Bus Driver: 2; Me: 0

So now that it's occurred to me that I can cut my commute time in half by taking the bus to work, I've been doing so most days. I actually like the bus much better than the Metro because it's bright and pretty and you can see what's going on around you as you drive. I may revise my opinion once winter gets here and it's too cold to stand around outside waiting for the bus, but for the moment, I'm a fan.

However, I always wonder about the safety of buses. I mean, they don't have seatbelts, and often people are standing up inside them, and some of the seats seem more buffered than others. The bus route I take uses some of the older DC buses, with a slightly more old-fashioned layout--the front of the bus has two long, sideways-facing benches along the walls of the bus, and then the back of the bus has two rows of forward-facing seats, two to a side. I always try to sit in the forward facing seats because I find it easier to keep my balance and also because having another seat in front of you provides a place to hold on if you have a crazy driver.

So, speaking of crazy drivers. This morning we were driving down the road and approaching a stoplight when the light turned yellow. The bus driver at first seemed to think that she could drive through the yellow light, and started to accelerate. Then I guess she changed her mind, and slammed on the brakes. This is something that happens to everyone who drives from time to time, I think--but most of us aren't driving giant buses full of people when we do it.

I was watching, and I already had my hand on the back of the seat in front of me, so while I jerked forward a little, I was more or less fine. But all the people on the sideways seats at the front of the bus slid way forward, so they all landed on each other, and two women actually flew out of their seats. One landed half on the floor, half on a man who had been next to her, and the other, an elderly woman, slammed into a metal pole. A lot of people screamed.

It was kind of nice, actually, how everyone sort of helped everyone else get up and back in their seats, and made sure that everyone was okay. Except the bus driver, who didn't even turn around to ask if everyone was okay. She just ignored the whole thing like it hadn't happened. It was probably that same jerk who drove right by me when I was waiting at the bus stop that time.

The whole bus driving thing is scary--they pick their routes by seniority, which means that the most experienced drivers pick the nice, quiet routes with few passengers, and all the busiest routes are being covered by novices. And they're under huge pressure to stay on time with their schedules, even though there are huge amounts of traffic that aren't accounted for. So in a way it isn't really surprising that they drive like maniacs. But still. When old ladies are crashing into poles and be-suited women are falling on the floor, I'm pretty sure it means there's an issue.

So tell me... have you had crazy experiences on buses in the past? Or is this just a DC thing?