You've explained the blind spot problem, but not the numbers. How can 5 people be hidden behind the beam & mirror?
Mystery Solved! It is common for a group of friends to stand at a cross walk, side by side, awaiting for the signal to change. Once the signal does change, it is quite common for all friends to step-off the curb together. This 'marching line' creates a collision course, hidden behind the mirror and beam.
They may have instantaneously picked up their walking pace--sprinting across street--only to collide with bus at mid-front.
Additionally: Pedestrians rate of speed would need to be constant for the first 1 second after light change. This would keep all five hidden behind blind spot. Two seconds after light-change, pedestrians would need to pick up the pace while the driver (within 1/4 sec. time window) scanned elsewhere.
Shoulder to shoulder would put at least 3 of the 5, outside cross-walk lines and to the left. They would be to the left of the lines because their parked car was across the street from their position (10 degrees to the left of X-walk lines). This slight turn of their attention in that direction, coupled with two friends at far right--the only hope of seeing the bus--looking down at phones, while unintentionally blocking the bus from being visible to friends at left. This positioning of the pedestrians (other than what has been reported) would also explain why the bus was so far down from the cross-walk before stopping.
Why didn't the driver stop? If she had been scanning away from front center durring that 1/4 second impact window, the pedestrians would have made a slight thump (speed was too slow for it to be julting). When she turned back toward the front, pedestrians were now down on the ground. If she didn't see them go down... from her perspective... she didn't know anyone was hit.
It appears that the driver used improper speed through the intersection and failed to scan the area and be observant to the surroundings before and during the intersection. Look at (from your own diagram) how far the bus traveled after the collision. Reccomended speeds through intersection turns are 3 to 5 MPH. If this were case, the bus should have come to final rest a lot sooner than it did. A professionally trained driver will realize the blind spot disadvantage from the angle they are in and make adjustments to compensate during the subsequent actions.
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ReplyDeleteYou've explained the blind spot problem, but not the numbers. How can 5 people be hidden behind the beam & mirror?
ReplyDeleteMystery Solved!
It is common for a group of friends to stand at a cross walk, side by side, awaiting for the signal to change. Once the signal does change, it is quite common for all friends to step-off the curb together. This 'marching line' creates a collision course, hidden behind the mirror and beam.
They may have instantaneously picked up their walking pace--sprinting across street--only to collide with bus at mid-front.
Additionally:
Pedestrians rate of speed would need to be constant for the first 1 second after light change. This would keep all five hidden behind blind spot. Two seconds after light-change, pedestrians would need to pick up the pace while the driver (within 1/4 sec. time window) scanned elsewhere.
Shoulder to shoulder would put at least 3 of the 5, outside cross-walk lines and to the left. They would be to the left of the lines because their parked car was across the street from their position (10 degrees to the left of X-walk lines). This slight turn of their attention in that direction, coupled with two friends at far right--the only hope of seeing the bus--looking down at phones, while unintentionally blocking the bus from being visible to friends at left. This positioning of the pedestrians (other than what has been reported) would also explain why the bus was so far down from the cross-walk before stopping.
Why didn't the driver stop?
If she had been scanning away from front center durring that 1/4 second impact window, the pedestrians would have made a slight thump (speed was too slow for it to be julting). When she turned back toward the front, pedestrians were now down on the ground. If she didn't see them go down... from her perspective... she didn't know anyone was hit.
It appears that the driver used improper speed through the intersection and failed to scan the area and be observant to the surroundings before and during the intersection. Look at (from your own diagram) how far the bus traveled after the collision. Reccomended speeds through intersection turns are 3 to 5 MPH. If this were case, the bus should have come to final rest a lot sooner than it did. A professionally trained driver will realize the blind spot disadvantage from the angle they are in and make adjustments to compensate during the subsequent actions.
ReplyDelete