BUS drivers are flouting safety rules introduced after a Manchester Evening News investigation showed how pedestrians are being put in danger.
A 10 mph voluntary speed limit was established two years ago for buses on the busiest shopping streets in the city centre after an M.E.N. speed trap proved that drivers were travelling alarmingly fast.
But when we set up a new speed trap, we discovered buses are still being driven at high speed. We clocked one vehicle travelling at more than 40 mph.
Twenty-six people have been hurt at the junction of Market Street, Cross Street and Corporation Street in three years - 20 involving accidents with buses. Now, fresh calls have been made for stricter enforcement of the safety rules in a bid to save lives.
The legal limit is 30mph, but bus companies agreed to stick to the 10mph limit after our first unofficial speed trap following the death of a 45-year-old Blackley man.
Worst offenders in the latest test were the free Metroshuttle minibuses that ferry passengers to and from train stations, with one bus reaching 42 mph.
They are operated by First and funded by the operator, Manchester City Council and Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive.
Regular First services were also found speeding, with one bus reaching 39mph near the pedestrian crossing on Corporation Street where we used our radar gun.
Stagecoach drivers did not break the speed limit but still reached speeds of up to 23mph, and a Bluebird bus was clocked at 32mph. All but a handful of the buses broke the 10mph voluntary limit, though some slowed after spotting the speed gun.
Improvements
Car drivers also broke the speed limit, despite being banned from using the road during the day.
Blackley MP Graham Stringer, who has campaigned for safety improvements at the junction, said: "It is dangerous and shocking. Bus companies need to get control of the behaviour of some of these irresponsible drivers.
"There are a lot of shoppers walking from a pedestrian area to find 40 tonnes of bus driving at them at 40mph. That is very frightening."
Ian Davies, First's managing director for bus services in Greater Manchester, said: "Safety is paramount in everything we do and we fully support the voluntary speed limit.
"We have our own radar gun which is regularly used within the city by our inspectors, who ensure our services are being delivered safely. We would be grateful if the information collected could be forwarded on to us and we will thoroughly investigate it. We will also issue a reminder to all our drivers."
Mike Dunstan from Bluebird Bus company said: "The code was introduced a few years ago and I think we, along with other operators, recognise that it probably needs freshening up.
"Any drivers of ours caught speeding or breaking the voluntary code will be dealt with by us. I do think it's time to re-write the code and refine it to bring it to the forefront of people's minds again."
Ray Cossins, commercial director for Stagecoach, said: "Each driver is given a copy of the code and we do endeavour to follow it, but clearly driving at 10 mph is difficult to do at times.
"It is more about driving safely at a suitable speed. We do our own speed checks and would support a 20mph speed limit."
"New drivers know about it but I think we need to keep refreshing it for our other drivers."
Should all buses stick to the voluntary speed limit of 10mph in the city centre? Have your say.
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If my experience is anything to go by I recommend you put reporters by some of the traffic lights in and around the city centre and see how many buses go through on red. Then actually send some reporters on journeys out of town. You will then see the disregard for passengers safety and convenience typically shown, involving speeding, red light jumping and heavy braking plus of course the old favourite of speeding past stops with passengers waiting when there is plenty of room on the bus. I assure you it will make an eye-opening story.
I think 10 mph can be dangerous in the fact that it is too slow. People who are waiting to cross sometimes walk in front of a bus thinking it is stopping, when in fact it's doing 10mph. I think a more realistic speed would be 20mph. Then there can't be any exuse for any driver. Also, common sense would help. There is no exuse for doing over 30mph on a narrow, busy city centre street. Anyone doing this should not even have a licence!
Yes the limit should be 10mph at the junction of Cross St, Corporation St and Market St - it is a very dangerous junction with so many buses stopping and overtaking each other and confusing with Market St being pedestrianised. Surely the number of routes using Cross St is also to blame - hence the number of vehicles people have to watch out for. If the routes were adjusted a bit so that they didn't all congregate outside Boots maybe taxis would be allowed to use the road as well.
I think the speed cameras must be wrong all the buses I get on are late!!!!!!
come on all you speedsters, give all pedestrians and passengers a fair GO, slow it down, you would never forgive yourself if you injured or killed a person .
Rach, Crumpsall, I agree entirely. I work on Cross Street and find that in the mornings, on lunchtimes and going home at night, the amount of buses on that stretch of road is ridiculous. I'm not surprised either, that there have been numerous accidents involving pedestrians and buses. A few months ago, I saw a pedestrian literally mown down just outside the back of Boots, when a bus travelling towards Albert Square, went on the wrong side of the traffic island and hit a pedestrian, throwing them into the parked cars. I don't know how badly injured they were, but they had been knocked unconscious. These drivers seem to think that they can drive at unsafe speeds and it is up to the pedestrians to run/jump out of their way.
Some bus journeys I have been on have been positively scary with drivers taking stupid risks and driving at excess speed. I think the speed limit in the City Centre should be 20mph and I think all drivers should remember that the Highway Codes stipulates that pedestrians always have right of way. For those who can't think why this should be the case, how many vehicles have you seen "killed" by hitting a pedestrian? And for those who speed up towards pedestrians (and we have probably all seen this happen) - shame on you!
With a Headline "speeding buses put lives at risk" there are seventeen words in the article are a greater risk to lives. "car drivers also broke the speed limit, despite being banned from using the road during the day" there is no mention of what speed your reporter found these cars doing and why the banning of cars is not being enforced. The extra traffic caused by these cars are putting the lives of manchesters pedestrians and bus drivers at risk. This would not feature in a Manchester Evening News article as they are so anti bus.
Yes, I've nearly been hit by a bus on Oxford Road when crossing the road- I felt the bus against the back of my jacket as I stepped onto the pavement - you almost feel they speed up on purpose to frighten pedestrians off the road!
I've been a driver in this industry for over 20 years and seen a decline in standards. This decline is measured in the rate of pay in real terms for drivers. Where bus drivers were once well paid, they now have such a rate of pay that any of them who has a family is on some kind of income support. To say that the kind of person taking up a job as a driver is the less well educated nowadays is not totally untrue! If you pay peanuts...You get..
I am thankful to the Manchester Evening News for their efforts to improve street safety. As an individual and as a member of the Greater Manchester Pedestrians Association (Living Streets), I know that every means available must be used to control thoughtless, selfish or simply stupid drivers. There are times when pedestrians or cyclists have only themselves to blame BUT drivers have a powerful weapon under THEIR control, they have the final responsibility and should take the consequences of any death or injury caused.
Well spotted MEN! I recently had a 'First' bus drive at me while i was on the pedestrian crossing at Piccadilly. He then opened his window to tell me it was his 'right of way' even though i was already on the crossing. I am still waiting for First to come back to me............
I think that section of road should be pedestrianised especially now that the new Arndale is almost complete. This would make exchange sqaure a much nicer place to be and remove completely the junctions at Market St and at Urbis. Busses can then go via the new bus station, Victoria Train station, down deansgate and up past No.1 Deansgate to re-join cross st near Boots.
Not only will this increasee safety but will increase the environmental qaulity of that whole area.
Busses need to be kept to MAIN ROADS like Deansgate and not put through pedestrainised areas like exchange sqaure on stupid little 'rat runs' that just encourage speeding by removing obsticles to speeding like a queue of cars at the traffic lights.
It is virtually impossible to cross the road in Piccadilly now. If there is a zebra crossing there, and drivers do not stop for pedestrians who are using it, the drivers should be proscecuted. Will it take someone being killed for it to hit home to these drivers that pedestrian safety is important?
i was on a bus today and witnessed another car having to mount the pavement because the bus was going so fast. The car had right away to my view and was in the right to go, but the bus driver had other ideas and went though causing the car driver to mount the kerb. That could have caused a serious accident if the car driver hadn't reacted fast or the was someone on the pavement. THEY NEED TO STOP THINKING THEY OWN THE STREETS
Cross Street MUST be pedestrianised. It was for a year or so after the bomb and what a quiet and pleasant place it was, while it lasted. Now there's busses driving fast and aggressively towards pedestrians and they fill the street with smoke and noise. Oxford Road from the BBC to the city centre is also appalling, making a walk to Manchester Museum unbearable. Of course the cars shouldn't be on Cross St., but by clogging it up they slow the busses down, making them less dangerous and less polluting. Pedestrianisation of Cross St. is the only way to stop busses crossing the city centre unnecessarily and it would be better if busses turn back just short of the city centre i.e. at Victoria, rather than crossing it.
The MEN should also measure diesel particulate emmissions (soot) in the city centre, almost all of which comes from busses. Busses have for too long been above criticism.
(My thanks to Clarissa Satchell and Joseph of Prestwich.)
I think the 10 mph is a ridiculously low speed limit. 20 mph is more practical. I think people are running away with the idea speed kills. This time they have taken this too far with a 10 mph speed limit. Modern buses can stop very quickly from 20 mph.
Once again the Manchester Evening News has taken the lead role in highlighting the serious problems of speeding buses throughout Manchester city centre putting pedestrians lives at risk, with so many different bus companies fighting the bus wars to keep afloat is it any wonder we are forced to dice with death, dodging speeding buses and other traffic everyday whilst crossing the ever increasingly busy city centre streets? With the city centre having some of the worst traffic junctions in the country how many more innocent people will be killed before action is taken
As i am a driver myself, I have knocked someone down. the police and GMPTE were happy with my speed at the time of the incident, as i was going at around 10mph. She stepped out in front of me,whereas every other pedestrian had stopped. It is not a pleasnt experience. pedestrians do not have the right of way,that's why there are pedestrian crossings. When the green man is on, buses stop pedestrians walk. When the red man is on pedestrians stop buses have the right of way. it's a legal requirement which is written in the Highway Code. it's a shame the MEN Reporter does not report pedestrians Jay Walking, for those who have almost been knocked down are the ones who cross the road in a negligent obnoxius manner.
"There are a lot of shoppers walking from a pedestrian area to find 40 tonnes of bus driving at them at 40mph. That is very frightening." Funny how that doesn't stop anyone crossing that junction when the lights are red! Pedestrians are responsible for their own safety too.
Whilst I am in favour of closing off cross street to all traffic. The uproar would be 10 times greater from people who have to walk further still to catch their bus!
As both a driver and a pedestrian, I have a question for all drivers.
We all know how frustrating pedestrians are when we are driving (and equally, we all know how frustrating drivers are when we are pedestrians!)and there is nothing you can do if someone steps out in front of your vehicle - that is accepted. However, what would you do if you were driving towards a Pelican crossing when the lights were on green and there was a person crossing the road?
I know what my answer would be, every time. No matter how frustrating, irritating, annoying, wrong, right, whatever, I would always SLOW DOWN and avoid hitting the person crossing the road, rightly or wrongly. The fact that the lights are on green for me is IMMATERIAL!!! I would much rather be a few seconds late than be responsible for hitting and possibly killing someone. Think about it. What would happen if that person stumbled or stopped for whatever reason. Why not err on the side of caution and reasonableness and SLOW DOWN!!! We should all try to be nicer and more tolerant of each other. The world would be a much better place if we were.
Busses can start at the new interchange at Shudehill and leave the city heading north or past Victoria. Busses heading south shouldn't start in the north. The interchange should be a very pleasant place to wait for a bus. If Cross St. were pedestrianised from say Exchange Sq to Boots, then the city centre would have a place where people of all ages could enjoy a quiet, unpolluted and safe space.
If you have children, and I have one aged 7, they are unpredictable and as a parent you can only relax and let them go when you are away from traffic. I think that pedestrianisng this short section of Cross St. would be a start in making Manchester more family friendly. Old folks also like tranquil spaces.
" there is nothing you can do if someone steps out in front of your vehicle - that is accepted "
No its not.
Cross street must be pedestrianized, till that time, the Police must take action against those drivers using the road illegally though the no entry signs need to be clearer.
I am interested to know where these 40 tonne buses are that Blackley MP Graham Stringer talks about.