Friday 9 August 2013

"The wheels on the bus go round and round..."

"...and straight over Rover." Whoops!
The B11 bus was travelling along Longleigh Lane at around 8.25am on July 19 when it ran over the Collie dog before putting on its brakes.
Witnesses Laura Chester and Maria Sinclair say the driver and passengers got off the bus but rather than checking whether the dog was still alive, the driver got back on the bus and drove away.
 That's Bexley for you.
Thirty-three-year-old Mrs Chester, who had just dropped her son at Brampton Primary School at the time, is now urging drivers driving on this road to slow down, warning "it could be a kid next time."
 I think even a Bexley bus driver would baulk at running over a potential future customer, surely?
Operations director for London Buses Mike Weston said: “We are aware of an incident on July 19 at around 8.30am where a Route B11 bus operated by Go-Ahead struck a dog on Longleigh Lane.
"The operator is investigating the incident to ensure that the correct procedures were followed in this case.”
Well, if a report wasn't made to police...then they weren't.

8 comments:

Twenty_Rothmans said...

Okay, granted, it was wrong not to look at Fido. Stan Butler deserves a severe reprimand at the very least (and this would apply only to the most normally-conscientous driver with seven mouths to feed). Anyone else should be hailing down the P45 for unprofessional conduct.

Don't brake for dogs - ever. Scrape 'em up later.

But this pales in comparison with the gusset-foaming Mrs Chester (33), who gives us a straw man (he'd have done the same thing to a child) and a red herring (it was speeding wot done it).

This should have been given to APILN for the doggy-style/puppies reference potential and the rich seam of quality comments in the article.

"Dog looks okay to me, she's standing up holding a child picking its nose. Looks like a bus just ran over her face, mind"

Pavlov's Cat said...

I thought since they did away with the dog licence you didn't have to report a collision with a pooch to the plod any more.

James Higham said...

I think even a Bexley bus driver would baulk at running over a potential future customer, surely?

Well, you know ... let's not be too hasty with these claims now.

selsey.steve said...

Hmm. A busy road in Bexley. Buses, cars and even lorries, no doubt.
So WTF was the dog doing in the road? Was it suicidal, stupid or were the owners even dimmer than that?

ivan said...

Unfortunately dog owners get what they deserve. If they don't train their dogs and just let them run the streets this is what is going to happen.

I have run into a few dogs in my time. In all cases but one the dog had nothing but its pride, and maybe its rear end hurt. The one dog I killed used to wait just over the hill and then dash out at any car that appeared. This behaviour had caused several accidents with people being injured because they swerved to avoid the dog. I didn't and the dog didn't survive the argument with my 2 ton 4x4.

JuliaM said...

"Don't brake for dogs - ever. Scrape 'em up later."

Unfortunately, that calls for the reflexes of a F1 driver and the assessment of situation of a fighter pilot.

Not skills I think you'll find in a bus driver.

Most people's instinct would be to swerve or brake the instant they saw movement in the road.

"I thought since they did away with the dog licence you didn't have to report a collision with a pooch to the plod any more."

It was never tied to the license, PC, it was always because a dog is in the same class as horses, cattle, etc.

Cats, being 'wild animals', never were.

"Well, you know ... let's not be too hasty with these claims now."

:D

"So WTF was the dog doing in the road? Was it suicidal, stupid or were the owners even dimmer than that?"

From comments, it seems it had escaped from the owner's garden.

"If they don't train their dogs and just let them run the streets this is what is going to happen."

See above. It's unlikely this was a 'latchkey' dog.

Anonymous said...

Without being all Daily Mail Julia you are wrong about doggy related accidents.They don't have to be reported to the police anymore.However I would be surprised if bus drivers in general aren't told to at least call it in to their base for advice.
Jaded

JuliaM said...

That's funny - no-one seems to have told the....well, the police:

https://www.askthe.police.uk/content/Q434.htm

Hmmm?