Megabus from Chicago

[dewthedru]

they are def speed limited to a lower speed than 75

[Drover]

Originally Posted by aragx6

^Is the speed limit not 55 for trucks/buses on 55 anymore? I do think i recall hearing those restrictions were taken out, but I know that used to be the case.

The car/truck&bus speed limit differential has been eliminated; buses, trucks, cars with trailers, etc., can now travel at whatever speed the rest of traffic can.

I don't think 65 is an unreasonable speed for buses. Sometimes sh*t happens. I doubt the CoG is much higher on a double-decker bus than a conventional bus anyway. For one they're not that much taller (they achieve this by sacrificing overhead room on the first level); for another, the mechanicals that comprise a large bulk of the weight are situated pretty low down.

I think one of them double-decker buses would make a great platform for a custom two-story RV.

[dewthedru]

That may be the legal limit but that doesn't mean the fleet doesn't have speed limitations on the vehicle.

[Alacran]

Someone was killed by a megabus today.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Alacran

Someone was killed by a megabus today.

Right by my office. It'd be nice to actually see the city actually enforce traffic flow in that area - maybe now they will.

It'd also be nice to actually see them build the bus terminal they've been promising for years now a block from there, which would reduce the chaos causes by the buses in the area.

[brianjb]

Originally Posted by Alacran

Someone was killed by a megabus today.

What happened? Was a pedestrian run over or something?

[eevee]

Originally Posted by brianjb

What happened? Was a pedestrian run over or something?

From what I read, it sounds like an elderly woman was clipped in the head by the bus's mirrors as it was turning. Not sure who was in the wrong, but IIRC, the woman had the last few seconds of the "walk" sign, so it's possible that the bus rushed the turn the second his light turned green and didn't see the woman on his left or he turned on a red and didn't see her on his right.

ETA: according to the Trib, the driver was cited for not yielding to a pedestrian in the crosswalk. Really sounds like the driver was trying to turn on a red and didn't notice the poor woman in the crosswalk.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by eevee

From what I read, it sounds like an elderly woman was clipped in the head by the bus's mirrors as it was turning. Not sure who was in the wrong, but IIRC, the woman had the last few seconds of the "walk" sign, so it's possible that the bus rushed the turn the second his light turned green and didn't see the woman on his left or he turned on a red and didn't see her on his right.

ETA: according to the Trib, the driver was cited for not yielding to a pedestrian in the crosswalk. Really sounds like the driver was trying to turn on a red and didn't notice the poor woman in the crosswalk.

Without knowing the facts of this particular case, I will say the police in this town are very eager to issue "failure to yield" citations whenever a pedestrian is hit, even when it's roughly 100% the pedestrian's fault. If you're driving down the street and some kid sprints out from between parked cars right in front of you, chances are you'll still get a ticket.

[themag62]

Megabus investigations prompt federal tire bulletin - chicagotribune.com

The article says that double decker buses like Megabus uses can easily exceed the maximum weight limit for tires and that when such buses are fully loaded tire pressure should be tested and adjusted. Megabus' curb side city street loading is not equipped for this kind of safety check. Doubt I'll be riding any double decker megabus in the future. The bottom line seems to be that this low cost carrier is cramming the max number of people on the bus to recover low ticket cost, and maybe compromising safety to do so.

[aragx6]

^Very interesting/concerning. Thank you for sharing.