TriMet bus driver videotaped running stop signs
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GRESHAM, Ore. – A TriMet bus driver was recorded driving through not one, but two stop signs in a row while leaving the Gresham Transit Center, and the transit agency says it is now investigating.
Lane Jensen, who took the video of the bus running the stops signs near Eighth and Kelly, runs a website called Portland Transit Lane, which is critical of TriMet. He said it was not a one-time deal and he sees a number of bus drivers rolling through the signs regularly.
Bus riders at the nearby Transit Center said they want the stop-sign running to stop.
"I think it's wrong," said Sidney Jensen, who rides the bus. "What if somebody's walking? What if somebody had a dog or a kid? They'd be dead. I mean, those buses can't stop on a dime."
Many riders at the transit center said it is not at all unusual to see buses ignore the stop signs. Some said they worry that children or older people crossing the street will get hit.
"There's a lot of kids that run around here, there's a lot of little kids," said Bri Davenport, a bus rider. "I see, sometimes, parents not exactly paying attention sometimes – kids just running back and forth. … A lot of elderly people use that crosswalk from that medical clinic over there."
TriMet sent KATU News a statement saying it has been alerted to a serious safety violation where a bus operator was recorded running two stop signs.
"We have alerted the operator's manager to begin investigating and will take appropriate action," the statement said.
TriMet will not say what kind of action that will be. A spokesperson said possible steps for this kind of violation could be anything from training, to a letter, to much more serious actions.
Watch the video:
Oh Lane Jensen, what a sad life you have. Thank you KATU for on site interviewing Gresham Transit Center patrons; a real treasure trove. Another example of superior, balanced, and detail laden reporting brought to us by the news manufacturers of KATU.
Tri-met has a lot of catching up to do if they're going to compete with the general public. Â I watched 5 cars in a row today make an illegal left hand turn in Beaverton while going to lunch. Â And I wasn't even really paying attention.
Wouldn't be the first time I've seen something like this...I've seen TriMet drivers run red lights, or blast the horn at pedestrians in a cross walk in downtown Portland. I don't think all TriMet drivers are like this, but I think there's a couple bad apples causing the rest to look a little less shiny in the barrel.
Doesn't TriMet have supervisors that monitor, at least on occasion the actions of their drivers? Seems to me there should be people designated to checking drivers abilities, and their hours behind the wheel. A lot of recent events tell me that TriMet needs some serious improvements.
LOL, I don't think KATU knows traffic laws in Portland.
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You don't have to stop at stop signs in residential areas. You are free to go the moment you are sure there is no traffic. In the video they say "stop" should mean "stop." Guess what, though? It DOESN'T mean that at all.
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Funny stuff.
@brautigan So, either you are pushing some realy sarcastic stuff here, or maybe you live in an alternate universe (or maybe I and the cop that followed me into my driveway do)! Funny thing is, he must have been close to the end of his shift OR just a nice guy. He followed me the last two blocks and pulled in behind me. He did not even get out of his car, just rolled down his window and said "What the hell is wrong with you? That was a blatant California stop! Come to a complete stop from now on!" Pretty cool, if you ask me. He could have just gotten out and wrote me up, but instead treated me like we were cool.
 @brautigan you are referring to the dumb people who ride bikes because they don't have the intelligence to know what stop means,Â
 @brautigan In Oregon?
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''Stop signs. A driver approaching a stop sign shall stop at a clearly marked stop line, but if none, before entering the marked crosswalk on the near side of the intersection or, if there is no marked crosswalk, then at the point nearest the intersecting roadway where the driver has a view of approaching traffic on the intersecting roadway before entering it. After stopping, the driver shall yield the right of way to any vehicle in the intersection or approaching so closely as to constitute an immediate hazard during the time when the driver is moving across or within the intersection.''
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http://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/811.260
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I thought rolling stops weren't allowed. And this driver isn't even slowing down.
 @Lips  @brautigan Pretty sure STOP means STOP. I think a lot of people who have gotten tickets for running residential stop signs would agree with the fact that it is ORS law.
Oops...
WHOA. Revelation. Earth shattering Revelation even. So, there are people that don't know bus drivers don't really care about the "rules of the road"? Stop signs? How about Red Lights? They run those too and I'm not talking about yellow lights that turn red as they are entering the intersection. I'm talking about lights that are red when they get there.
So, your life is so pathetic that you have nothing else to do but catch Trimet Bus Drivers running stop signs. Oh my.    And I am sure YOU never ran a stop sign, right.  MR. PERFECT.. Find something to with your life other than just being a pathetic.Â
 @MrAchilles when you have a loved one mowed down by a Tri-Met bus and they are dead, I have a feeling you will feel differently.
@MrAchilles I am sure Jensen does not run a stop sign when he has 20 or more people he is responsible for in his vehicle. Big difference between a "California stop" in a car and just blatantly blowing through them like in the video.
Rules don't apply here. Move along.
Most of the time when Trimet is involved in accidents, its not their fault. BUT, if something would have happened here, I would not be able to defend trimet. This is a BIG screw up! Any driver caught running stop signs and red lights should be fired.
What action will they take? They'll probably just turn the signs 90 degrees and make everyone else stop and wait for them! Just as they do when re-entering traffic from the curb.
 @Gravity Works! Hey Gravity, are you that ignorant of motor vehicle laws?
 @justanothercommonsensevoice So what motor vehicle laws are you talking about? Stopping at a stop sign? Do you have any idea how obnoxious some of the drivers are?Â
 @BarbWire  @justanothercommonsensevoice Get a grip barb.  I am talking about what gravity said about a bus pulling out from a curb and everybody has to wait on the bus.  Not talking about a stop sign or side road.  The law is you have to yield to a bus.  I yield always and try to share the road unlike you.  Wait you probably don't even have a car.  Look in the mirror and get an education babe.
 @justanothercommonsensevoice you are probably the most ignorant person on here. It is NOT the law for drivers to yield to a bus if the driver of he car is coming from a side street which does not have a stop sign, when the bus driver has a stop sign. Â
 @BarbWire Barb, no I am not.  Didn't you read the first comment?  Uh duh, why don't you read it again and then make sense of your comment...Let me try to spell it out for you.  Not talking about stop signs but per Gravity... "make everyone else stop and wait for them! Just as they do when re-entering traffic from the curb."  Well it is the law to yield to buses when they are trying to re-enter traffic.
 @justanothercommonsensevoice  @BarbWire The bus was not reentering traffic the driver didn't stop at the stop signs. I have a feeling you most be a driver for tri-met, which explains everythingÂ
 @BarbWire The law of a vehicle must yield to a bus such as when a bus is "re-entering traffic from the curb".  How obnoxious is that?  Vehicles won't yield to buses...cars have to stop and wait for them.! Wow, the audacity of those bus drivers! Â
Give the driver a break, they are probably working their second 17 hour shift of the week.
@JTesla except the law says that they cant drive that many hours in a day. What the heck are you talking about? "Give them a break!"? You would be saying that if you kid was to get hit and killed by that driver!
 @Dale Quakenbush  @JTesla I think there was some sarcasm in that post. Also, if you didn't see it, information came out recently that drivers are working well over 17 hours by having the hours go across two shift days.Â
@Dale Quakenbush Of course I'd be saying that, I figure if my kid is hit and killed by a bus the first thing Iâll do is jump on KATU and make sarcastic comments.
That's nothing, I rolled through 16 stop signs, just today.
TriMet bus drivers don't have to follow the law. I thought everyone knew that.Â
Never mind there were 2 different vids , one browser picked one up first and not the other..weird
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Tri-Met, I hear by declare you unfit for business.
What the Hell 2 different stories with 2 different browsers? If this an alway stop, then the bus behind the camera lady ran it.
I see cars, logging trucks and buses do this all the time. Tap and go, tap the brakes, then tap the gas. Some call it a rolling stop. Even when you tell someone what they did, they do not seem to realize it. No excuses at all. Stop for a count of 2 or 3 before going. Look both ways. People sometimes do not do as much as a tap and go, they let off the gas which slows down a little, then hit the gas and go. It is too bad these people do not get tickets.
If the rules say no cell phones out, then whoever took the video needs to get off the bus.
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 @Just Lookin They were not on the bus, they were filming this while standing outside.Â
 @Just Lookin it is not a cell, it was a camera.
Tri-met Sucks!!!
Given the power of the union, I doubt  anything more than a slap on the wrist, at most.Â
 @kramr 30 days paid leave. That'll teach them.
What is news about this? These jerkoffs run red lights all the time. Any time you are near a bus you can beat that he is going to run the red light. Seems to me that this is basic Tri-Met training i.e. how to make up lost time, just don't stop for red lights.
This news how ? Everyone seen them run signs and lights not only in Gresham but everywhere !
Yep...this is Gresham Central on 8th, I live about a mile from here and use it now and again. After stopping, I proceeded into the intersection and the bus driver behind me didn't stop at the sign, but went straight thru and cut me off on my left! I called Trimet, gave them the number of the bus and the time. Never heard another word about it. These drivers come into the station like bats out of hell, barely stopping for passengers. I hope they get hell for it...big time.
 The stops in this video are after Gresham Transit center.  The driver was careless to say the least.  He or she does not represent the majority of drivers who get people around every day in spite of the bad car drivers they see every day.  If your job was to drive for 8 hours, instead of sitting at a desk, you would see all of the bad drivers of Portland who make the roads not even close to safe. Â
@Mike McCurry No it isn't...it IS the Gresham Transit Center. And regardless of where it is...he went thru a stop sign! But this IS the GTC.
 @fracas They won't. There is no such thing as discipline at TriMet, drivers can do whatever they want, just like the lady driver with 200 complaints. TriMet did nothing about her, until the news had to report the stories about her. After riding TriMet for six years, I've found there is absolutely no point in writing or calling in a complaint. It's a complete waste of time, no managers or higher ups ever look at those complaints, they couldn't care less about customer service. I'm looking into buying a car I can't afford and don't really need, just because I can't handle the stress of trying to rely on TriMet to get around.
" training or a letter"?? They're a public transporter! They should follow the basic rules of the road and be penalized harshly, a.k.a. being fired.
 @personwithwords Nope. They're a UNION. They can do anything they want and it's hell to get one fired. Remember the driver reading a kindle? The driver who kicked a mother and baby off the bus in the rain in the dark? I'm sure you remember those things.I agree, if they can't follow the rules of the road, they should not be collecting a salary and astonishing benefits to do their job incorrectly.
 @AmiM  @personwithwords WHAT A PATHETIC ANTI-UNION RANT.  Those 'astonishing' benefits you refer to are what all workers should be getting and would if they were not stupid enough to listen to cranks like you.
@AmiM @Wouldnt UliketoKnow "Smooch my donkey"? I love it ! 5:02 in the morning and I already lmao!
 @Wouldnt UliketoKnow Translation?
I've upped my benefits. So up yours.And here's my reply. Smooch my donkey. Do you really think all workers would be getting huge paychecks, health insurance for life and a free pass to get up to all kinds of f*ckery if only they didn't listen to me???
@AmiM yep. The sad truth.