Normally speaking, I don't mind that I don't drive. Public transportation has its perks. It's a half hour nap in the morning on my way into work and a half hour of pretty much uninterrupted reading on my way home. Though some buses do have a distinct smell, it can be counteracted by strategically placed dabs of lotion.
But I have developed an intense disliking for a particular class of person on the bus. This is not the smelly homeless man who has begged for bus money, the person conducting a loud and vulgar phone conversation for all to hear, or the lesbian couple making out. (All these people, incidentally, have been on buses with me at some point or other.)
No, the class of person who has me on my soapbox today is none other than the driver. But not the regular, average-Joe, just-doin'-my-job kind of bus driver. This class of person I call the pansy bus driver.
This particular type of bus driver finds him- or herself intimidated by Prisms, by Civics, by Windstars, by Mustangs . . . in short, by almost any other type of car by the road. He or she brakes at green lights. Turns hesitantly. Cringes when people honk as a method of communicating "Move faster."
They seem to have difficulty realizing they are in a large vehicle. Such a large vehicle, in fact, that they don't even really have to be assertive to be assertive.
Now it is my understanding these bus drivers have to pass tests--written and practical--in order to become bus drivers. It is also my understanding that neither of these test is easy. But it seems to me there is a crucial element lacking in the way they test . . . specifically, I believe the first question on the written test should look something like this:
1. Do you have difficulty asserting yourself while driving your regular car? Do you drive like a pansy? If the answer is yes, please stop taking this test and find a new job.
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A random note: buses take longer to stop than cars or minivans, sometimes longer than the length of the yellow phase in the cycle. So it makes sense that they would have to begin to slow down at the green light, just in case it does change to yellow.
Well at least that is what my brother tells me (he actually is a licensed bus driver).
Anyway not to belittle your frustration at the wussy bus drivers... I just thought that was some interesting information.
This lament arose from a particular bus driver who stopped at a green light when turning right. Waited for the light to turn red. And then didn't turn until the light had turned green again.
But thanks for the interesting info. And I bet your brother isn't a pansy bus driver :)
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