The part I find most disturbing is that the victim states she made eye contact with the driver. Then paused in front of the bus and the drive accelerated and struck her. Are Tri-met and PPB in the same union now?

So we are not getting what we pay for? Tri-met drivers are VERY well paid and have unbelievably generous benefits.

Is Toyota making buses now?

What a sweetheart that scooterlady is in that interview. Maybe she was perceived as a threat right before getting run over. Now she really is.

Maybe Tri-Met should put pedestrian-catchers on the front of the buses:

http://www.filmsquish.com/guts/files/images/THe_general1.JPG

Ever since Trimet was able to get the law changed giving buses right of way over all other vehicles in traffic at all times I have been very wary. Remember, the bus doesn't have to wait for you to get out of the way. It is up to you to make way at all times. Watch out! I suggest that this may have gone to the heads of drivers who lack patience...

but pile up patients....

Wait a minute: Tri Met now has right of way no matter what? Can you point me to the law or to a story about it?

And does that mean they have right of way over pedestrians, too? I'm assuming here a woman in a motorized wheelchair would still be considered a pedestrian.

We almost had another innocent civilian ground up under the wheels of a TerrorMet bus.
Note to psycho bus drivers: they cant see your little red blinking triangle from the front!

"but we've only had 32 deaths in the decade so that's within acceptible tolerance"

Trimet was able to get the law changed giving buses right of way over all other vehicles in traffic at all times

Uh, what???

Sorry, TriMet doesn't have right-of-way over all other vehicles. TriMet vehicles (and any public mass transit vehicle, not just TriMet) are granted right-of-way when pulling away from a bus stop, back into the regular traffic lane, and when activating a flashing red "Yield" sign displayed at the rear of the bus. Vehicles approaching the transit bus in the same direction must then yield and allow the bus to re-enter the traffic lane.

The yield sign does NOT permit a transit vehicle to make a lane change, nor does it grant right-of-way to the bus when making a lane change. Nor does it give right-of-way at any other time, when the bus must follow all existing right-of-way rules (or, rules prescribing when it must yield to someone else) - including yielding to pedestrians, traffic at a controlled intersection, emergency vehicles, etc.

I talked to an individual (her father was responsible for establishment of the Tri-Met system many years ago)who told me several years ago Tri-Met had the law changed so it gives the bus drivers unlimited leeway in any situation with a car, pedestrian, wheelchair, etc. and their right of way ! I asked the individual why the counties gave Tri-Met this
exception and she told me it had to do with the bus schedules and how Tri-Met calculates the bus driver's efficiency rating in getting
the bus load of passengers to the next scheduled stop on their route.
In the end, what is a few DEAD,or MAIMED PEDESTRIANS along with a few additional wrecks with motorists to an agency hell bent on a GREAT EFFICIENCY RATING among transit agencies in the United States !!

Failure to yield the right of way to a transit bus law is found at ORS 811.167

See it at: https://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/811.167

If a bus is pulling away from a bus stop, cars behind it must give the bus the right of way when the yield sign on the bus is flashing.

Erik H.'s description of the law, right of way, and the Yield light on TriMet buses is correct. TriMet buses do not have carte blanche right of way as other commentors have suggested, nor have operators ever been trained to believe so.

Josh Collins
Communications Manager, TriMet Operations

Maybe when Fred actually leaves our luck will turn!
Kinda cosmic justice for Fred eh?
His kingdom falls apart just before he leaves!

BTW Jack, you failed to point out that we are visibly improving at our driving skills.
I don't wish to offend anyone so I won't elaborate further!

Josh thus spake:
Erik H.'s description of the law, right of way, and the Yield light on TriMet buses is correct. TriMet buses do not have carte blanche right of way as other commentors have suggested, nor have operators ever been trained to believe so.

Josh Collins
Communications Manager, TriMet Operations

Ummm...Josh...you might want to let your drivers know they don't have carte blanche...an awful lot of them drive like they do.....just saying...