Sensitivity to Death

"He feels they were about 30 feet away, so he had to make a judgement about hard braking with a full load.
"Had he stopped abruptly, there would have been a definite impact on the passengers, especially ones standing up.
"I totally understand the sensitivity of the public with regard to the crossing, the warning lights and the trains."
OC Transpo general manager, John Manconi

If Mr. Manconi understands the sensitivity of the public, then he must also be aware, somewhere within his brain, struggling to address the issue while protecting the reputation of the public transit company he represents and its drivers, that the bus-riding public would prefer being suddenly jostled at a sudden stop, to suddenly dead at a non-stop.

At the very same crossing where a fatal accident that ended with six people dead; five passengers and the bus driver occurred less than two weeks ago, yet another bus driver felt like testing fate and fortune. If it was his life alone that he was gambling with, not that of a large number of passengers on the No.73 bus headed downtown from southwest Barrhaven, people might be critical but not upset.

The front of the bus is destroyed while firefighters and police search the scene of a horrific crash between an OC Transpo double decker bus and a VIA Rail train near the Fallowfield Station in Barrhaven, a suburb on Ottawa’s west end. Photograph by: Wayne Cuddington, Ottawa Citizen

 

The Via train collision with the earlier bus and the tragedy that ensued when the previous bus driver found himself unable to stop when he appeared to passengers not even to be aware of the flashing lights and the barriers in place, let alone the very visibly and noisy oncoming train, seems to have repeated itself.

On this occasion, the lights were flashing, the bus was travelling at almost 60 km/h, and he could see the train which he judged to be half a kilometre away. So, instead of reacting by braking, he reacted by proceeding, crossing despite the warning lights. And no doubt the passengers on board inhaled a collective sigh of fear that must have left a vacuum in the bus interior.

No collision ensued. So that was fortunate. "It was defensive driving. He followed all proper procedures", said manager Manconi, of the driver 18 months on the job whom, he said, did the safest thing he could have in the circumstances. "I expect with the recent incident, we're probably going to hear more of it", said Mr. Manconi.

Some incident. Six funerals' worth. Now there's a radical understatement.

The front of the bus is destroyed while firefighters and police search the scene of a horrific crash between an OC Transpo double decker bus and a VIA Rail train near the Fallowfield Station in Barrhaven, a suburb on Ottawa’s west end. Photograph by:Wayne Cuddington, Ottawa Citizen