Most of the collisions that Montgomery and Fairfax County buses were involved in during fiscal 2011 could have been prevented, data shows. However, Montgomery’s Ride-On buses had significantly more collisions — defined as any encounter between a bus and another vehicle, a person or an object — than the Connector system, even after factoring in their size differences.
According to data from Montgomery County, Ride-On buses had 526 collisions in fiscal 2011, 288 of which — or 55 percent — were “preventable,” meaning the driver was at least partly to blame for the crash. Of the 193 collisions in Fairfax during the same period, 55 percent were also listed as preventable.
| By the numbers |
| Miles traveled in an average weekday |
| Fairfax Connector: 33,493 |
| Ride-On: 46,163 |
| Buses on road at peak time |
| Fairfax Connector: 175 |
| Ride-On: 278 |
| Preventable collisions July 2010-June 2011 |
| Fairfax Connector: 106 |
| Ride-On: 288 |
By comparison, about 35 percent of all Metrobus incidents were considered preventable, The Washington Examiner reported a week ago.
Montgomery County spokesman Patrick Lacefield emphasized that Ride-On is “twice as large” as the Fairfax Connector so more collisions are expected.
“No two transit systems are the same,” said Greg Hull, director of Security and Operations Support for the American Public Transportation Association. He explained that the configuration of streets, types of traffic control devices, existence of on-street parking and traffic flow can all affect a transit system’s collision data.
And “any accident can be considered unavoidable,” said Montgomery County resident Joann Alderton, whose car was hit by a Ride-On bus in 2008.
Ride-On buses travel an average 46,163 miles every weekday. The system has 278 buses on the road during peak hours and serves about 30 million passengers. Fairfax Connector travels an average 33,493 miles every weekday, has about 175 buses on the road during peak hours and serves about 10 million passengers.
Even accounting for the differences, 526 is a “disconcerting” number of collisions, said AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesman John Townsend, especially given that the number hasn’t changed much over the last three years. The numbers indicate that Ride-On is “overburdened, overtaxed, overutilized,” he said.
“That number of crashes sounds unacceptably high from a traffic safety standpoint,” he said. “It’s perhaps time for the systems … to have a more focused commitment to safety.”
Officials in both counties point to training programs aimed at preventing collisions.
“We do training, we do all kinds of things to try to work with people who are involved in collisions,” said Montgomery County spokeswoman Esther Bowring. “There’s a personnel process where they’re assessed penalties that the county has for working with drivers who are involved in collisions that are preventable.”
Fairfax County spokeswoman Ellen Kamilakis said the Connector requires their drivers go through 212 hours of training, both in classrooms and on the road. Montgomery County requires drivers go through at least 232 hours — 32 in a classroom and 200 on the road.
