a car park - a young man with head phones talking in his phone walked right across a driver who was reversing out of his parking space. The young man didn't even notice the car nearly hit him and just ambled across, whereas I had my heart in my mouth as I suspect the driver did to. Fortunately he was going slowly.

Yesterday morning, on the way to Church, a teenager shot out of a concealed road, straight in front of a car. The youngster was on one of those electric scooters.
How the driver missed him I don't know. But shook us up.

Also, and this is something I was taught when learning to drive, people are disorientated when they get off a bus and will quite often just walk into the road without looking properly. I actually scored a few brownie points on my driving test by being very cautious when driving past a bus. Mind you I’d probably fail my test on it now for being too slow and over cautiouse.

Some can be as guilty just walking about on footpaths, too. (Not just youngsters, I hasten to add). Totally oblivious of anyone approaching , then glare at said person as if it’s not their fault if they either nearly or do, crash into you.

Just this morning , near miss with woman on mobility scooter, suddenly decided she would cross the road, no slowing down, just turned quickly onto crossing. Good job I had my wits
about me, because she certainly didn't.
So not only students who don't value their lives.

Should say gamble, better , as I'm sure they do value their lives, just ignorant of their role in keeping safe.

Spuddy

My hubby is an ex-bus driver and I'm an ex-bus route learner - I taught the drivers - and have experience countless idiots like that student who are more obsessed with their stupid mobiles than their lives.

Thank you for backing up the driver! I'm convinced that our planet is used by being from other planets as a lunatic asylum!

My son is a bus driver,have told him he should write a book about his work life. Would be a best seller as well as an eye opener .

DH was late home one night. It turned out that he was behind a blameless woman driver when a group of youngsters just shot in front of her car. She couldn't help hitting one of them who collapsed on the road. The others disappeared. The poor woman driver was distraught. DH called an ambulance and the police and stayed with her until they arrived and made a witness statement to support the driver. She was in a state. Poor soul. We never heard any more about it so the Police must have believed him.

I am constantly feel admiration for our bus drivers in Brighton. They remain friendly and pleasant despite the many difficult passengers within the bus and the many near accidents I've witnessed from the bus.. and the summer season isn't here yet!!

A couple of times someone walked out in front of us the other week.

Is it that they are in their own little world, oblivious, or are they assuming the new rights of pedestrians means they don't have to look and take care?

The thing is I can’t ever see an end to the situations described on here.
Mobile phones are here to stay of course along with certain sectors of the population being completely obsessed with them.

I’m sure we all have similar tales of near misses we have witnessed.

I have no idea what the answer is.

This kind of thing happened before mobile phones. The only time I've had to do an emergency stop was when a young man sauntered out from behind the bus he'd just alighted from and walked straight into the path of traffic coming the other way on the road. My kids were in the back of the car, fortunately well strapped in and fortunately I wasn't going fast. I missed him by an inch! He stopped and stared when the car stopped. I stared back and raised my hands.

I expect he learned that lesson. I also learned to 'expect' distracted walkers who'd just got off buses.

The big problem now Baggs is that even if you blast your horn, they wouldn't hear. As the young man this morning didn't. And just continued to amble across the road when the lights were green. Completely oblivious.

DD2 is a wheelchair user and often has to shout ‘look out’ to someone approaching (on the same course) her, with their heads buried in a mobile phone. She’s actually had someone land in her knee, when they have neither seen nor heard her! Sometimes, she can’t get out of their way and just stops and waits to see what happens!

The worst are the entitled teenagers outside DGS1 secondary school! These kids literally just step off the kerb without even a pretence of checking for cars! How there are not daily accidents is a mystery to me. The boys are the worst but not by much! There are two single sex schools next to each. I watch in horror every morning as these idiots go to school!

HelterSkelter1

The big problem now Baggs is that even if you blast your horn, they wouldn't hear. As the young man this morning didn't. And just continued to amble across the road when the lights were green. Completely oblivious.

I didn't blast my horn. Too busy breaking and scared as hell!

jenpax

The worst are the entitled teenagers outside DGS1 secondary school! These kids literally just step off the kerb without even a pretence of checking for cars! How there are not daily accidents is a mystery to me. The boys are the worst but not by much! There are two single sex schools next to each. I watch in horror every morning as these idiots go to school!

School closing times are obvious times for traffic to either go extra slow or be extra alert, preferably both This is why there are school warning signs.

We all know kids can be scatty and not fully aware of what's going on around them so we (drivers) should adapt our behaviour in such situations.

*braking

!