Double decker

[Gibbo2286]

A Birmingham double decker bus had its roof ripped off, a fire brigade officer said "It was a fight between a bus and the bridge, the bridge won"

But the funniest thing is the advert all along the bus says "For headache relief on the move."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... ?ITO=1490

[Paul-R]

I doubt the bridge actually won. Whenever there is any collision between a vehicle and a bridge there has to be a structural investigation of the bridge to see what damage has been done and what needs rectification to ensure the integrity of the bridge. You wouldn't want a train full of passengers to come crashing down into the street as result would you?

Shades of the train crashing into the Glad Tidings mission there. (Let's see who can remember this reference).

[Zelandeth]

This really is one of those things that are simply classed as "Never Events" in the trade - meaning that they are things which quite simply should not ever, ever happen.

Looking at that one it was a particularly nasty example of a bridge strike and I don't doubt for a moment that if there had been passengers upstairs that there would have been serious casualties if not fatalities.

Now I know I've not spent many hours driving buses compared to those who do it for a living, I don't have a full PCV licence (provisional only), but I reckon I must have north of a hundred hours behind the wheel and the only reason I'd not gone through the test was a matter of political wrangling at my place of work.

I think I've enough experience to say that you don't just forget you're driving a double decker. Aside from the stinking great sign stating the vehicle height, very different driving feel, and fact that you've hardly any headroom (and at least in the case of First's Volvo B7TLs, an utterly *uselessly* positioned offside mirror)...I still very clearly remember the first time I went through a tunnel in a decker - and it was one where I knew full well that I had loads of clearance. It still scared the living daylights out of me as it looked a heck of a lot lower when you were driving towards it!

If you're not paying attention to the point you can drive a decker into a bridge, you shouldn't be driving a car, never mind a bus.

I've only ever carried passengers well away from a public road - and at a grand total of around 10mph - but the feeling of responsibility that you are in charge of the welfare of up to 80 passengers on a decker (120 on a bendy bus - now they are *odd* things to drive) is something that it's impossible in my mind to ever forget even for a moment. I still feel honoured that I was trusted to do that little between-the-gates shuttle at a summer event.

Wheel loss incidents I'd always held in the same regard as bridge strikes, though recently following some comments on another forum have had a chat with some folks and they seem to agree that they *are* something which can just happen even with proper maintenance regimens and walkround checks. They *shouldn't* by all rights, but just do. Some vehicles seem to be far more prone to it (Optare Solos seem to get a regular mention) than others.

...one good reason not to drive anywhere in an Optare Solo. Not that I need any more excuse to avoid them. Horrible little things, which in my book have only one redeeming feature: that they go all day on about a pint of diesel. That's it. The only vehicle I've ever had to resort to Google to figure out how to start too!

[van ordinaire]

Many years ago when I lived in Harrow stuffing buses under the bridge just outside Harrow & Wealdstone station was an annual event. The reason was always the same: a driver of the lodekker that operated that route was put on a different route at short notice, when he got to the lights where he should go straight on, from force of habit he'd turn right, i.e down the road under the railway!

The London bendybuses that had to be got rid of 'cos they kept catching fire ended up on Gozo. Ever been there? If so you'll know how much fun that'll be. I read they're going to introduce electric Optares in India, now if you've ever seen an Indian bus, much less travelled on one, or encountered one on the road (I use THAT term loosely) you will share my eager anticipation of that particular exercise in practise.