Barry Road - Speeding

[rodneybewes]

spider69 Wrote:

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> That was why pavements were invented.

>

> If people used their brains and applied common

> sense which is sadly lacking there would be no

> problem.

Are you talking about drivers here? Couldn't agree more. Think of all those pesky punitive rules we could do away with like speed limits and traffic lights, parking restrictions and MOTs.

Alas, lots of them don't which is why these awful rules are put in place.

[spider69]

Actually no.

[rodneybewes]

I didn't think so.

[Townleygreen]

According to tfl, 1,889 people were seriously injured or killed in five years (2008-13). This translates as 378 a year or 1.03 a day.

Not unalarming figures I suggest, and many argue that TFL should be trying to reduce these. Easing up the pressure on drivers would be a good place to start, perhaps?

[davidk]

What pressures do you suppose are causing these KSI stats? And what measures do you think would improve things?

[BJL]

I've read this thread several times but can't find a post or link which actually says that a bus driver was fired for driving at 36mph on Barry Road - emilydina suggests it might have been around 30mph.

I would also like to mention that a 12 driver has lost his job over people who have nothing better to do than to report a bus gking a ltitle too fast.[...] So people please think of the bigger picture and stop moaning about 10mph.

I think they have an excellent and very simple system in Portugal and can't see why it wouldn't work here.

The Portuguese solution

[Bluerevolution]

BJL you obviously haven't been to Lisbon, there are no speed controls and drivers really don't give a .... , pavements are really narrow, many making it impossible for people walking in opposite directions NOT to use the road, there are TukTuk wizzing around totally regardless of what's in front of them-love the City, hate the traffic

[BJL]

Bluerevolution Wrote:

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> BJL you obviously haven't been to Lisbon, there

> are no speed controls and drivers really don't

> give a .... , pavements are really narrow, many

> making it impossible for people walking in

> opposite directions NOT to use the road, there are

> TukTuk wizzing around totally regardless of what's

> in front of them-love the City, hate the traffic

Correct - I haven't been to Lisbon but I've seen the system working fine in other parts of Portugal. However, I'm not really sure why that's relevant since (from your description) Lisbon doesn't sound very much like Barry Road. Apart from the lack of effective speed controls and drivers who "don't give a ....", that is.

[Townleygreen]

davidk,

well the bus drivers are under severe pressure to keep to timetables which means they may be/are driving in a manner dangerous to other road users - as in Barry Road? So an answer - as I have suggested - is to relax these pressures so that drivers are not constantly trying to keep to strict t-tables in London's busy traffic.

You got any ideas then?

[davidk]

I thought you meant drivers more broadly.

I completely agree. Bus drivers are incentivised (and punished) on the basis of speed of service, not ride quality or safety. And bus companies are extremely poor at dealing with complaints about poor/dangerous driving.

No real reason apart from politics and culture that the speed of buses (and all motor vehicles) couldn't be restricted to the posted limit remotely using GPS systems.

[rodneybewes]

davidk Wrote:

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> I thought you meant drivers more broadly.

>

> I completely agree. Bus drivers are incentivised

> (and punished) on the basis of speed of service,

> not ride quality or safety. And bus companies are

> extremely poor at dealing with complaints about

> poor/dangerous driving.

>

> No real reason apart from politics and culture

> that the speed of buses (and all motor vehicles)

> couldn't be restricted to the posted limit

> remotely using GPS systems.

I think that there is a trial of this about to start which should be interesting. Agree about the unfeasible targets put on to bus drivers which I have heard are a major source of stress for them. Construction companies have faced the same criticism for giving large incentives to contract tipper-truck drivers to go as quickly as they can whilst not explicity telling them to break the law.

If there is one danger to look out for on London streets, whether you are a pedestrian, cyclist, motor-cyclist, car driver - whoever - it's anyone who's on a schedule.

[flyer22]

Something really does need to be done about this. We were on a 197 that absolutely bombed down Barry Rd last night so much so that I couldn't get my phone out in time to record what the speed was. The attached screenshot is from just after we turned out onto Peckham Rye (still a 20mph).

It was actually pretty scary as at night with cars parked on both sides the road, exits/entrances obscured, there's virtually nowhere to go in the event of a problem.

But it's not just buses or Barry Road - Peckham Rye turns into a race track in the late evenings with cars and bikes doing ridiculous speeds up and own it. Very surprised Southwark/Metropolitan Police/Council aren't already all over this as there's some good enforcement money to be made here!

@jamesbarber can you raise or tell us who to contact at Southwark, TFL, the bus companies and the Met to get this looked at. There are already some good suggestions above as to how to deal with it. Near where my folks live they have a local monitoring group with a speed gun that takes the number plates of speeding cars. As I understand it, two contraventions and you get a letter from the DVLA (not sure if it's accompanied by a fine or not - I'll see if I can find out). Either way let's not wait until bunches of flowers appear at the side of the road.

[solar]

The 363 doesn't go down Barry Road.

[flyer22]

Spot on Solar thanks - meant 197. Took 363 to crystal palace and 197 back. Now updated!

Thanks again

[Nigello]

Flyr, Did you ask the driver to slow down - perhaps at a stop so you weren't distracting him or her? It's perfectly reasonable to do so. I spoke to a driver who had gone through a red light; if I hadn't he may well have continued to do so. Asking a councillor to intervene is useful but so is acting on the spot.

[wulfhound]

But it's not just buses or Barry Road - Peckham Rye turns into a race track in the late evenings with cars and bikes doing ridiculous speeds up and own it. Very surprised Southwark/Metropolitan Police/Council aren't already all over this as there's some good enforcement money to be made here!

They don't get to keep the money from speeding fines - it goes to the Treasury.

They do get to keep the money from parking fines.

So guess what's punished and what goes unchallenged - 90 in a 30, or overstaying two minutes at the shops?

[Grok]

Theyre only buses for Gods sake. Doubt if most of them can reach 25mph. Bandwagoning nimbys.

[Sue]

I once had a part-time job as a "mystery traveller" on London Buses, and driving was one of the many things I had to assess.

If I considered a driver was driving dangerously, I had to phone immediately rather than just reporting it with the rest of the results for that bus. I only had to do it once, but I have a couple of times since reported dangerous driving on buses (you do need sufficient info about the particular bus, eg the run number on its side) and each time I was thanked and told it would be dealt with.

I don't think it's true at all that bus drivers are encouraged to speed.

[davidk]

They are not explicitly encouraged to speed. But the only incentives that drivers have is punctuality of service and they are put under great pressure to hit those targets. There are no incentives regarding safety. The safety record of London buses is shocking.