Greyhound Driver Stops At Motel To Rest With Bus Full Of Passengers

[pstokely]

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2016/01/06/greyhound-driver-stops-at-motel-to-rest-with-bus-full-of-passengers/

"A Greyhound bus bound for Denver made a scheduled stop in Kansas so the driver could rest at a motel, but due to the fact that the next driver who was supposed to take over wasn’t immediately available the passengers on board said they had no idea where the original driver was going or for how long.

Dozens of passengers said they were left stranded on the bus for hours outside the La Quinta motel in Salina while the driver went inside to catch up on some sleep."

[JI7]

1. i actually hope the person isn't punished too badly. something worse might have happened

if they kept driving.

maybe they were that tired that they did not even think to wait for the other person to show up.

and since this was scheduled where was the other driver ?

[LisaL]

15. Doesn't sound like he will be punished at all.

Apparently he was just following his schedule. Another driver was supposed to take over.

[kz5]

27. Company executives should be punished

[msrizzo]

29. You are absolutely correct.

This is a big problem with bus drivers even on the local level. I have been stranded on a bus because a driver's shift ends and the other driver hasn't shown up. Never this long but on a few occasions for over an hour. It's not the original driver's fault. Not only is it a safety issue, but his or her shift is over. They are not authorized to keep going just because the other driver didn't show up. Who should be penalized is the driver who didn't show up (unless they had a very good reason) or the company for not having a policy in place for when this happens. And I'm sure that it's happening more and more because it's probably cheaper for the company to do nothing than to have a back up driver available cause they might have to pay them.

[kz5]

35. This is why government needs to be involved

And why can't the drivers communicate with each other and those on the bus?

[etherealtruth]

34. would much rather this than the driver falling asleep at the wheel

[UCmeNdc]

40. Most likely he had to stop and not drive another mile by law.

I am sure there is a law that mandates the amount of consecutive hours a bus driver is allowed to drive. After he has driven that amount he must by law sleep and not drive any further.

[Prism]

2. Company problem

There are, for good reason, regulations regarding rest periods for long term drivers. My brother is a trucker, and he has to pull over and rest based on mandate, whether he wants to or not. It's a safety regulation (see: Tracy Morgan's accident).

The company didn't manage their schedule well.

I dislike the headline because it makes it seem like the driver was an asshole. Not so much. The driver went as far as he was legally able, bounced off, and expected his replacement who the company didn't manage.

This was Greyhound's fault all around. Not the individual drivers'

[ProfessorGAC]

14. Headline

I'm with you. This made is seem like the driver was just being a tool. I agree that not following the mandated rest could lead to a much worse headline, like "10 dead, 40 injured in bus accident."

[backscatter712]

19. Sounds about right.

When you're talking about a driver who's expected to steer a fifty ton vehicle full of a hundred passengers around safely, yeah, there's rules about how long you can be behind the wheel before you're expected to take a break, eat, or get a night's sleep.

Greyhound should have had the next shift's driver ready, according to schedule, but they dropped the ball.

[Tanuki]

28. Totally agree. I used to date an Amtrak conductor and there were strict regulations on

length of shift and how many hours had to be scheduled in between shifts to allow for sufficient rest. The passengers in this case were left in an unacceptable lurch, but it was Greyhound's fault and not the driver's as suggested by the headline. The company should have been on top of the situation, communicated what was going on to the passengers, and provided them with prompt assistance in getting to their destinations.

[kz5]

3. Greyhound sucks

You'd have to be a total idiot to use Greyhound.

[arely staircase]

5. It is like serving a prison sentence. nt

[pstokely]

6. Many Greyhound riders are soon to be prisoners, no ID needed and they take cash

nt

[arely staircase]

7. Not to mention the felonies right there on the bus.

I have been in a few dangerous places in the world but find the imediate area around the Houston bus station to be by far the most frightening.

[Art_from_Ark]

8. I have some fond memories of several cross-country trips with Greyhound

I must have visited 40 states with Ameripasses, and my first trip to Mexico was the result of an Ameripass stopover in El Paso.

Of course, that was back in the early '80s...

[marble falls]

12. The Greyhound terminals are always in bad neighborhoods. I think its in the contracts.

[arely staircase]

18. Seriosly. I think I would rather take my chances in Syria. nt

[Tipperary]

11. Or maybe just poor?

Why insult those who can't afford a car or airfare?

[pstokely]

13. Greyhound isn't much cheaper than flying

nt

[LanternWaste]

20. Seems equitable airfares run four to five times that amount.

Philly to Washington is $24.00, New Orleans to Houston is $26.00, Washington to New York is $29.00. I don't think it's quite accurate to state it isn't much cheaper than flying. Seems equitable airfares compared to Greyhound's fares run four to five times that amount.

[Logical]

25. We finally agree on one thing. Wow. nt

[arely staircase]

17. Nah. I grew up poor and found the average Greyhound passenger

to be menacing. One time I fell asleep on one to the sound of a man telling a woman he couldn't wait to the next stop ao he could buy some more crack. She told him she was a drug councelor. When I woke up they were having sex.

[SteveG]

21. For many people, it's their only option. nt

[kz5]

24. Which leads to Greyhound giving awful service

[msrizzo]

30. And not just because of cost, but because of routes.

They still go to places that you can't get to easily or cheaply by air or even rail. Anyone who can afford a car would probably drive these distances but there are still some folks who can't afford cars. Even if you get a cheap flight but you live in a small town, getting to your eventual destination in a shuttle or cab could be really costly. When my daughter was at college she had a medical emergency and I was on a business trip. It turned out that Greyhound could get me to her in 3 hours, faster than my other options so I was glad they were there. But I wouldn't describe it as an ideal ride, far from it. You can tell it is the form of transportation for people who have no better options.

[KamaAina]

22. Or poor, or in the 95 percent of the country not served by Amtrak

[FrodosPet]

31. It must be nice to be rich!

Perhaps you can allow some of us low life poor people the use of your Gulfstream so we can get around without the 'Hound.

[IphengeniaBlumgarten]

39. Well, total idiot here, then.

I agree that Greyhound is not elegant, but neither are the airlines anymore. I find it convenient and economical for short trips. Other passengers often appear to be people of limited means or (perhaps the same thing) college students. A few undesirables, I guess, but so long as you don't have to share a seat with them... A the drivers can be a trip.

[Egnever]

4. Better than him continuing on and killing them all

[newfie11]

9. I read elsewhere it was a scheduled stop to change drivers

The driver that stopped at the motel had no idea the replacement driver didn't show up.

Last time I road greyhound was in the late 50s and the bus had two tire blow outs.

[AZ Progressive]

10. As someone who did use a Greyhound Ameripass to go around the country, big delays are not all that unusual

Two times that a bus broke down, it took hours for a replacement bus / bus driver to come. I had to wait twice all night for a connecting bus. The only reason I took Greyhound was for the Ameripass (an unbeatable value at the time), and I cringe if anyone actually paid money for a single trip, as I heard many Greyhound customers complain.

[Hotler]

16. Safety first. n/t

[kz5]

23. Being left on a bus indefinitely isn't really that safe

[Yo_Mama]

26. Well, it's not the driver's fault. The passengers wouldn't be served by being in an accident.

It's the fault of the company for not getting the replacement driver there.

[kz5]

33. The delay wasn't communicated to the customers

Terrible. I will not take Greyhound.

[Yo_Mama]

36. Again, the company's fault. Certainly it won't help business. n/t

[Renew Deal]

32. That's funny

Except for the passengers.

[B Calm]

37. CDL has laws that drivers have to obey. Greyhound should have refunded the passengers fee or paid

all of them for a motel room too.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

38. Good for him.

Driving a bus full of people while tired would be reckless endangerment of life.

There's a reason rest hours are mandatory.

It sounds as though there was a significant screw-up here, but it was the fault of whoever was designing the schedule not having left enough slack in it, not of the drivers, one of whom was required to stop well before the other was legally allowed to start.