...a reporter rode some of Metrobus's busiest routes for a day and observed drivers speeding, running red lights, talking on cellphones and engaging in many other unsafe practices that some bus riders and pedestrians call typical.
Count me as one of those pedestrians who call such practices typical.
The story made me think of a close call I had with a car being driven by a uniformed Metro police officer. I was riding home, pedalling north on 14th street one afternoon, and there's a block under construction where the construction fence protrudes into the bike lane. I moved over to the left, edging into the car lane. I few seconds later I was jolted as something hard struck my elbow. It was from the car's passenger-side mirror striking me because the driver either didn't see me or didn't move over a few inches to avoid hitting me.
We both stopped, and he was cursing at me. He got out of his car -- in his Metro uniform -- and came over and looked at his mirror. He did not once look at me or ask if I was okay. Seeing that his car was undamaged he got back in and sped off. "Don't worry, I'm fine," I called after him.
This was a DC Metro police officer, in uniform, striking a bicyclist and not giving one ounce of concern, except for his car. What does that tell you about the culture of safety among DC Metro employees?
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