Tour buses collide at EPCOT toll plaza..

[Studios Fan]

Does anyone know how many buses Disney operates? How many miles these buses travel each day? The numbers have to be quite high. I believe their transportation system is very safe. Accidents can and do happen, even at the happiest place on earth.

Agreed. There are some drivers though that drive a little too fast but the majority are good.

 

[Tigger#1]

My question is did the driver of the incapacitated buss put out any type of warning devices to alert on comming traffic? I have had several instances where I have changed lanes and found a parked car in a no parking area. Also if the sun was in a bad position the drivers perspective on the stalled bus may have been off.
Anybody ever have a car in the wrong lane comming at you on the interstate?
Not trying to deflect blame but I wasn't there and even though they do seem to drive prety fast I belive Disney transportation is very safe.
And yes things happen.

 

[Ziggie]

For 5 months I had the pleasure (I use that term loosely) of cleaning the Epcot Auto Plaza area on 3rd shift. Buses come through the area at all hours of the night and they never stop at the booth even though the "stop" sign is clearly displayed. I could be within a foot of the bus route but they never once slowed down. At 5AM each morning about 6 of them come roaring through the plaza at about 40 mph to begin their shift. Obviously no guests are around but it still goes to show you how careless the drivers are on property.

Now, with all of that, how can someone just drive into a parked vehicle? Especially with the location it was in the vehicle could be seen well within a 1/2 mile before approching it. :brick:

Thanks for sharing this raven. I remember talking to a bus driver when he was driving us to Downtown Disney. We got on the topic of job security and he said bus drivers could pretty much do as they pleased (he was referring to how much conversation he could carry on with passengers) because they were all unionized and that put them in the driver's seat (so to speak).

Are they unionized? Do they really have that much power?

 

[Ziggie]

Most likely the stationary bus had broken down and was stopped on the side of the road, waiting for a tow truck. The driver may have walked up to the toll plaza or over to the bus lot to call for help and/or get out of the sun if it was hot and no A/C on the broken down bus.

-Rob

Thanks Rob. I wonder if he put up some sort of hazard signs? Also, I wonder why he didn't pull off the main road and onto the grass? I have no idea.. is there a drop-off there maybe which prevented him from doing so?

lets see....

Breaking down , turning on your hazard indicators and walking off seeking assistance = logical / legal

Ignoring the road ahead of you and carelessly plowing into the rear of a disabled vehicle = illogical/illegal


I wasn't quick to blame Austin in the monocrash, but this one is pretty clear cut

I truly hope he wasn't texting or doing something else that caused him to take his eyes off the road.

Have they released the ages of the passengers that were hurt? I'm hoping against hope none of them were children.

 

[Rob562]

My question is did the driver of the incapacitated buss put out any type of warning devices to alert on comming traffic? I have had several instances where I have changed lanes and found a parked car in a no parking area. Also if the sun was in a bad position the drivers perspective on the stalled bus may have been off.
Anybody ever have a car in the wrong lane comming at you on the interstate?
Not trying to deflect blame but I wasn't there and even though they do seem to drive prety fast I belive Disney transportation is very safe.
And yes things happen.

Doubtful it was sun-related. It occurred at 2PM, with the bus heading almost due east at that point. So the sun would've been high in the sky and a bit behind them, lighting everything in front of them with not many shadows. (And even if the trees along the road were casting shadows across the road, it looks like the stopped bus was ahead of where the trees lining the road end)

At first I thought perhaps the Disney bus had just exited from the loop ramp off Epcot Center Drive onto the toll plaza road, and was otherwise concentrating on making sure the coast was clear of traffic coming up from behind them to cut over the three lanes to the bus lane to notice the broken-down bus in the right-hand lane.
But then I looked at the aerial shot on Google Maps, and the colision was just too close to that merge point, and the crash appears to have been too straight-on, for that scenario to happen.

So in all likelihood, the Disney bus was coming from World Drive. Even if they were coming from World Drive northbound, they still had about 500 yards of straight road to see ahead.

One additional scenario that might've happened is that the colliding Disney bus was following close behind a third bus. Their view of the broken-down bus was thus obstructed, and the third bus swerved out of the way at the last minute, leaving no time for the Disney bus to do anything before colliding.

-Rob

 

[Rob562]

Thanks for sharing this raven. I remember talking to a bus driver when he was driving us to Downtown Disney. We got on the topic of job security and he said bus drivers could pretty much do as they pleased (he was referring to how much conversation he could carry on with passengers) because they were all unionized and that put them in the driver's seat (so to speak).

Are they unionized? Do they really have that much power?

Most hourly positions in WDW are part of one union or another.

The union can't protect drivers from everything, especially if it's their own incompetence... There was a story from a couple years back, when the GPS part of the "Magic in Motion" dispatch and automated spiels system on the buses was first brought online as a test...
The system displayed 3 or 4 buses motionless in random, out-of-the-way locations around property when they were supposed to be out driving their routes. Managers drove to those locations and found the bus drivers sleeping/taking unauthorized breaks. The drivers were fired on the spot.

-Rob

 

[TURKEY]

omg... unless the driver was incapacitated, or there was an equipment failure.. it was the drivers fault..

get off the disney fumes and come to reality.

You are quick to judge.

What if the man/woman was in the middle of a seizure or a heart attack?

 

[WDWExplorer]

You are quick to judge.

What if the man/woman was in the middle of a seizure or a heart attack?

or what if space aliens kidnapped him and the bus lost control and crashed, and then they beamed him back just in time?

Cling onto a thread of hope.. if you want to wear rose colored glasses... this is a problem.. a BIG one.......

 

[Tigger#1]

One additional scenario that might've happened is that the colliding Disney bus was following close behind a third bus. Their view of the broken-down bus was thus obstructed, and the third bus swerved out of the way at the last minute, leaving no time for the Disney bus to do anything before colliding.

-Rob

Been there and done that on both sides. Been following to close and also had people to close behind me. Either way it becomes a bad situation real quick.

 

[bliss]

Have they released the ages of the passengers that were hurt? I'm hoping against hope none of them were children.

The Orlando Sentinel has updated its story with the passengers and passengers names and ages. The driver is listed as being in his early 40s. Four male passengers, ages 15, 16, 34, and 46 were taken to Florida Hospital Celebration. Three passengers were taken to Dr. Phillips Hospital and were 59, 60 and 5 years old. So one injured child, two teens, and four adults were taken to area hospitals.

http://thedailydisney.com/blog/2010/03/crash-involving-two-tour-buses-reported-near-epcot/

 

[TimNRA757]

Operators make mistakes all the time. Look at airlines. The way people are reacting on here you'd think it was another Tenerife accident...

 

[brkgnews]

PURELY SPECULATION:

Given this photo...

I wonder if perhaps the WDW bus driver was trying to keep an eye on the "merge point" to his left; and thus didn't quite notice a stopped bus in front of him. I've seen plenty of cars jet across multiple lanes from that curved ramp on the left to get over toward the right-hand tollbooths; I certainly keep an eye to my left when I drive through that part of property. People will do stupid stuff, and do it quickly, to try to avoid a line at the ticket plaza. So it would stand to reason that perhaps the driver looked ahead and saw a bus in the right lane (which is where they always wind up); supposedly its flashers were on, but thus far I've heard nothing to indicate it had out those hazard triangles that CDL vehicles are supposed to put out when they're disabled. So it's possible the WDW driver glanced ahead and saw a bus in the lane where buses normally are... didn't think much of it... and started concentrating a bit more on passenger vehicles zooming in from the left.

Again, PURE SPECULATION on my part.

 

[wdwfan22]

or what if space aliens kidnapped him and the bus lost control and crashed, and then they beamed him back just in time?

Cling onto a thread of hope.. if you want to wear rose colored glasses... this is a problem.. a BIG one.......

This is NOT a big problem at all. Disney transport operates daily and does so safely. Accidents will and do happen. Disney transport for the most part operates safely on a daily basis.

 

[tirian]

This crap is getting old... i drive on property at least 4 times a week, and I can tell you, nearly EVERY time I am there, I see a bus doing something careless....

Since the other bus that was involved was STOPPED, there can only be fault in one place..

This has got to stop.. it's getting ridiculous..

Saturday morning, I drove through the front entrance plaza to the Contemporary, and almost got SLAMMED by a bus that barely stopped in the toll booth. I was shouting all the way to the Contemporary guard station! :brick:

Careless driving happens.

 

[lbrad]

Prayers to the bus driver.
Hope all involved are ok

 

[niteobsrvr]

Does anyone know how many buses Disney operates? How many miles these buses travel each day? The numbers have to be quite high. I believe their transportation system is very safe. Accidents can and do happen, even at the happiest place on earth.

The number is approximately 300 busses. Somewhere aroudn 240 or so of those are probably driving about each day with the remainder in for maintenance

Mileage would vary with each bus that is on the road but a resaonable guess would be approx 100 to 200 miles per day depending which parks and resorts they are servicing and the size of the property. At the low end, that would be 24,000 miles a day and on the high end it would be about 48,000 miles.

Consider that the average US driver puts 10,000 miles on their car a year.

 

[niteobsrvr]

Most likely the stationary bus had broken down and was stopped on the side of the road, waiting for a tow truck. The driver may have walked up to the toll plaza or over to the bus lot to call for help and/or get out of the sun if it was hot and no A/C on the broken down bus.

-Rob

It was a reasonably nice day to day in cental florida with a high of 70 and a breeze.

 

[niteobsrvr]

lets see....

Breaking down , turning on your hazard indicators and walking off seeking assistance = logical / legal

Ignoring the road ahead of you and carelessly plowing into the rear of a disabled vehicle = illogical/illegal


I wasn't quick to blame Austin in the monocrash, but this one is pretty clear cut

In a commercial vehicle, you have 10 minutes of assesment time where the hazard lights are sufficient. After that, the bus should have a set of emergency triangles that by law must be placed 10, 100, and 200 feet behind the bus. IF the driver had completed his assesment and determined a call was necessary for a service truck, his very next step should have been to place the triangles as a warning.

Even so, you are correct that the driver of the Disney bus should have been paying more attention.

 

[Ziggie]

Most hourly positions in WDW are part of one union or another.

The union can't protect drivers from everything, especially if it's their own incompetence... There was a story from a couple years back, when the GPS part of the "Magic in Motion" dispatch and automated spiels system on the buses was first brought online as a test...
The system displayed 3 or 4 buses motionless in random, out-of-the-way locations around property when they were supposed to be out driving their routes. Managers drove to those locations and found the bus drivers sleeping/taking unauthorized breaks. The drivers were fired on the spot.

-Rob

And rightly so. Thanks for sharing that Rob.

The Orlando Sentinel has updated its story with the passengers and passengers names and ages. The driver is listed as being in his early 40s. Four male passengers, ages 15, 16, 34, and 46 were taken to Florida Hospital Celebration. Three passengers were taken to Dr. Phillips Hospital and were 59, 60 and 5 years old. So one injured child, two teens, and four adults were taken to area hospitals.

http://thedailydisney.com/blog/2010/03/crash-involving-two-tour-buses-reported-near-epcot/

Oh no, that's so sad Thanks bliss for the update.

 

[MonorailCentral]

Was there...

I was actually trying to get into EPCOT soon after they shut down the entrance to EPCOT.

An Orlando trauma helicopter was smack dab in the middle of the entrance plaza. The plaza was closed for well over an hour during this time. Security was routing people to the Magic Kingdom parking lot to park w/the monorail then being the way to get into the park.

Oddly enough, at the same time, there were more "shirts" hanging around TTC yesterday that it was like a convention. It was as if Monorails 1-20 were all hanging around Central. Someone IN Central seemed to be explaining something to these folks. It was interesting to watch these folks taking notes on train ops unbeknownst to guests. I'm not sure why they were there...maybe someone who worked yesterday knows.

Oh, and in case no one has said anything, Epcot Station staff apparently are now also schilling for Tron. The poor girl working platform last night was having to yell to guests, "This is the Tronorail, Tron opens in Theaters December 17, 2010." To which people responded...what's Tron? (I couldn't help but laugh inside)

Central Clear (w/o monorails 1-20)