Article: Brisbane buses' accident alley

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From the Brisbanetimes click here!

Brisbane buses' accident alley

Brisbane buses' accident alley
Tony Moore
April 14, 2011 - 3:00AM

Council buses crash either into a car, another bus, or a pedestrian along Adelaide Street twice a week, figures released to brisbanetimes.com.au reveal.

However, the number of bus accidents in Adelaide Street, between George Street in the city and Ann Street in Fortitude Valley, has decreased in the past 12 months, from 154 to 112.

From April 1 2009 to March 31 2010, there were 40 accidents between two buses, almost one every week. In the same 12 months, pedestrians were struck by buses 10 times and there were 104 accidents between buses and cars.

In the period between April 1, 2010 and March 31, 2011, the number of bus accidents had dropped in all three categories.

Accidents involving two buses dropped from 40 to 29, involving pedestrians dropped from 10 to four and collisions with cars occurred 79 times.

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said the accident rate showed Adelaide Street was getting safer, despite the increasing number of buses - including the high frequency CityGlider service - using the street.

Cr Quirk said the number of accidents on Adelaide Street had fallen since the council dropped the CBD speed limit to 40 km/h.

"I also think it's probably the result of fewer cars using CBD roads thanks to our record investment in extra buses," he said.

"And services like CityGlider and inner-city bypass roads like the Clem7 tunnel and Go Between Bridge."

However, Cr Quirk said he still wanted the crash rate to drop further.

"I ask motorists to take extra care when driving near buses that are continually stopping and respect that buses have right of way when they're pulling out," he said.

RACQ traffic and safety engineer Greg Miszkowycz said the statistics were difficult to interpret because Adelaide Street was such a "traffic intensive" zone.

"It is a very well-used piece of road and there is a lot going on in there, with drivers entering and leaving stops down there," he said.

Mr Miszkowycz said the road speed in that section of Adelaide Street was fairly slow and suggested accidents may not be severe.

He said accident rates could have slowed because traffic volumes had dropped, or because there had been improvements in the location of bus stops.

"There could be some improvements with bus stop configurations, so there may be fewer conflicts with traffic and make it easier to get in and out of