I was in a ridiculous bus accident. Ask me anything.

[rbnyc]

First, I'm fine.

I take the city bus almost everyday to and from work. On the way home tonight, there was a horrible crashing sound. I've been in my share of car accidents and it definitely sounded like we hit a car, but I couldn't see. The bus stopped abruptly upon the sound and I went flying into the seat in front of me, banging my knee and my wrist. "Fuck!" exclaimed I.

To my amazement, the next thing that happened was not the bus stopping and the bus driver making sure everyone was okay. The bus just continued on its merry way and the bus driver said nothing. I was a little disoriented and in a bit of pain, but I knew I was basically okay. I looked at my fellow passengers. A man said to me, "Fill out a report with the bus driver." I nodded. I was still somewhat perplexed that we were continuing on the route so I said, "Did we actually hit something?" A woman said, "Yes, we hit a car." The bus driver remained silent.

Finally I asked, "Is there some kind of incident report I should fill out?" He gave me a form and I wrote down what happened. It was a single form - no copy. I took out my notebook, made note of the time and the number of the bus. When I gave the form to the bus driver I asked if I could take down his name. He said, "You don't need my name."

Then it was my stop so I got out.

I had to go immediately to a Cub Scout meeting.

The office for the city bus is closed and there is no way to leave a message so I will call them tomorrow. I called my precinct and they are sending a car around so I can file a report.

Immediately upon leaving the bus, I was limping just because of pain. But now, it's just a little red and doesn't hurt very much.

I just want to document the incident in case I do end up needing some medical attention. I don't want to be out of pocket on this.

But also, regarding the bus driver, what a dick. And is there some law that exempts city bus drivers from stopping at the scene of an accident?

I know it's vindictive, especially as I'm pretty sure I'm not badly injured, but I kind of hope he loses his job.

EDIT: for clarity I removed the word impacting to describe how I hit my wrist because I think that's actually a medical term and I really just mean I banged it.

[LibDemAlways]

1. It sounds to me like you were involved in a hit and run.

It's a good thing you called the police. No excuse for the driver not to stop. He's going to be in a shitload of trouble.

[rbnyc]

2. The police left a little while ago.

They said no accident was reported. They suggested he just hit a pothole. That just doesn't seem like what happened. The sound was a glass and metal crashing sound and we stopped fully. But I don't know why a person wouldn't report if their car was hit, so it really doesn't make sense.

[MilesColtrane]

3. Maybe he hit a parked car.

[rbnyc]

4. That's one possibility.

Maybe the driver just hasn't discovered it yet.

[MiddleFingerMom]

5. Wet, rainy night. I get on a bus on a state highway near the end of one of the Philly runs.

.
.
.
We hear screeching tires, and the bus reacts to a little "tap" (I was
standing sideways off-balance at the ticket machine and it only made
me sway gently from side-to-side about 3-4 inches). No big deal (to
the bus) at all.
.
Three young women in the car, unhurt -- though the front of the car
is pretty crumpled.
.
An ambulance and cops come. Five people... FIVE PEOPLE... get carried
off the bus. The cop eventually told the driver he was filing a 50/50
at fault report because the driver hadn't actually pulled all the way
over to pick me up (it was right under a streetlight). At that moment,
the driver grabbed HIS neck and asked for medical assistance. They
carried HIM off the bus.
.
.
.
I was told later that it was fairly wide-spread knowledge that SEPTA
(the bus line) would throw about $2500 -- no questions asked -- at you
if you'd refrain from filing a "nuisance suit".
.
.
.

[rbnyc]

6. Don't tempt me...

:evilgrin:

That wouldn't be right. I just couldn't do that. I kinda wish I could, but I would pay somewhere down the line, one way or the other.

[REP]

7. You're already paying by going to Cub Scouts.

Just saying'. I remember.

Glad you're okay but please don't take any chances. It can take a few days for the effects to show up (I know I don't need to remind you of this, but I am anyway).

[rbnyc]

8. Ahh! Cub Scouts!

My knee is pretty okay now, unless I put all my weight on it. But, yeah, that's why I wanted to document. If I end up realizing this is a more serious injury, I don't want to be SOL. My insurance SUCKS!

[rbnyc]

20. BTW, Cub Scouts is turning out to be pretty great,

Last night we made gingerbread houses. My son loved it. Son and hubby went on a 4 mile hike the other day, a day when they most likely would have been eating junk food and playing video games otherwise. We did a project about the food chain recently. At the beginning of the project my son thought being at the top of the food chain meant you ruled over all and were the strongest. At the end of the project he decided being at the top means you depend on everything lower on the food chain having a healthy environment and really its a position of vulnerability and responsibility. He really loves it and the activities have been wonderful and the people very open and warm.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

18. My dad used to tell the story of the EMPTY bus crash where 15 people get carried off.

He said bus drivers were told to lock the door in the vent of a crash - to keep the scammers off.

On a related note, my buddy is a workman's comp adjuster for the company who handles the Chicago CTA. He is amazed at how "hurt" the driver of a 15 ton bus can get when clipping the door of a 2000 pound car.

[rug]

9. I like this sentence:

""Fuck!" exclaimed I."

Oh, and sorry about your knee.

[rbnyc]

10. Thanks.

It feels better this morning. The whole experience was just so weird.

[rbnyc]

11. Bus Company called me...

...to follow up on incident. They said that a car had cut off the bus so the driver hit the brakes, but no car was hit. I guess the sound of a bus stopping quickly sounds like broken glass. The woman on the bus who said we'd hit a car probably couldn't see but just had the same perception I did from the abruptness and force of the stop and the crashing sound.

[WillParkinson]

12. My only advice...

Stay off your knees for a few days. And that sounds so wrong.

[rbnyc]

13. LMAO nt

[warrior1]

14. he should have stopped

this is a crime. Hit and run. Does he even know if who he hit was hurt?

[rbnyc]

17. The company said...

...that he hadn't hit anyone. He stopped suddenly to avoid hitting a driver who had cut him off. I can't account for the crashing sound, but maybe that's just what a huge bus sounds like when it comes to a stop. Nor can I account for the fellow passenger who said that the bus had hit a car, except that perhaps like me, she saw nothing but came to that conclusion because of the sound and how violently we came to a halt.

I guess it does make sense, since no accident was reported. It's just that my senses tell me something different happened.

[KamaAina]

15. Would you rather he had stopped?

I'm assuming this is Long Island, so you likely would have been stuck there waiting a half-hour for the next one. Your boy might even have been drummed out of Cub Scouts!

While this is meant mainly in jest, a Chicago bus driver once forced everyone, including my easily enraged, impatient self, off a rush-hour bus to tend to an old lady who had fallen on the bus stairs. He had just passed the point where it would be remotely possible to get a seat on any other bus going north up Michigan Ave. :grr: So I ended up walking over to the L (elevated train).

[rbnyc]

16. That's what the bus company said...

...when they called me this morning. I said I was concerned that he'd hit someone without stopping, and that we were all thrown around the bus and he didn't stop to see if we were okay. The rep said that if he had stopped, we'd have been delayed and complaining about that.

BTW, I'm from Chicago!

:toast:

[Hassin Bin Sober]

19. As someone who just got a nice 12 foot long swipe down the side of my truck...

.... from a hit and run, I'm glad you made a report.

[rbnyc]

21. Thanks.

Driver and cops were probably suspecting me of setting up some kind of fraudulent claim, but I just wanted to make sure that things were properly reported in case there was property damage or I turned out to have a more serious injury. I'm glad it turned out to pretty much be nothing. Still - it makes me feel kind of crazy because I most assuredly know what a car crash sounds like.