Another Bus Accident

[OnMyWay]

Victory Liner and another bus line had some buses suspended due to recent accidents.  I don't know much about the other bus line, but the VL accident was local and on Tuesday this week I believe.

 

LTFRB suspended 42 VL buses that are on the Manila / Olongapo / Sta Cruz route.  I saw some Sta Cruz buses on that road this morning but they may have been empty.  VL has large maintenance facility very close to where the crash occurred.

 

There is a large hill in that area and apparently going downhill the bus veered to avoid hitting a pedestrian and went into a ravine, and ended up up-side-down.  The only fatality was the pedestrian, who got hit anyway.

 

My landlord / neighbor's brother in law was on the bus and spent 2 days in the hospital.  He lives here but I have not seen him yet.  One lady passenger interviewed says she thought the bus did not have brakes.  I will see what he has to say.

 

I'm wondering if the pedestrian (50 year old woman) is one of those people here who wander along the sides or cross the road with their back to the traffic, obliviously to any hazards.

[earthdome]

That may be part of the reason why we had to wait from 10AM to 4PM at Victory Liner in Pasay to get a bus to Baguio Thursday morning. After getting our ticket we spent 4 hours at MOA to get lunch and shop in the aircon instead of waiting at the VL bus terminal. The Pasay VL terminal does have an aircon waiting area, but that is only for passengers waiting on their deluxe bus.

 

Glad to hear your landlord/neighbor survived the accident.

 

We were in the front seat right behind the driver. I heard about the accident at the terminal and these seats had seat belts and I wore mine most of the trip.

[Mike S]

This may or may not be directly related to this bus incident but until they start paying these drivers an hourly wage and not by the passenger these horrific bus accidents are going to continue ..... there was a move after the last one where the bus went off the bridge to actually do something about putting the drivers on hourly wage but the bus companies themselves along with the bus drivers representatives fought it ..... their reason (or at least the reason they gave) was because it would take away from the bus drivers RIGHTS if they were forced to be paid an hourly rate ..... in other words the bus companies make more money if the drivers speed and drive unsafe to pick up more passengers .... but what about the RIGHTS of the passengers to expect a safe and accident free trip ..... 

 

One way to make bus companies pay hourly wage .... sue the crap out of them for big bucks with class action lawsuits ..... but we all know that isn't going to happen with all the graph and corruption going on in the justice system ..... the lawyers would just work together to scam the victims .... JMHO ...  :thumbsup: 

:cheersty:

[Dave Hounddriver]

Mike, what do you think of the safety of over the road busses in the US or Canada?  I ask because those bus drivers are not paid by the hour either.  They are paid by the mile so there is every incentive to go fast, cover more miles in shorter time, and make a bigger paycheck.

 

Just thought I'd throw that in as the likelihood of filipinos adopting a per hour system when first world countries don't even use it is very slim.

[Jollygoodfellow]

Mike, what do you think of the safety of over the road busses in the US or Canada?  I ask because those bus drivers are not paid by the hour either.  They are paid by the mile so there is every incentive to go fast, cover more miles in shorter time, and make a bigger paycheck.

 

Just thought I'd throw that in as the likelihood of filipinos adopting a per hour system when first world countries don't even use it is very slim.

 

How would you cover more miles by going faster? If the bus in on a route then from point A to B is the same distance. Not sure about other countries but here in Aus bus and truck drivers have to keep a log book and are only allowed to drive so many hours in a day with rest periods. If I remember correctly the log book is only required if traveling over 100 kilometers from base.

[Medic Mike]

Mike, what do you think of the safety of over the road busses in the US or Canada?  I ask because those bus drivers are not paid by the hour either.  They are paid by the mile so there is every incentive to go fast, cover more miles in shorter time, and make a bigger paycheck.

 

Just thought I'd throw that in as the likelihood of filipinos adopting a per hour system when first world countries don't even use it is very slim.

I don't know. I really don't know the system there, however, I must admit I have never been to a bus accident in the states or australia, but I have been to a few the last couple of years in Cebu :(

[Retired in Samar]

because those bus drivers are not paid by the hour either.  They are paid by the mile so there is every incentive to go fast, cover more miles in shorter time, and make a bigger paycheck.

Buses and truck drivers are heavily regulated in the U.S. Aside from maximum number of hour they can drive in a 24 hour period, travel is also limited to maximum number of miles traveled over a given time.

[Dave Hounddriver]

bus and truck drivers have to keep a log book

 

Yeah.  I'm sure they all follow the rules.  Just like they do in Canada and the US..  I am sure you will find that 'a large number of drivers" think that if one log book is good then two is better.   :rolleyes:

 

But the rules keep the honest ones honest and the public happy and I am sorry for digressing away from Philippine buses,

 

(For anyone who does not know me, I did that job for 30 years through all of Canada and the US and it would take more than one thread to address all the points raised in this thread.)

Edited April 27, 2014 by Dave Hounddriver

[davewe]

I was in a bus accident between Cebu and Alcoy last year. It didn't appear to be the bus drivers fault. An oncoming truck slid into our lane just enough to shear off the outside mirror. Since it was a non-aircon bus and the windows were open, flying glass shards were everywhere and one or two ladies had minor facial cuts.

What was interesting is that after we all got out and we were told the bus would not be proceeding, we queued up to get refunds (not complete, just for what was remaining). The bleeding lady was much more interested in getting her refund than any pesky medical attention!

Just last night we are walking the main road in Alcoy. We are walking on the left shoulder and with no oncoming traffic I stepped just slightly into the road. My wife chided me about the danger. I sarcastically said, "what's gonna happen? A bus will swerve all he way into this lane's shoulder just to run me over?" "Who knows," she shot back. A short time later a ceres bus went to pass a trike, completely entering my lane at a high speed. OK sometimes my wife knows what she's talking about.

Edited April 29, 2014 by davewe

[Dave Hounddriver]

I sarcastically said, "what's gonna happen? A bus will swerve all he way into this lane's shoulder just to run me over?"

 

I used to walk facing traffic like I do in a first world country.  I learned that it is less dangerous to walk 'with' the traffic.  The traffic coming up behind you will usually move over a bit to clear the hairs on your arm.  When you walk facing traffic you cannot see the ones who are coming from behind and swerving to pass a pothole or vehicle.  They seem to have the idea that roads are for vehicles and if you are on it then you better have eyes in the back of your head because the 50,000 pesos they will be liable for in the event they kill you is just a slap on the wrist.