These are the photos of a big crash happened today on a street where I drive with "my" bus, near the city center of Milan, in front of the courthouse. Here the public transit vehicles have reserved lanes in the middle of the street while normal traffic go on the external lanes, a big SUV invaded the reserved lane while a bus (that is exactly the kind of bus that i drive) was travelling in the same direction. The bus driver, in order to avoid the crash with the SUV invaded the opposite lane while the tram was incoming. Actually both my collegues are in very bad conditions, a woman was dead and 26 injuried. Well, this is what my job includes, mainly due to the boorishness of my country fellowmen , walking and driving randomly with very low controls by the police. I pass there everyday, today I received a dispatch that said to deviate, as usually happens when a crash happens. Could this one happen to me ? maybe, but I doubt it. Even if is it was not the fault of the bus driver, in my opinion he wouldn't have to steer left to avoid the car. It's a matter of milliseconds, besides I would not have steered, I know it because I had the same scenario some times, one time a car invaded the lane in the same way, the result was that I turned over the car with the bus and I had no injured on the bus (only small bruises for the car driver, but the car, that was a chevrolet, became a pile of metal to scrap, with the engine in the middle of the road). Another time I was travelling a crossroad with the green light when a pedestrian begin to cross the street. In front of me the bus in the opposite direction was coming. I could only steer a little and use what was possible to use of the brakes without injuring the people pn the bus, this resulted in  the pedestrian hit and driven back on the sidewalk with some fractures. I had some of the same kind in my "career" as a bus driver and even if it was not my fault every time is a shock and some new white hairs, This is why I'll partecipate in the next selections in order to change role...

The pictures are very graphic , you're warned...

http://www.corriere.it/vivimilano/g...bbraio/tram/2&1
http://www.corriere.it/vivimilano/g...bbraio/tram/1&1

the SUV

http://www.corriere.it/Primo_Piano/...4/pop_suv.shtml

video (in italian) with some witnesses interviews...

http://tv.repubblica.it/home_page.p...r&cont_id=17335
http://mediacenter.corriere.it/Medi...3f-0003ba99c667

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I looked at the pictures, a heavy crash, but I agree with you, IMHO there was no need avoiding the crash with the SUV. The Porsche Chayenne is a "Racing Tank", there might had happened not much more than nothing if the bus had stayed on it's track, but who knows... we weren't in this situation an can be very glad
A dangerous job you have, I prefer my big hammer....
All the best wishes to your collegues     

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Not to get on one of my hobby-horses, but SUVs should be banned from urban environments, plain and simple.

Over here, as our country culture is intertwined with farming and agriculture, we see a lot of them, and by extension, a LOT of accidents with them. Too many times the SUV drivers equate "big car" with "invunerable" and find out that they are not -- or worse, they figure that their car is bigger, so they can ride rough-shod over all the others... and then end up killing entire families.

There has been discussion - now becoming more frequent - about legislating against these big-[BOTTOM]ed monstrositys.

May this never happen to you, Davide.

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Am I the only one who thinks they named it Windows because it is a major pane? BA-DUM BOOM!!

Yeah, right.
In Germany, we have the problem, half the country is ruled by car industry (Porsche, VW, Audi, Mercedes, BMW... they all build these "Mon$tercar$") and they have a BIG lobby.
We managed to ban the "cow catchers" at least...

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Well, About SUV, they have sense in certain enviroenments, this Porsche SUV has no sense at all... But in this case is no matter if it was a SUV or a mini car, as I said, here in my country episodes like this uses to happen more and more often than in civilized countries. It could even be a "Smart" car ("Hey, I've a small care, I can go everywhere...") and the reaction of the bus driver would be the same. He's 26 years old that was my age when I began to work for this company and the age when I turned over that car... Good'ol days ...

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I travelled in Germany some times Andreas, the situation is totally different, the traffic has more and more discipline, you have car crashes but at a very low rate incomparison with Italy and the streets conditions are quite perfect   (and some auotbahn have no speed limit   ), this affect what I call "quality of life" that is very higher there... (Tormie will buy a big hammer and sneak in the woods too )

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Perhaps I missed what happened
but it seems to me   that while some SUVs (like the Caddy) are huge,  
this accident wouldn't happen here, because   trains  are not allowed
on the streets with cars and busses.  
Hitting the TRAIN what was  'so bad, and hurt so many people and no SUV
is close to the weight of a TRAIN.

We had them on the city streets  years ago,
and while cities like New Orleans
still have  single car   trolly trains
they are seperated from the traffic
so no cars/busses can get into  them.
WEIGHT  really matters.   Car vs. Bus the car looses
Bus vs. Train  the Bus looses.   Tormie  'tis  very bad to hit a car,
and you could  'loose your job
but hit a TRAIN, and you're apt to loose  -a lot more than your job...
I'm the first male in my family in a century -NOT to work on the RR
though I love trains.      But I've also seen when a train derails
in the middle of a town at 100 mph.  
Trains need to be  APART from everything else.

Who made you the first male in my family in a century -NOT to work on the RR though I love trains ?

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I won the Loebner prize !

   well,  Posie I guess the CSX Railroad made me the first male in my family in a century not to work for the RR.  

I filled out applications  3 times   and  I never got hired (or even called for an interview)

I can only surmise  reverse discrimination -as the cause.

hehe! There is a big , maybe cultural, difference from Europ and the USA in this field, I saw what I call "tram" (train on streeets) in any major european cities. In Milan they are simply part of the city. When I was hired I could even go to drive one of those things, I fear them a little , however I don't find a big difference in hitting a "tram" and , for example, a big truck or a block of concrete. I discussed that crash today and some collegues agreed with me that the bus driver made a mistake in steering or losing control of the bus.

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It would be nice if it was made up of only good memories.

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I won the Loebner prize !

    

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Crashing is not a good thing -in your work.  In my Army Days (1973)  I was once  in a parked jeep that was hit in the rear (ran over) -by an M-60 Tank and was the only lucky one to escape.

Tormie, had  'a unique way of saluating high-ranking officers
I believe... (though I'd like   'to see a render of that )
   -----
A young Italian Man (GUESS WHO)  is in the paratroopers
and gets sent to where he's stationed with Americans
but he speaks no English.

After looking at monuments, around the base,  he of coarse,  gets lost.
It is midday and he is getting hungry...
he takes out his dictionary and starts looking at buildings  to find a
restaurant,
    Chemist = farmacia,       - No!
    Newsagent=Giornalaio.   - No!
    Real  Estate=Immobiliare. No!    ...and so on
until he  sees   'a  sign   "HOT DOGS"

He looks at the translation and thinks " They  eat dogs, how disgusting!... "
After looking around some more, he  cannot find another restaurant
and thinks: I'm hungry, and   'if they can  eat dogs,  -so can I!.
He goes in, takes out his dictionary and with  'apprehension
 orders  -one hot dog.
When the waitress brings him   the hot dog, he looks at it for a
moment and says:
- Please... I will eat   any part of of the dog ... except -'THAT ONE!...

     (Now I've to find some jokes on Americans ... )

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Try starting at Mommy.. I'm scared., they have some of the biggest American clowns in the business...

Ahem.

GrouchoCaesar

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Am I the only one who thinks they named it Windows because it is a major pane? BA-DUM BOOM!!