Hey Cowboy, You’re Bus-Ted

By Dan Hutton on October 31, 2010 in

When are the RTA and police going to crack down on cowboy STA bus drivers blatantly flaunting the speed limits in an effort to get their off-service suburban juggernauts back to the depot so they can knock off work?

A few weeks ago as I headed homeward along Anzac Parade an empty bus was occupying the inside lane near the corner of Moore Park Road.

One naturally assumed the bus was going to turn into the bus-only road that runs parallel to Anzac parade.

But no, the driver proceeded straight ahead and, not happy with the legal speed limit the car in front was doing, switched to the middle lane behind me and then changed to the outside lane past the Eastern Distributor exit.

The bus was doing at least 20km/h over the legal 70km/h limit, judging by the gust of air it produced from its slipstream as it passed.

On the approach to Alison Road I maintained the inside lane to veer left toward Darley Road, when the idiot in the bus who was on the far outside lane leading into Anzac Parade crossed three lanes and nearly took me out.

I swear there was only a coat of paint between the two of us and he also had the audacity to sound his horn as if to say, “Get out of the way”.

This sort of behaviour is inexcusable, and boy did I let him know it when we came to a stop at the Doncaster Avenue traffic lights.

But typical of the ignoramuses some of these people are, he just looked at me through the closed doors as though nothing was wrong.

My preferred form of transport is a 125cc motor scooter, which has sufficient power for me to comfortably commute in and around the Eastern Suburbs.

The weight of an unladen STA bus is around three tonnes. My scooter, with me on board, is close to 200kg. To be confronted by this behemoth was akin to a size 10 Blundstone stepping on a bug.

In hindsight I should have taken his number, but my main concern at the time was self-preservation and I just got the hell out of there as he disappeared into the darkness toward Randwick Depot.

For any of the STA officials interested in this rant, the time was 9.30pm on the night of Wednesday, September 22.

I have, in the past, incurred the wrath of many an Eastern Suburbs bus driver by writing about their inability to run on time – or even show up at all – when I was a regular public transport commuter.

And I do admit I did feel a little sympathy for them after hearing their tales of woe about having to meet timetable deadlines and cope with the horrendous Sydney traffic.

But after this incident, what little sympathy there was has gone out the window.

In future I will be making a note of any bus I see breaking the speed limit and I urge other car drivers and bike riders to do the same and inform the relevant depots of the indiscretions.

This practice has to stop.

We regularly see in the media horror stories of tragedies involving heavy vehicles on major highways where speed is to blame.

Let’s hope we don’t hear about one involving speeding buses in the Eastern Suburbs!