I'm so bloody annoyed.
I know that drivers are annoyed, too.
We're annoyed with people who can't shut up, who feel a tremendous desire to tell the bus driver their whole life story.
Here's what happens when you bother the GO bus driver who is trying to drive 70 km/hr. You slow him down. You make him brake prematurely. He misses people and stops.
You're a jerk if you disturb your GO bus driver with 40 people on board. You're endangering my safety, their safety and the safety of others on the road.
He's trying to concentrate on everything going on around him. His brain is processing and disposing of information faster than what was thought humanly possible. But when you start to natter in his ear, his focus is more on you and less on the road.
My driver ran a red light this morning. He didn't even notice. It wasn't his fault. It was yours - the one who won't shut up.
You know who I am and I know you will read this.
I called you out on it and you didn't like it. Tough. Just stay off my bus.
Wow. Good for you.
ReplyDeleteMost drivers are too kind, torn between providing customer service and doing their job.
What did he/she say? Don't leave us hanging.
I addressed HER on the bus platform. She was unapologetic. She said she has no problem driving with three kids screaming in the car so she's pretty sure the driver can handle it.
ReplyDeleteShe's a tool. She doesn't understand.
I, for one, find it difficult to drive with screaming kids in a car. My concentration is shot.
She probably texts, drives and drinks coffee while steering with her knees.
Grr...
So she can drive with screaming kids in the car? That's something to be proud of? How about being proud of the fact that your children are well-behaved and disciplined enough to shut the hell up while you driving them around? It's no secret that distracted driving is as dangerous as impaired driving, and the red light incident this morning is all the proof you need.
ReplyDeleteShe's behaving like a selfish a-hole who thinks that the driver, and the whole damn bus, is interested in her life. Self-important, self-obsessed, and selfish. Notice the common denonminator here?
The bus driver needs to stop being so nice and tell her that everyone's safety is his/her responsiblility and that she must be able to focus on driving without the unnecessary distractions.
Driving a car and drving a bus are two different things...completely.
ReplyDeleteAdd to that the fact he has to concentrate on where all the stops are, etc.
Constant chattering to the bus driver should not be allowed, period.
Good. GOOD! I'm glad to see I'm not alone here in my views.
ReplyDeleteI take the bus to and from the Go train now. in the afternoon there is a woman driver who talks the ENTIRE TIME every time Im on her bus. She always finds someone to chat with and will NOT STFU. and she talks loud enough so that the entire bus can hear her. The other day she was telling some guy about her visit to the doctor!!
ReplyDeleteThat moron probably caused the driver to gain some demerits if someone complains about it too.
ReplyDeleteI could never be a bus driver simply because when people talk to me while driving would be told to shut the f*** up while I'm driving. Customer service meh. I wouldn't last long as a bus driver.
You have more guts that I for confronting the clucking hen on the platform.
Going up to the driver and asking him a quick question is one thing.....nattering on and on about it is another.
ReplyDeleteHopefully the drive learned his lesson today and will ignore her going forward. Thank goodness he didn't hit a car in the intersection and kill somebody.
I talk to my TTC driver friends sometimes... but the TTC rarely gets over 30km and the stops are easier to see.
ReplyDeleteGads, what will it take for her to shut up? Maybe going through the windshield when the driver has an accident because of all her yapping. Not that I want that to happen. Lucky there wasn't a bigger problem when he ran the red light. Stay safe, CJ.
ReplyDeleteA simple hello when she boards and a thank you, goodbye when she disembarks will suffice.
ReplyDeleteGeorge, I can picture that now.
Passenger: So, my sister's wedding is this weekend, her dress is horrible but I held my tongue.
George: Shut the fuck up!!!
Passenger O_O
To me this is like talking to me when I am driving somewhere unfamiliar and I am trying to find an address....don't talk to me brain is full.
ReplyDeletePeople should shut the hell up on a GO Bus because the driver needs to concentrate to a) do his job, and b) ensure that the passengers on board arrive at their destinations safely (and alive).
ReplyDeleteYou wouldn't see people hanging out in the engine of a train talking to the conducter (is that the term?), or in a cockpit chewing the pilot's ear off.
I'm disappointed she hasn't made an appearance here to try to defend herself.
ReplyDelete*sigh* I shall go back to updating legislation.
Some idiots just can't resist a captive audience. When they see someone whose job demands that they stand or sit in one place, they're like sharks on a bleeding sealion.
ReplyDeleteAbout 10 years ago, I signed up to be a Deputy Returning Officer for Elections Canada. The poll clerk with whom I was paired for the day would not shut up. She started out by telling me the whole story of her most recent kitchen renovation. Then she proceeded to tell me her views on politics (she'd only vote for someone if they came out against homosexuality and promised to block, and I quote, "fags getting married").
Then she started telling me about her religious views (extreme Christian fundamentalist) and saying God had obviously put us together so she could evangelize me and that God wanted her to invite me to attend her church on Sunday, and she would even pick me up and give me a lift there and introduce me to everyone, and she just needed my address and phone number to set it up.
At this point, I was seriously contemplating faking a heart attack to get away, but if that wasn't enough, she then got into this great business opportunity she wanted to hook me into. Lots of members of her church were making their fortunes, you see. It was obviously some type of Amway scam, but she wouldn't admit it was Amway and said (not asked) she'd bring her business partner by my house for a preliminary meeting.
Like I say... Some people can't resist a captive audience.
As for the woman you confronted, it's rare for anyone to be contrite when called on their bad behaviour. Their fragile egos are wounded, their adrenaline level spikes and they get into "You're not the boss of me!" Kindergarten fight/flight mode. Hopefully, she'll go home and reflect or at least be embarrassed enough by the dressing down to avoid similar behaviour in the future, but I wouldn't put money on it.
Do you recall The Simpson's episode where Lisa took a bus and needed to ask the driver a question?
ReplyDeleteThere was a sign saying, "DO NOT TALK TO DRIVER" that the driver would tap when she spoke to him. When she continued, he said, "Don't make me tap the sign again!"
First thing I thought of Calvin. Lol
ReplyDeleteAlex
I'm a new driver and I can barely concentrate when I'm driving my sister's friends around - and they're not even that loud. But driving a bus must be brutal!!! I mean, it's huge and it's heavy and it could kill someone so easily if the driver can't give it his full attention. Jeeze.
ReplyDelete