#RoadMorons Award Of The Week goes to…
…this person, who ignored the convention to keep left of the white line in Flinders Lane, and came up against this tram coming around the corner.
The tram actually had a fair pace making the turn — luckily it stopped in time to prevent a collision.
The motorist backed out of the lane, and hopefully learnt a lesson.
Tram Cams – do passengers need to DIY?
A few minutes ago in Flinders Lane:
It was only on a whim I decided to film as I alighted the tram. The car driver was apologetic, but this ignorance of the law around giving way to passengers has gone on far too long. It’s a serious issue — just last week a girl was injured in Camberwell.
Years ago the government was talking about trialling tram cams, to catch motorists failing to give way. Nothing came of it. With video cameras now ubiquitous in mobile phones, perhaps it’s time passengers started filming it for themselves.
(The last time something like this happened.)
And a special reminder: Be careful when you alight from trams.
DMA992, even if you drive a Mercedes, you have to stop for tram passengers
Even if you drive a Mercedes, you have to stop for tram passengers.
You must stop level with the rear of a tram at a tram stop until the doors close and passengers have cleared the road, you may then proceed but must not exceed 10km/h while passing the tram.
– VicRoads
Time: about 9:10pm, last night.
Location: Chapel Street, South Yarra, corner of Toorak Road, southbound on tram route 79 — along with the adjacent eastbound route 8 stop, one of the few stops I can think of where tram passengers have to negotiate two lanes of traffic to get to the kerb.
I wouldn’t say I or anybody else was in mortal danger here. But the potential is there. It’s hard to say if the Mercedes driver didn’t know the rules, or wilfully ignored them.
It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that it’s simply easier to forget to stop when you’re not in the lane immediate adjacent to the tram — not that that’s a valid excuse — especially as the presence of all those people crossing the road to board should have prompted her.
One can only hope that stops like this are on the priority list for upgrades to platform stops which would remove this threat.
(Why did I have the camera running? Well something like this wasn’t too hard to predict; a few minutes beforehand, I tweeted: On a 79. Will shortly risk Death By Careless Motorist by alighting at Toorak Road, where IIRC there’s two lanes of traffic plus tram’s lane.)
Idiot of the day
About an hour ago at Highett station: the train to Frankston had just left, and a city-bound train was approaching.
This idiot cyclist rode across in front of the city-bound train. The train driver tooted his horn loud and long. The cyclist entered the station, and appeared to want to catch the train — I’d be surprised if the driver didn’t verbally berate the cyclist over the PA.
In pictures… Road Morons
One can only hope that (a) the idiots didn’t hit anybody as they sped through the Mall, and that (b) those that do this kind of thing get pulled over for it.
(1:21pm on Monday)
As you can see from Google Streetview, there is signage/road markings indicating that when coming westbound on Bourke Street, motorists shouldn’t enter the tram stop — they should do a U-turn and go back.
(Ironically both the Google Streetview car and another vehicle can be seen driving through the tram stop — though the other vehicle is a loaded ute which parks in the Bourke Street Mall, so it may have had permission to be there, where some exceptions apply, though this does not appear to be the case for the Bourke/Swanston tram stop.)
I suspect the answer here is the City of Melbourne needs to close Bourke Street to vehicles all the way up to Russell Street; or at least ban motor vehicles from entering and heading westbound (but allow them to leave eastbound eg if they’ve come via Royal Lane or Russell Place.
RoadMorons strike again
Sometime last night, it seems. Update: Marita says it was Thursday night.
Logic?
I’m hoping one of you smart people can explain the logic behind this.
Oh, bravo
Oh bravo, yes. Just block the whole road.
And I might note this guy was happy to park himself there while the light he was blocking was still green.
