One of the unfortunate factors for transit agencies that operate bus lines is accidents. At the 2018 South West Transit Association Freedom Through Transit Annual Conference, John Filippone, safety & training manager for Roaring Fork Transportation Authority, discussed the “Zen in the Art of Bus Driving.”
“In most accidents, according to the national safety council, and to me, someone did something wrong. We like people to think more about what they do to prevent crashes,” said Filippone. “Your operators do a lot of things behind the scenes.”
Operators have to constantly think about not only their passengers, but also road conditions and traffic.
Filippone presented three best practices for agencies to instill in their drivers:
- Become one with the ride
- KISS — Consistentency
- Preach Precision
“Get in harmony with your systems. A good pre-trip [inspection] and a good post-trip [inspection] help. Pay attention to what is going around you. Keep it simple.
"We tell our operators that they are the captain of their ship,” Filippone explained. “If you drive consistent like this all the time, it becomes a habit and it’s easy to get through tight situations when they happen.”
When an operator comes across an unplanned situation, Filippone said that if they drive in the same way every day, they’ll be calm and, in turn, passengers will also remain calm.
Filippone said, “Once your operators start doing that, they eliminate the passenger that sits with white knuckles on the seat because they’re afraid the bus will crash or roll over. Part of the whole Zen approach to keep you calm and keep you from being wrapped too tight, is to know what is in the environment around you.
Operators should be doing traffic checks and working to see what is around the next corner.
“The standard for traffic checks is 15 seconds. That probably is not as strict as you want to be and be aware of what is around at all times and what is coming at you. What if that car pulls out in front of you? What if that kid’s ball rolls out in front of you? You need an escape plan,” said Filippone.
Right-of-way is also an essential issue to teach operators in keeping routes safe.
“Another part of the Zen philosophy is teaching the right-of-way. If you have the right-of-way it gives you a really aggressive mind set. If people have it they tend to take it,” explained Filippone. “If one of our operators said that they had the right-of-way in a crash we start to investigate, because if he was supposed to yield and had this aggressive mindset. Talk to your people about the right-of-way. Talk to them and say they don’t always have it; it’s less stressful.”
Filippone spoke about giving operators recognition or safety awards. “I don’t care if you’re late as long as you’re safe.
"Schedules are like pie crusts, they’re meant to be broken," he said.
Filippone said that when it comes to the Zen of bus operation at RFTA, it is about mindset. As each agency has different circumstances, not everything will work with all operators.
Another important aspect that Filippone mentioned was "rock and roll." If operators have a blind spot and they "rock and roll" and move around, they can see more areas in their mirrors. “A visually obstructed area is hard to see, but not impossible; if they move around they can see. Once you can teach that to people they’re going to be safe, better drivers and more stress free.”
One way to ensure that operators are driving safe and adhering to safety standards is random CCTV or a "secret shopper," an undercover rider. Filippone said that one of the most important things to take out of it is to work more on coaching rather than discipline.
“When you’re doing video ride-alongs that are random, you should make it a coaching experience,” said Filippone. He added that the process when going over a complaint is a different situation.
“If the operator is always paying attention to what is going on he doesn’t have to do defensive driving, he can do ecological driving. I’m not saying that’s an easy battle; it’s just a paycheck (to some) — it can be difficult.”
