[*BCM*] Need some pointers

Justin Wong lilwong at bu.edu
Wed May 17 10:54:43 EDT 2006


Thanks turtle! I generally ride all the way to the right + enough room not
to get doored. I've experienced more than annoyed motorists (aggressive,
dangerous driving) in the past when taking a full lane on narrows streets.
Though I have no problem taking lanes. I just try to "share" the road...what
a fallacy!

In any case here is the prompt response from the MBTA, they call me Ms. -
insult to injury I say, lol.

-----Original Message-----
From: Carrie Dubose [mailto:CDubose at mbta.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, May 17, 2006 10:26 AM
To: Justin Wong
Cc: Blindback
Subject: Re: MBTA Bus Route 1

Dear Ms. Wong:

Thank you for your email about an operator who you observed driving in a
dangerous manner.  We appreciate hearing from you and we sincerely apologize
for the operator's dangerous actions while driving.  There is no excuse for
it.

We assure you we take this type of report very seriously.

The type of behavior you describe goes against all the operator's training.

The operator that you encountered will be identified, interviewed and
re-instructed on rules about on our driving policy.  Any further infractions
will result in more severe discipline.  The MBTA has a progressive
disciplinary policy, up to and including termination.

Again, we extend our apologies.  Thank you again for writing.

Carrie Dubose
Superintendent of Transportation
Cabot Garage 


 

-----Original Message-----
From: bostoncriticalmass-bounces at bostoncriticalmass.org
[mailto:bostoncriticalmass-bounces at bostoncriticalmass.org] On Behalf Of
turtle
Sent: Wednesday, May 17, 2006 10:37 AM
To: Boston Critical Mass
Subject: Re: [*BCM*] Need some pointers

First of all, yeah, bus drivers suck.  Not all of them, but many of them are
so completely insane when it comes to safety and respect.

Secondly, you won't be able to find a police report, since no damage was
done and no one was hurt.  Well, you can FILE a crash report with the
police, but no one will take you seriously.  You CAN file a report with the
RMV, however.  See the MassBike FAQ for the link:
http://massbike.org/resources/  (Scroll down to near the bottom and lookf
for the "driver complaint" question.) But that will only work if you got the
driver's description, bus number, and time of day/route, for identification
purposes.

Finally, seriously, don't ride all the way over to the right.  Ride far
enough into the lane that you have pelnty of space on your right.  Take the
lane if it's narrow (as it is in most parts of Mass Ave.). 
Seriously.  You are entitled to it, and you will be safer, too.  Yes, some
motorists may get annoyed, but they won't treat you as if you were
two-dimentional, like that bus driver did.  And the more people who bike
like they belong on the road, the more people will begin to understand that
we do belong on the road.

Oh, and one last thing.  I'm glad you are ok!

-Turtle
Got arrested after getting pissy at a bus driver who harassed me...


Boston Critical Mass <list at bostoncriticalmass.org> wrote:
> 
> This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
> 
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>  
> So this morning, I almost got sideswiped and pinned by an MBTA bus. I 
> have notified the MBTA, Badtransit and T-Rage. I'll fill out an 
> incident report with the cops after work. Is there anything else I should
do?
>  
>  
> here is a copy of my e-mail to the MBTA
>  
> From: Justin Wong [mailto:lilwong at bu.edu]
> Sent: Wednesday, May 17, 2006 10:02 AM
> To: 'cdubose at mbta.com'
> Subject: MBTA Bus Route 1
> 
> 
> To whom it may concern,
>  
> This morning at approximately 8:43 AM I was biking on Mass Ave when a 
> Route
> 1 bus honked at me 3 times and proceeded to accelerate and cut me off. 
> I was riding respectfully as far over to the right as I could and 
> there was plenty of room to pass, even for a bus. The problem I want 
> to address in this e-mail is: I should not have to worry about dying 
> on our city's streets because your bus driver thinks she owns the 
> road. Fortunately for me, I was able to slam the breaks and turn 
> sharply to the right before hitting a parked car or being pinned by the
bus.
>  
> The license plate of the bus is: 2294. You can expect a police report
filed.
>  
> Sincerely,
>  
> Justin Wong
> 
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> ------=_NextPart_000_002A_01C6799C.4D40F6C0
> Content-Type: text/html;
> 	charset="US-ASCII"
> Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
> 
> <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> 
> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; = 
> charset=3Dus-ascii"> <META content=3D"MSHTML 6.00.2800.1543" 
> name=3DGENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial 
> size=3D2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=3D300332114-17052006><FONT 
> face=3DArial size=3D2>So = this morning, I=20 almost got sideswiped 
> and pinned by an MBTA bus. I have notified the = MBTA,=20 Badtransit 
> and T-Rage. I'll fill out an incident report with the cops = after=20 
> work. Is there anything else I should do?</FONT></SPAN></DIV> 
> <DIV><SPAN class=3D300332114-17052006><FONT face=3DArial=20 
> size=3D2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN 
> class=3D300332114-17052006><FONT face=3DArial=20 
> size=3D2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN 
> class=3D300332114-17052006><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>here = is a 
> copy of my=20 e-mail to the MBTA </FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN 
> class=3D300332114-17052006><FONT face=3DArial=20 
> size=3D2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN 
> class=3D300332114-17052006><FONT size=3D2><FONT=20 
> face=3DTahoma><STRONG>From:</STRONG> Justin Wong 
> [mailto:lilwong at bu.edu] =
> 
> <BR><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, May 17, 2006 10:02 AM<BR><B>To:</B>=20 
> 'cdubose at mbta.com'<BR><B>Subject:</B> MBTA Bus Route = 
> 1<BR><BR></FONT></FONT> <DIV></DIV> <DIV><SPAN 
> class=3D377105413-17052006></SPAN><FONT size=3D2>T<SPAN=20 
> class=3D377105413-17052006>o whom it may concern,</SPAN></FONT></DIV> 
> <DIV><FONT size=3D2><SPAN = class=3D377105413-17052006></SPAN></FONT> 
> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3D2><SPAN class=3D377105413-17052006><FONT = 
> face=3DArial>This morning=20 at approximately 8:43 AM I was biking on 
> Mass Ave when a Route 1 bus = honked at=20 me 3 times and proceeded to 
> accelerate and cut me off. I was riding = respectfully=20 as far over 
> to the right as I could and there was plenty of room to = pass, 
> even=20 for a bus. The problem I want to address in this e-mail is: I 
> should not = have to=20 worry about dying on our city's streets 
> because your bus driver=20 thinks she owns the road. Fortunately for 
> me, I was able to slam = the breaks=20 and turn sharply to the right 
> before hitting a parked car or being = pinned by the=20 
> bus.</FONT></SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3D2><SPAN 
> class=3D377105413-17052006><FONT=20
> face=3DArial></FONT></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3D2><SPAN 
> class=3D377105413-17052006><FONT = face=3DArial>The license=20 plate 
> of the bus is: 2294. You can expect a police report=20 
> filed.</FONT></SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3D2><SPAN 
> class=3D377105413-17052006><FONT=20
> face=3DArial></FONT></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3D2><SPAN 
> class=3D377105413-17052006><FONT=20
> face=3DArial>Sincerely,</FONT></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
> <DIV><FONT size=3D2><SPAN class=3D377105413-17052006><FONT=20
> face=3DArial></FONT></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3D2><SPAN 
> class=3D377105413-17052006><FONT = face=3DArial>Justin=20 
> Wong</FONT></SPAN></DIV></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
> <P><FONT size=3D2><BR></FONT> </P>
> <DIV> </DIV></BODY></HTML>
> 
> ------=_NextPart_000_002A_01C6799C.4D40F6C0--
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> 

----------------------------------
"One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal we
seek, but that it is a means by which we arrive at that goal.  We must
pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means." - Martin Luther King Jr.
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