DC area readers will recall the incident last February, in which Metrobus Driver Victor Kolako killed two women crossing with the light in a crosswalk. One of the women’s family has released a video, taken by the National Archives Building security camera, that shows the entire event. WaPo’s Marc Fischer linked the video, with the appropriate warning that even though it’s shot from a distance, it’s still hard to watch.
I’m linking it here, too, for a couple of reasons. First, I hope this will serve as a reminder to my fellow pedestrians and cyclists that we absolutely cannot trust our lives to the assumption that a bus driver (or any driver, really) will obey traffic signals. Second, I post this as a reminder to everyone else that Metro needs to face some serious public pressure over the safety training and basic quality of its bus drivers. This is the video.
The driver received one year in jail.
Chip
Nothing is going to change at Metro until there are major changes in the mid-level management and the Union. After communicating with the Union President, I now understand the problems with Metro and why most employees are arrogant and rude. Changing General Managers is not going to solve the problem.