Do bus stops have a “bullseye” on them?

Many of us use the bus transit system for convenience, economy, or just don’t have a choice.  For the most part, the system works and is on schedule.

What’s not on schedule is what could happen while waiting at a bus stop.

There are myriads of stories across the nation about impaired or just errant drivers slamming into bus stops while people are waiting, sometimes with fatal results.

Just here, the average of accidents involving bus stops are approximately 50 a year with fatalities a rare occurrence.

But here are a few examples;

July 2008, Steven N. Murray left the roadway and hit the bus stop at Flamingo and Boulder Highway, killing one female and severely injuring the other (She lost both legs as a result). (read more)

March 2005, Veronica Schmidt slammed into a bus stop at Rock Springs Rd and Smoke Ranch, killing three juveniles and an adult. She was under the influence of Xanax.  www.8newsnow.com 

May 2004, Nicolas Serrano-Villagrana killed a four year old and injured two others when he hit them as they waited at a shelter at Eastern and 95. (lvsun.com)  Nicolas had a history of driving while drunk.

December 2003, Christmas Day, Bruce L. Kirton was killed at a bus stop as a vehicle ran a red light.

October 2002, John Wan died while standing at a bus stop at Charleston and Fremont after being struck by a drunk driver.

Many of the drivers have been drinking while a few have been dosed with prescription medications, or both.  Some of the drivers left the scene of the collision.

The pedestrians that were injured or killed were not intoxicated, and just happened to be victims of the wrong place at the wrong time.

Legislation has suggested moving the bus stops farther from the roadway, possibly in a separate bus lane, in addition to the travel lanes.

How about placing some sort of barrier around the stop to protect the occupants, such as the yellow poles (word of the day, “bollards”) that frequent many a parking lot?  

The public transportation system does benefit from grants given by the government to assist the companies to run more efficiently, why not more safely?

I’m actually surprised, due to the litigious nature of our society, that someone has not sued the transportation company for such a reason.

Many of the busses, if not all, now have a video recording device that records the action from the driver’s point of view.  That recording can be reviewed by the company’s risk management staff and has come in handy in many of my accident investigations.

I’ve heard citizens complain about intersections that need more traffic control devices and have been told that more deaths need to occur at that location before it would be considered.

Haven’t we had enough at our bus stops?