Cait Sith Posted January 2, 2012 Share #1 Posted January 2, 2012 Let the problems begin! GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (WABC) -- The inaugural run of Nassau County's new bus service was brought to a screeching halt Sunday when a woman demonstrating how to get on the bus in a wheelchair was injured. Her wheelchair fell backward as she was going up the bus's ramp. She hit her head on the pavement and was taken by ambulance to the hospital. Related Content MORE: Contact the WABC-TV Long Island Bureau No word on her condition. The Illinois-based company was picked to take-over the routes from the MTA following a funding dispute. A statement from NICE stated: "NICE bus is praying for the speedy recovery of Ms. Yanger. She was cared for by medically trained personnel at the scene and subsequently by Nassau County Police ambulance, which transported her to the hospital. She was injured as she was entering unassisted in her wheelchair onto a bus. The bus she was entering is part of the existing fleet of vehicles that is owned by Nassau County and until today was operated by the MTA. It has been in service for 2 years and was manufactured by Orion. This bus recently went through a full safety inspection conducted by the New York State Department of Transportation. The wheelchair ramp was part of that inspection. The NYS DOT approved the bus on November 7, 2011." Veolia Transportation just started operating the Nassau Inter-County Express or NICE bus system Sunday. Woman in wheelchair hurt in LI bus fall | 7online.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User Posted January 2, 2012 Share #2 Posted January 2, 2012 Beat me to it, was about to post this. I wonder if the operator of the bus was new or a previous operator at Long Island Bus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmouse Posted January 2, 2012 Share #3 Posted January 2, 2012 Ain't that NICE? the op probably did the procedure incorrectly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
East New York Posted January 2, 2012 Share #4 Posted January 2, 2012 It doesn't even look like the bus is completely kneeled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burrstone Posted January 2, 2012 Share #5 Posted January 2, 2012 Beat me to it, was about to post this. I wonder if the operator of the bus was new or a previous operator at Long Island Bus. Ain't that NICE? the op probably did the procedure incorrectly. Considering this was a demonstration in front of the media I don't think they were looking for the biggest idiot with no experience to operate the bus in the demonstration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bx41 Wakefield Posted January 2, 2012 Share #6 Posted January 2, 2012 LMAO! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amtrak7 Posted January 2, 2012 Share #7 Posted January 2, 2012 It doesn't even look like the bus is completely kneeled. You're right, the ramp appears to be really steep in this picture: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KNIGHTRIDER3:16 Posted January 2, 2012 Share #8 Posted January 2, 2012 This is why they have sidewalks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoSpectacular Posted January 2, 2012 Share #9 Posted January 2, 2012 And they thought low floors would really be that accessible as to not require sidewalks... LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LRG Posted January 2, 2012 Share #10 Posted January 2, 2012 NICE job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bx41 Wakefield Posted January 2, 2012 Share #11 Posted January 2, 2012 Was this lady a stunt wheelchair operator or legit in a wheelchair? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmouse Posted January 2, 2012 Share #12 Posted January 2, 2012 Yeah that bus aint kneeled no wonder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1447 Posted January 2, 2012 Share #13 Posted January 2, 2012 This is why they have sidewalks True, but not everywhere there is a sidewalk, especially suburbs or rural. Most parts of a suburb don't have sidewalks, especially in most residential areas. The bus stop would be placed on the edge of some grassed filled area, which requires the driver to use the street. Even in the city is the same. I've been on the bus with it under an EL structure and the driver drops the wheelchair passengers off on the street not sidewalk. Even tho a sidewalk at a bus stop would be nice, if room is available. (If its at an EL, then have the bus pull up to a sidewalk next to the sign) You're right, the ramp appears to be really steep in this picture: It could also look like that because of the wide angle lens being used. Not sure. Its the first day of NICE, and pne flaw is in. Now to see if something comes in positive or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SevenEleven Posted January 2, 2012 Share #14 Posted January 2, 2012 True, but not everywhere there is a sidewalk, especially suburbs or rural. Most parts of a suburb don't have sidewalks, especially in most residential areas. Then it goes back to kneeling the bus. This wheelchair got off just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1447 Posted January 2, 2012 Share #15 Posted January 2, 2012 Then it goes back to kneeling the bus. This wheelchair got off just fine. Well, if the bus was not kneeled, then the driver is at fault for this. Btw nice shot to Pablo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel Up Front Posted January 2, 2012 Share #16 Posted January 2, 2012 It doesn't even look like the bus is completely kneeled. It doesn't look kneeled at all. Better off carrying that thing up into the bus yourself at that height. There are some stops here that don't even have sidewalks beside them, or are right on top of some grass. Last year's blizzard, barely anyone was bothered to clear the snow for the bus stops so people had to alight buses in the street. EDIT: It looks as though the bus wasn't even in one of the bays and was on the road instead, KR... when I rode buses to the mall, sometimes bus operators would just stop on the road behind the bays and let people off, but they mostly pulled into the bay and let people off, especially if there were any mobility-impaired passengers on. I'll get a diagram up later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
East New York Posted January 2, 2012 Share #17 Posted January 2, 2012 Yeah, I can tell the bus was definitely not in the full kneel position. If it was, this would not have happened. The ramps on all LF buses are engineered so wheelchair passengers can board from the street or curb. I'm confused as to why common sense didn't come in to play here.:confused: I mean it's not like Veolia just started operating low floors, or Orion VII's yesterday... This was completely preventable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acela Express Posted January 2, 2012 Share #18 Posted January 2, 2012 Well, if the bus was not kneeled, then the driver is at fault for this. That would be true, except the fact the NGs will not allow you operate the ramp until the bus is fully secured, and kneeled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
East New York Posted January 2, 2012 Share #19 Posted January 2, 2012 That would be true, except the fact the NGs will not allow you operate the ramp until the bus is fully secured, and kneeled. So the NG's have to be fully kneeled to deploy the ramp????? I never knew that. Then again I haven't driven a bus in quite a few years either. Let alone operate a ramp. That bus certainly doesn't look like it's fully kneeled though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
East New York Posted January 2, 2012 Share #20 Posted January 2, 2012 So the NG's have to be fully kneeled to deploy the ramp????? I never knew that. Then again I haven driven a bus in quite a few years either. Let alone operate a ramp. That bus certainly doesn't look like it's fully kneeled though. I just checked into that. You can deploy the ramps on Orion VII's without the bus in the kneel position. However, NYCT may have interlocks on their buses, and Nassau buses may not. But just by looking at that picture, I'm stll about 99.9% sure that bus was not kneeled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B35 via Church Posted January 2, 2012 Share #21 Posted January 2, 2012 Was this lady a stunt wheelchair operator or legit in a wheelchair? possible... and IMO, likely... You do have extremists out there that will put their own well-being on the line, just to make a point.... which in this case is, to magnify the bad history/reputation that veolia has..... How better to do that, than this type of a stunt on the 1st day of operations.... I'm just goin to say this.... If this was some type of stunt, it will paint veolia/NICE in a bad light.... but it's not gonna bring the MTA back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burrstone Posted January 2, 2012 Share #22 Posted January 2, 2012 Does anyone know more about this lady? Was this demonstration during the press conference/ribbon cutting or somewhere else? Does this lady work for Veolia or NICE? Was she picked picked out of the crowd? At first it was a "what are the odds" type of situation, now that you mention it the odds of this happening when and where it did (with the media there was) does seem sketchy. I just checked into that. You can deploy the ramps on Orion VII's without the bus in the kneel position. However, NYCT may have interlocks on their buses, and Nassau buses may not. But just by looking at that picture, I'm stll about 99.9% sure that bus was not kneeled. The 1800 buses were built to NYC specs, would this be a feature built into the bus when they manufature it or does the city install the interlocks at a later time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burrstone Posted January 2, 2012 Share #23 Posted January 2, 2012 Everyone is pointing the finger at the operator, is it possible this accident happened because of the wheelchair or women in it? For some reason if she stopped moving the wheels (she passed out, her hand cramped, she clipped her finger, whatever) wouldn't this be the result? Is it possible her wheelchair malfunctioned? Just saying there are other possibilities here... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
checkmatechamp13 Posted January 2, 2012 Share #24 Posted January 2, 2012 I'm surprised. For a media conference (or whatever you call it), you'd think they would've picked an experienced driver to do the demonstration, who would've known to fully kneel the bus (that ramp definitely seems steeper than the M15 that was kneeling). Also, I'm always the cautious type, so if I were one of the businessmen there, I would've put myself into a position where I could catch the woman if I had to. Whenever I'm with my grandmother, I'm always in a position where I can catch her if I have to. I mean, I know the demonstration is on how to get on the ramp by yourself, but I would've tried to make it look coincidental that I was standing there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KNIGHTRIDER3:16 Posted January 2, 2012 Share #25 Posted January 2, 2012 Does the NG have the manual ramp??ACela is right on deployment though,C40LF also must be kneeled or else no go unless you manually throw it.Too bad they didn't try this with the Orion V CNG HF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.