Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Who pulls a bus over?

So, my darling coworker told me a quizzical story that I had to pass along.

She commutes daily on the fast bus from Orem to Salt Lake City. The fast buses are really nice: coach style, easy to sleep on, smooth ride, etc. She enjoys the fast bus for many reasons and has taken it for some time now.

During her commute two weeks ago, her bus was pulled over. 70-something passengers watched in mild rage as the cocky police man walked to the bus, boarded, and left.
People were silent as they tried to figure out what the issue was. Tail light out? Possible. Improper use of signal? Who uses a signal in Utah anyway? Speeding? My coworker mentioned there were several cars passing on the right.

No one knew and no announcement was made.

All that was certain was that there were 70 people who were either late for work or missed their transfer. I would be pissed.

The next day my coworker learned the bus driver received a speeding ticket.

So here are some questions I had:

• WTF? Who pulls over a bus?
• I would have assumed the police department would have some agreement with UTA to take a license number or something rather than delaying the route and passengers. Even to just save face for UTA.
• Who pays the ticket?
• I feel that tax payers are paying for the cop to pull the bus over AND possibly for the resulting ticket. That thought is frustrating and stupid.
• What is the consequence for the driver?
• Was the policeman just trying to meet his quota for the entire month with one vehicle?
• Did he feel that he had to pull the largest vehicle over to prove manhood?

I don’t know. I feel that the whole situation is ridiculous.

1 comment:

Stef said...

I'm pretty sure the offender would pay the ticket, not the tax payers. He would probably have to go to traffic school too, just like everybody else. Or perhaps lose his job because he was doing something stupid.
It sounds to me like it was the bus drivers fault people were late to there destination because he was breaking the law. If he was not speeding the police officer would not have had to pull him over and do his job.
Just because you are a bus driver you shouldn't be exempt from the law.
Just my opinion, I hope your not offended! :)