Cyclist hit by bus, which drives on

Levi Grech

Oct 18th 2012, 13:23

why is a bus as big as a whale is used in malta i cannot understand !

Patricia Saliba

Jul 25th 2012, 20:06

Yes ban the bendy buses from roads of Malta, toobig and yes dangerouse, u.k. had many, many accidents with them, so why are they here, if they are not catching fire at rear of bus, they have many bd accidents with cyclists, so how many accidents does it take for Malta to realise that they do not belong here, and of course a joke, especially on the coast road where there are so many bends, stop the stuborness and get rid of them, at least with the old buses, we got to places in half the time it takes with Arriva, they are toopacked with people also.

Mario Vella

Jul 25th 2012, 10:31

the coast road is not a road for cycling

Joseph Vassallo, (Bugibba)

Jul 25th 2012, 09:45

Most people commenting in favour of the old buses, seem to be forgetting that the "real 57-varieties amalgam" locally-built buses (32 to 36 passengers) were already becoming extinct and being replaced by bigger and 'newer' obsolete dinosaur buses imported privately (with subsidies) from the respective countries that had scrapped them after taking at least 20 years of service out of them.

What would be the situation today if the trend had been allowed to continue? Would we not have as many large buses as we have today only older ones that are not as roadworthy as ARRIVA's?

The problem here is the mentality of the management. They still believe they are God's gift to Malta and nobody can cause them any grief.

Amanda Camilleri

Jul 25th 2012, 09:43

I was parked in my car in front of my house when one of these monstrosities crashed into my new car, it was like an earthquake ! the drivers need more driving lessons. I am so angry with Arriva.

A Cardona

Jul 25th 2012, 09:02

Stop lamenting on these buses. Look at the bright side.... At least these are single bendy and not double ones. Imagine if the Youngman JNP6250G were to be introduced. That would have been a bigger nightmare.

joe aquilina

Jul 25th 2012, 08:29

lol issa nitfaw il htija fuq ix xufier mux dejjem ek... tiftakru meta hew ix xarabanks id DOMINANT u konna nejdu dawn wisq kbar at toroq maltin mela il bendy buses xinuwma nehejtuom min uk u gabuwom awn

Francis Raeymaekers

Jul 25th 2012, 08:28

1. Transport Malta should ask Transport London how many cyclists were killed in bendy bus accidents in London when they were in use. I believe the Maltese people will find the figure shocking.
2. The people should ask the government why this question was not asked before bendy buses were introduced in Malta.

Fear not, the election is near and the result will have little to do with policies but much to do with crass incompetence (not only in transportation).

A.f Ellul

Jul 25th 2012, 06:50

With the Maltese busses we where more better in everyway.scape the new busses and give use the Maltese buses...

C. Gatt

Jul 25th 2012, 03:16

@ Joseph John Camilleri . Mr Camilleri it seems you have never been hit by a bendybus yourself yet! I am a cyclist too and i have also been hit by a bendybus two months ago which left me with a permanent scar on my face, another unresolved arriva hit 'n run accident that could have disabled or even killed me! I am not saying there were no accidents with the old buses but for sure bendy buses (and their reckless drivers) pose more hazards on our roads! And you ask to wait and see the outcomes of the investigations? As Mr Raymond Ciancio rightly said, unless you have the bus number the case cannot be investigated, all you are left with is Arriva customer care taking you for a ride, assuring you that they will do their best to track down the bus driver from their tracking system and then leaving you with no reply at all. That is how seriously they take such potentially fatal matters! Unfortunately many accidents involving cyclists being hit bendy buses go unreported as it was in my case. It is time both the authorities and Arriva take these accidents more seriously before a fatal accident hits the headlines!

A Camilleri

Jul 25th 2012, 00:47

I cant take arriva anymore, i despise these buses!! A Bendy bus was a hair away from hitting me last time as it was coming down st julians road and i was going up infront of Dick's Bar, the driver wouldnt have even noticed the lagged swirl it gives!!! I dont ride on buses but as a driver they really ruin my day!! The joke is even worse when from St Julians pitch to Ballutta Bay this morning there was 5 buses going the same way towards Sliema!! 5 in about 1000 meters!!! where are the plans???

M A.Orland

Jul 24th 2012, 23:34

Bendy Buses have to be removed from our road as soon as possible... I'm am a cyclist.. and I am also a mother of two kids.... a bendy bus was about to cut me off and ruin my kids life... please scrap them away from our roads..!

M A.Orland

Jul 24th 2012, 23:16

Bendy buses have to be removed from our road as soon AS POSSIBLE.. I'm a cyclist and a mother of 2 kids and a bendy bus was about to cut me off and ruin my kids life.... please Scrap them away..!

Monica Muscat

Jul 24th 2012, 22:56

It is a well acknowledged thing that bendy buses are dangerous - especially on our roads - narrow, bumpy and in the hands of drivers who are not accustomed to drive these tricky vehicles.

I rode in one, some weeks ago, and the drive was not that bad. In fact, the vehicles are usually a danger to other drivers, as when you try to overtake an Arriva bus, you might not realize that there is no space for you to re-take your lane.

I would like to put forward a suggestion. Why not put a good, visible sign at the rear of the bendy-buses, indicating to drivers behind them that THIS IS A BENDY BUS - OVERTAKE CAUTIOUSLY. Or perhaps just have the back part of the bendies sprayed in a paticular car, so that drivers will be made aware of what to expect.

Alfred Cassar

Jul 24th 2012, 22:33

It's like only Arriva buses are the only danger for cyclists on our roads. A much bigger number of car drivers are more dangerous in their driving than Arriva drivers. Most probably some of these people are commenting in here against Arriva drivers.

We must also mention that there are irresponsible cyclists as well. This week I was driving behind 2 cyclists cycling one next to the other. I honked the horn to draw their attention but to no avail, they continued cycling on their way, one next to the pavement and the other basically in the middle of the road.

I had to skip the centre continuous white line to overtake them with the danger of such an action.
Shame on them irresponsible cyclists. I take very good care when approaching a cyclist but I notice that this is happening quite often on our roads.

George Abdilla

Jul 24th 2012, 22:25

@ R Ciancio, it is not true that arrive cannot track its buses according to date and time. Transport Malta has a whole setup which tracks in real time every single bus, and can check where it stopped, deviated from route, how many people it has on board, ect.

Bendy buses were banned form the netherlands after one of these Shi..y busses killed a cyclist as she got out of university to going home, and yes the driver did not even notice it had hit a cyclist.

I cycle to work nearly daily, and yes buses are not in any way biker friendly. not that many motorists are. the worst buggers are a number of truck (especially delivery ones) drivers who just keep going on . drivers must remember that cyclists are using their own power to get on, and there is no such thing as giving gas to avoid an accident!

Gert well soon N.F.

Alfred Grech

Jul 24th 2012, 21:28

Arriva should stop consulting the "experts" and listen to people who have common sense.

Bendy Buses should be used on very few selected routes, e.g. Cirkewwa to Valletta and to Airport. The buses should be smaller and in rush hours they can add some extra ones on busy routes. Many times in the evening i see big buses with one or two passengers in them - it's waste of diesel.

A lot could have been predicted but the "experts" failed to foresee the problems.

Philip Mizzi

Jul 24th 2012, 21:08

Whoever coined up the idea and brought bendy buses to Malta deserves a medal. This medal should be of an orange colour and in the form of carrot with the engraved words in capitals 'HARM TAZ-ZURBETT'. You do not need to be a genious to anticipate that these buses are not suitable for our roads.

They are not even economically viable because they are rarely seen having a number of passengers that justifies their capacity. Therefore the few occassions when these are filled significantly with passengers to justify their size, far outweighs the desiel consumed on several other occassions that these are not. One must keep in mind that the extra weight of the bendy bus (the second wagon) is carried by its engine which must consume more fuel for this effort. Thus if this genious that plagued our roads with bendy buses thinks that a bendy bus does the work of two drivers(and therefore is econical) he need to take an intensive course in common sense.

In any case,in my eyes, our roads and the dense traffic that uses these congested roads should have never seen such large vehicles introduced locally.

Pamela Borg

Jul 24th 2012, 21:03

The problem here is most of the Arriva drivers. They're driving in such a dangerous manner. Very high speeds, pulling out of bus stops without checking if a car is overtaking & the list can go on & on. ARRIVA if you don't discipline your drivers, there's going to be lots more incedents that there have been

Joseph Cremona

Jul 24th 2012, 21:02

The Solution is..... scrap the bendy busses once and for all...

Vera Sant Fournier

Jul 24th 2012, 21:02

I fully sympathise with the cyclist and wish her a speedy recovery but out of experience many a time I have experienced cyclists riding their bikes very irresponsible on the road especially the coast road...the driver of the bus might not be fully at fault and the fact that its a 'bendy' bus might have nothing to do with it.

Denis A. Darmanin

Jul 24th 2012, 20:45

Since the removal of the pedestrian crossing from the Christ the King area in Floriana to the Triton Fountain and the re-use of the former terminus, a new danger has been created. Apart from not having a proper crossing, one has to keep an eye for any busses coming from Triq ir-Re Dwardu onto the terminus from your rear right side. Some drivers don't stop or slow at the corner and take the turn at the same speed that they were travelling. Last near miss were two senior citizens scrambling for their lives while crossing this stretch.

Jamie Cutajar

Jul 24th 2012, 20:41

Grazzi Austin. Your expedience is our permanent reality.

Steve Giordano Imbroll

Jul 24th 2012, 20:35

Its only a matter of time that somebody will get killed. Who is going to be responsible? Why is nobody taking notice that the number of cyclist increased and also the number of dangerous drivers

Joseph Vassallo, (Bugibba)

Jul 24th 2012, 20:23

EU regulation 1360 of 2002 lays down that vehicles that fall under EWG regulation VO(EWG)3820/85 must, as of 1st June 2006, have digital tachography built into them.

If a bus can carry more than 15 passengers, it is mandatory that it has encrypted-data recording devices;

I am told by my insurer that ARRIVA will only supply data about the behaviour of their vehicles if ordered to do so by the court.

I asked ARRIVA to confirm that their KING LONG vehicles, (imported into Malta last year and presumably built after the contract was awarded) comply with this requirement.

My requests have already twice met with the stock reply from their customer care department, "We have asked the person taking care of such matters and will get back to you as soon as we have an answer."

I am not suggesting that this incident was caused by over-speeding because I was not there to witness the accident; however, the frequency of speeding buses has become a constant danger on our roads and SOME drivers seem to be under the impression they are driving trains on railway lines instead of buses on heavily-trafficked narrow roads.

According to Malta regulations, buses are subject to a speed limit of 60 kph.

Malta Transport should confiscate and survey ARRIVA's tachography data and determine if it is necessary to start breathing down their necks.

I hope this cyclist is not seriously injured and that she recovers quickly.

Mr raynond ciancio

Jul 24th 2012, 19:56

well i know what they will tell them, the same they told me, unless you have the bus number we cannot take action. so don't forget the next time a bus runs you down or one of their educated drivers threaten to ram your car with his bus don't forget to get the bus number. the exact time and location is not enough according to an email i got from arriva themselves.

R Axisa

Jul 24th 2012, 19:38

These bendy buses are not only bending objects but also persons! Scrap them away!

Edward Camilleri

Jul 24th 2012, 19:29

the problem is not just bendy buses, but the traffic situation. The arrogance shown by Maltese drivers is unimaginable in a small island such as Malta

Victor Pulis

Jul 24th 2012, 19:23

Arriva route buses were involved in 1,294 accidents between the beginning of July last year and the end of April this year, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi told Noel Farrugia (PL) in reply to a parliamentary question today.
That's an average of 4 accidents a day!

Victor Pulis

Jul 24th 2012, 19:20

Bendy buses are cost effective and that's all that matters to Arriva. We were warned by people who were familiar with these vehicles long before they were introduced in malta but all their warnings fell on the deaf ears of our so called experts.

S. Azzopardi

Jul 24th 2012, 19:16

Articulated buses are a danger to everyone, including those boarding them. This accident could have had far worse consequences. Unfortunately in Malta we do not preempt disaster but make amends when tragedy strikes. When something terrible will happen will all those who have brought these road hazards to Malta be held responsible?

Christian Borg

Jul 24th 2012, 18:54

@Charles Vella - clearly not the case here! Accident happened at 4pm.

Eric Muscat

Jul 24th 2012, 18:48

I'm a cyclist and I have seen a marked improvement in the attitude of bus drivers towards cyclists - of course there are exceptions. Bendy buses are a huge challenge to drive on our roads and it is very easy for such machines to hit other road users without the driver even noticing. It is clear that bendy buses are a treat to road users making all road users more vulnerable. The risks of an accident are too high - and we therefore have to (either) remove the bendy buses from our roads (or remove all other road users). Can TM grab the bull by the horns and remove the bendy buses from our roads - as of tomorrow please?

Ramon Casha

Jul 24th 2012, 18:28

How long will it take for the authorities to admit they made a mistake and remove these wheeled bad ideas from our roads.

Gilbert Formosa

Jul 24th 2012, 17:52

from experience bendy buses are the greatest threat to cyclists....seems drivers are not aware of how wide their vehicles are or that when they turn round a corner that can literally squash a cyclist if they are not careful!!!

Pierre Mazzacano D'Amato

Jul 24th 2012, 17:39

That's terrible news. I think that the Coast Road in Baħar ic-Ċagħaq should have a dedicated cycling lane (with safety barriers and all) to protect vulnerable cyclists.

PMD

CHARLES VELLA

Jul 24th 2012, 17:34

l know that l might sound not nice for cyclist but please be aware in the early morning some times , the rare little light is not visible enough ..In dark roads like Mellieha by pass high visibility vest will help .
Thanks cycling is the best exercise .

Alexander Galea

Jul 24th 2012, 17:22

unfortunateley big is mighty and ignorance is common amongst many drivers... how many more people need to be injured before cyclists start getting respect on the roads ?

Amy Mifsud

Jul 24th 2012, 17:06

The 10 commandments for drivers in respect to motorcyclists / cyclists :

1. In general there are 3 shiny squarish things two on either side of the car and one in the middle… they are called MIRRORS. It is free of charge to use them to check whether you are squashing anyone while driving! It is also advisable to turn your head.

2. The modern cars have washers which are intended to spray water on the windscreen to clean it. Please make sure that it is aimed towards the windscreen, or the next time I will drive by the driver’s window and throw him a glass of water!

3. Even if you are the richest person, in Malta you should still drive on the left hand side of the lane and not in the middle of the road.

4. I do understand that it is frustrating that you are stuck in the traffic and I am happily whistling while driving past you, but this by no means gives you the right to slightly swerve the car to block me. Usually sports helps more to ease tension and frustration (keeps you healthy too).

5. I understand that being Mediterranean we talk a lot using hand gestures, but you can still emphasize your point by keeping your hands inside the car (unless you wanna hi5 me!)

6. Unless you have 2 pairs of eyes, please refrain from using your mobile to text or call while driving. You might think that you are that good, but honestly you’re not.

7. Bus drivers… may I remind you that you are responsible to maneuver the whole length of the bus, therefore please ensure that you are not squashing me while turning.

8. Unless you are still new to Malta, you might have noticed that the roads are not smooth (to say the least), therefore please do not try to push us to one side and drive us in a pot hole just because you do not want to follow the highway code and wait to reach a point where you can over take.

9. Your main focus should be driving. Try to avoid distractions to the driver, this includes parents shouting at children, loud music, people trying to educate their pets in the cars, lovers disputes, etc.

10. Finally the saying Size matters applies in a lot of situations, but the road is not one of them. RESPECT everyone.

Please keep in mind that I wear a helmet, so you might not recognize me….I might be your relative, friend or future employer!

Our thoughts go to the cyclist and hope that at least we will have one more cautious driver!

Charles Vella

Jul 24th 2012, 16:59

Remove these bendy busses!! Our roads are much too narrow for them and they are a peril!! Malta is in the EU, but we don't have as much space, se we cannot be like them in this regard!

Government, wake up please! This accident could have been fatal and most Arriva accidents involve these ugly bendy busses. Get rid of them, we don't want them!

Mr robert micallef

Jul 24th 2012, 16:59

near misses with busses are an every day event for cyclists. Many of the times they overtake on a bend such as the ones on the coast road. this is really dangerous as the back of the bus will come even closer to the cyclist. if they could only slow down for a couple of seconds the cyclist would be easier to overtake on a straight part. also these buses have the engine at the back which makes the cyclist believe the bus is still further away or sometimes we do not even hear the bus coming.

Mr Andrew Azzopardi

Jul 24th 2012, 16:55

i was almost crushed by a bus once, I had to hug a wall, with the bus being maybe 10-15cm away from me. These buses are too wide for our country...