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More Bus Moves


sw4400

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With regard to this story, Roe and Roper said "The Blue Line? It should have been called the Brown Line."

I just got done reading that right before I came to your post. That has got to be the most disgusting thing I ever heard happen to anyone. Just as disgusting is the back and forth racist comments thrown between a few folks who commented on the story. I'm thinking wow what the hell has gotten into people these days?

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With regard to this story, Roe and Roper said "The Blue Line? It should have been called the Brown Line."

I guess that adds new meaning to put a sock in it? :unsure:

Maybe he was having a sh***y day? :angry:

New meaning to sock it to her? ;)

Jokes aside, Utterly disgusting and tasteless act. Very demeaning. I hope they catch him. And she should be able to sue him for it (and medical bills, pain and suffering and humiliation)

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I guess that adds new meaning to put a sock in it? :unsure:

Maybe he was having a sh***y day? :angry:

New meaning to sock it to her? ;)

Jokes aside, Utterly disgusting and tasteless act. Very demeaning. I hope they catch him. And she should be able to sue him for it (and medical bills, pain and suffering and humiliation)

If they ever do, she can. The question is how effective the security cameras are going to be identifying him.

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We go from the above sh-- to the story about a woman being sexually assaulted on Lunt, approaching the Morse station. The story just on Fox32 (web version) was a little more descriptive, with an interview of an anonymous woman who came upon the victim who was "wearing only a scarf."

The TV version also had that the victim was found near several porta potties from the Oui Oui company. Pardonnez mon français.

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On the above story, the late news (such as ABC7) reported on a police press conference where various pictures of the suspect on CTA property were shown. So, in two days, there are two instances where the solution depends on identifying the person captured by security cameras.

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On the above story, the late news (such as ABC7) reported on a police press conference where various pictures of the suspect on CTA property were shown. So, in two days, there are two instances where the solution depends on identifying the person captured by security cameras.

I wonder if the same gut is responsible for both incidents.

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What happened to this operator? Medical emergency or lack of sleep???

Photo copyrighted to ABC7Chicago.

This operator had a medical emergency. Turns out he was diabetic and had a seizure behind the wheel, driving a bus with people on board!!!! CTA seriously needs to review its medical records and screen its drivers more carefully. A driver who is a diabetic and has history of seizures! , thats serious! IMO, he should not be driving a bus! This operator is lucky he didnt klll anyone! How many more bus and rail operators are diabetic and have a history of seizures? This can happen again! CTA needs to take a closer look at it drivers and see if there are any more operators who are at risk. This is no doubt a public safety issue!

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This operator had a medical emergency. Turns out he was diabetic and had a seizure behind the wheel, driving a bus with people on board!!!! CTA seriously needs to review its medical records and screen its drivers more carefully. A driver who is a diabetic and has history of seizures! , thats serious! IMO, he should not be driving a bus! This operator is lucky he didnt klll anyone! How many more bus and rail operators are diabetic and have a history of seizures? This can happen again! CTA needs to take a closer look at it drivers and see if there are any more operators who are at risk. This is no doubt a public safety issue!

If there were people on the bus, why didn't they act to stop the bus? Maybe there wasn't enough time, but maybe there was. I know there is a shield the New Flyers use for protection, but it should be easy to unlock and open, then push the operators leg off the accelerator, apply the brakes and steer the bus away from obstacles as best you can until the bus completely stops, then apply the parking brake and put the bus in Neutral. I know it sounds like I'm sounding like being 'Superman" here, but sitting in your seat petrified or screaming won't help steer the bus away from in this case twenty parked cars or awaken the bus driver who is out due to a medical emergency. That's where someone has to be crazy brave and attempt to stop the operator-less bus.

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I would think that some passengers are somewhat "petrified" knowing the bus is moving out of control, others may think to help stop it safely, but are afraid to, because of the risk of being wrongfully arrested. All it takes is one cop to be having a bad day, and the guy who prevents a serious wreck gets arrested as a "hijacker" or "terrorist". My bet is that most passengers were petrified though.

I have a seizure condition myself, and my doctor will not allow me to drive. I really don't have much intentions of doing so anyway, as I know that if I have a seizure behind the wheel, the result could be very deadly to me or others. I wonder how long it has been since the CTA driver in question had had a seizure. Plus some doctors will try to tell you that you are OK, so long as you take any meds they prescribe, though I feel NO doctor should take that chance with someone whose job entails driving a 15+ ton vehicle with passengers on board.

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If a CTA train operator had passed out, how far could the train get before it stops?

The difference is that the train controls have a "deadman" feature, which applies the brakes if the operator is not pressing the controller down, so either normal braking distance or until the signal system goes to red.

However, I guess the equivalent question is whether someone can have a seizure and still be pressing the accelerator pedal on a bus.

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This operator had a medical emergency. Turns out he was diabetic and had a seizure behind the wheel, driving a bus with people on board!!!! CTA seriously needs to review its medical records and screen its drivers more carefully. A driver who is a diabetic and has history of seizures! , thats serious! IMO, he should not be driving a bus! This operator is lucky he didnt klll anyone! How many more bus and rail operators are diabetic and have a history of seizures? This can happen again! CTA needs to take a closer look at it drivers and see if there are any more operators who are at risk. This is no doubt a public safety issue!

A former CTA employee told me it was possible that this particular driver went into insulin shock. It is supposed to be CTA policy that those who take insulin are not supposed to drive at all for that very reason.

CDL drivers take medical exams every two years and get a.D.O.T Medical card upon passing physical. This card must be carried at all times when opetati a commercial vehicle. Pace requires a D.O.T physical every year from its own employees as well as contractors' drivers that operate Pace service.

The questions here are many, including last physical exam, did driver not disclose he was on or was starting insulin treatment, did the examiner look the other way because said driver was borderline not qualified? I Don't know what CTA's D.O.T physicals policy is, but if it is a 2 year period, they may want to follow Pace and make it an annual physical, unless the union contracts stipulate otherwise.

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Let's not forget "The Bus that Couldn't Slow Down." I don't think that most CTA riders are Sandra Bullock.

I loved the movie. The only thing that turned me off was the GMC fishbowl bus started off as an automatic but morphed into a stick shift on the highway. And anyone who has driven a stick shift bus (excludes school buses) will tell you even the gear shifting isn't correct. You don't shift like you do in a car. The correct process is double clutching where you depress the clutch to shift to neutral, then depress the clutch again to shift into the next gear. To slow down, you depress the clutch and shift to neutral, then you revv the engine to the rpm for the.gear you plan to go into, then you depress the clutch and shift down to the next gear. I know its just a movie, but I like my movies believable.

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A former CTA employee told me it was possible that this particular driver went into insulin shock. It is supposed to be CTA policy that those who take insulin are not supposed to drive at all for that very reason.

CDL drivers take medical exams every two years and get a.D.O.T Medical card upon passing physical. This card must be carried at all times when opetati a commercial vehicle. Pace requires a D.O.T physical every year from its own employees as well as contractors' drivers that operate Pace service.

The questions here are many, including last physical exam, did driver not disclose he was on or was starting insulin treatment, did the examiner look the other way because said driver was borderline not qualified? I Don't know what CTA's D.O.T physicals policy is, but if it is a 2 year period, they may want to follow Pace and make it an annual physical, unless the union contracts stipulate otherwise.

i agree but then i don't. im a type 2 (well controlled) and i want to work for CTA within time. You can stick with the yearly or bi-yearly physical i got no problems with that but all im asking is that nobody doubts or questions a diabetic. I know youre not doubting anybody but eventually somebody will say something and it will start some long drawn out dispute that will take all our facts and knowledge to try to prove them wrong etc. but my boss just terminated because of that .

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i agree but then i don't. im a type 2 (well controlled) and i want to work for CTA within time. You can stick with the yearly or bi-yearly physical i got no problems with that but all im asking is that nobody doubts or questions a diabetic. I know youre not doubting anybody but eventually somebody will say something and it will start some long drawn out dispute that will take all our facts and knowledge to try to prove them wrong etc. but my boss just terminated because of that .

Not to be offensive, but for the safety of the public, I think anyone who could pose a higher risk should be looked at. After all, the CTA,.not the driver, will be liable for any injuries and/or deaths resulting from an accident involving a health risk operator. I am not saying that ant diabetic shouldn't be able to drive, but the onus of proving his health will be safe enough has to fall somewhere. For example, he can agree to submit to more frequent and random testing to make sure blood sugar levels are consistent. You already know the lawyers and the media will ask for that driver's medical history and question CTA about what they knew.

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Well put yourself in a bus with a similar issue... wouldn't you try to stop the bus rather than watch you and your other passengers go off some embankment (e.g: the Kennedy Expressway @ Montrose or Addison)

More than likely, the passenger would yank the steering wheel causing it to go off the embankment.

Anyway, the only buses on the Kennedy Expressway are deadheads. The only "expressway" on which CTA buses operate in service is LSD.

If anything, I would see if the door cherry stopped the bus.

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If the door cherry operates the interlock, then possibly not. On the NABIs at North Division, if the door handle is opened above 15 miles per hour, the bus slows a bit, but does not open the doors (At least they aren't supposed to open; 2337 for a while, the back door could be pushed open quite easily while in motion, and the bus would continue as usual without even an alarm bell!). Under 15 miles per hour, the interlocks will grind it to a halt.

If the CTA knew, possibly the driver could have been given a DOT exemption. One of the North drivers, second in seniority, has been on a medication for many years, which, at one point a few years ago, was added to the DOT blacklist. As he had been on the medication for over a decade prior, and not had any preventable accidents in that time, he was granted an exemption to that rule. If the medication ever becomes part of an accident, I would imagine that the DOT, who allowed him a grandfather clause exemption, would be liable.

Oh, and back on Who Flung Dung at the CTA: My sister's store she works at in Lake Forest had "S**t on a stick" for Christmas. Candy on a stick, that is decorated to look like Mr. Hanky from South Park. She gave me one, I'm planning to bring it with me tomorrow. Greet my friends driving on the road with it and a high pitched "Hooooody Ho!"

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...I would imagine that the DOT, who allowed him a grandfather clause exemption, would be liable.

...

Nope. Discretionary government function exemption, and also lack of duty owed any particular individual.

On the other hand, a transit authority is liable as though it were a private business. In this case, one with an instrumentality that collided with 20 cars.

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