DDOT Drivers Refuse To Work: 'They're Scared For Their Lives'

DDOT Drivers Refuse To Work: 'They're Scared For Their Lives'

what happened??

People who catch the bus in Detroit may be waiting a while Friday. About 100 Detroit Department of Transportation bus drivers are at work, but are refusing to drive their buses.

WWJ Newsradio 950′s Scott Ryan spoke with Henry Gaffney, spokesman for the D-DOT bus drivers union AFL-CIO Local 26, who said this was not an organized maneuver by the union.

Gaffney said it’s a matter of bus drivers fearing for their safety, citing an incident that happened Thursday afternoon.

“Our drivers are scared, they’re scared for their lives. This has been an ongoing situation about security. I

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
detroit.cbslocal.com

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing is expected to hold a news conference Friday afternoon to announce an agreement that will end the Detroit Department of Transportation driver work stoppage.

latest on situation..

I really can't say I blame them, if it is in fact true that it took police 30 minutes to get there.Detroit is such a large city they must still have a good size police department?
Detriot has been on a downward spiral for a while now.
It's not surprising you can get homes for next to nothing.
For an update on the drivers sick-out see link below

(visit the link for the full news article)

That's just a risk you take in that field of work.
You never know what evil my step foot in your Bus or Taxi.
Shouldn't have applied to work there if you didn't want to take the risk.

They probably have a higher probability in dying in a crash anyway.

In my country, everyone is scared of the bus drivers. So they made separate lanes for them. Now the driver ram their buses together. For fun, is what I'm told is the reason.

reply to post by GmoS719


yeah, I suspect there is a whole lot going on in Detroit right now I would find shocking..
But I agree they must be aware that this is among the risk of being a driver..

reply to post by DoctorSatan


thats wild..if you don't mind me asking..what country? (I don't think me asking country is a problem(; )

reply to post by DoctorSatan


I bet bike riders are terrified also..hope they have their own lane too.. (;

So exactly what happened on Thursday that caused them to fear their safety? Did I miss something?


Ahh, nvm. I missed the second link that explains it.

I don't blame them though, Most people are inconsiderate and rude for the sake of being rude. Perhaps the drivers should have their own doors and a bulletproof glass that separates them from the rest of the bus? Like a bank tellers window or something. Be sure to install window wipers to clean the bodily fluids that will likely be expelled.

reply to post by CastleMadeOfSand


It goes on to state that one of their drivers were beat up by teenagers..Then to make matters worse, it took 30 minutes for police to arrive.

its the last kink detroit.cbslocal.com

heres the link how it started

reply to post by CastleMadeOfSand


You are so right...What Happened to Courtesy and Respect for others....I Do feel like for some reason it is not as easy to always be nice...But Then I would just be adding to the problem..


I joke with my work friends that there is something going on with the planets making people more Mean (never know)

Maybe the drivers should start carrying guns and protect themselves, or is that illegal there? The gun laws in some states are pretty restrictive, and in places with a lot of crime those laws hurt innocents more.

reply to post by circlemaker


Problem with that imho is that people adapt to their environment..so the Drivers are likely just as bad at this point..(if this trend has been going on as long as stated)

Thank you for your contribution even so...Much appreciated

Originally posted by wutz4tom

DDOT Drivers Refuse To Work: 'They're Scared For Their Lives'

detroit.cbslocal.com

People who catch the bus in Detroit may be waiting a while Friday. About 100 Detroit Department of Transportation bus drivers are at work, but are refusing to drive their buses.

WWJ Newsradio 950′s Scott Ryan spoke with Henry Gaffney, spokesman for the D-DOT bus drivers union AFL-CIO Local 26, who said this was not an organized maneuver by the union.

Gaffney said it’s a matter of bus drivers fearing for their safety, citing an incident that happened Thursday afternoon.

“Our drivers are scared, they’re scared for their lives. This has been an ongoing situation about security. I

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
detroit.cbslocal.com

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing is expected to hold a news conference Friday afternoon to announce an agreement that will end the Detroit Department of Transportation driver work stoppage.

latest on situation..

edit on 4-11-2011 by wutz4tom because: (no reason given)

Latest Update..

The buses are rolling again in Detroit thanks to an agreement between Mayor Dave Bing, police and the union.

The work stoppage began Friday morning following the beating of a Detroit Department of Transportation bus driver by some passengers on Thursday.

Friday afternoon, Bing announced some changes that he said will increase security for both DDOT drivers and passengers.

“The Detroit Police Department will immediately institute random pull-overs and boardings of our buses citywide,” said the mayor, adding that police reserves will be housed at the Rosa Parks Transportation Center.

Also, Crime Stoppers will now offer a $1,000 reward leading to the arrest of anyone involved in a violent incident on a city bus.

DDOT bus drivers earlier Friday defended their impromptu sick-out over a lack of security on buses.

“Every single day, somebody’s getting assaulted. If we’re not getting spit on, we’re getting verbally abused. We get threatened every day,” said DDOT driver Pure Lile.

“You know, as soon as we open the door, we’re getting cussed out … ‘I’ve been waiting two hours, da-da-da-da-da … you know, [like] it’s the bus drivers fault. Actually, we have no control over what is going on,” she said.
Lile said she has been a DDOT driver for the past 14 years and has never felt more threatened on the job than she does today.

Amalgamated Transit Union-Local 26 Friday urged members to go back to work, but supported the stoppage to force the city’s hand in providing security for bus drivers and riders

Union President Henry Gaffney said members aren’t even thinking about their wallets right now. “This isn’t about pay. This is in no way about money or anything. This is about safety … and being able to go home safe. That’s all it’s about,” Gaffney said.

Gaffney said while some members have called for sheriff’s deputies on the bus, Detroit Police filed a suit to win the work. Gaffney said he isn’t worried about who is there to protect drivers, as long as it’s now.

“I wouldn’t care if it was Mickey Mouse, as long as he stopped people from beating up on my drivers,” Gaffney said. “But it’s gotta be somebody. We’ve got to do something. It’s really gotten that bad at this particular time,” he said.

Disgruntled DDOT bus drivers met with Mayor Bing’s Assistant Chief of Police and Chief Operating Officers earlier Friday at a west side bus terminal to talk about the lack of security on city buses.

“A guy got on the bus, put a dollar, two quarters and three dimes in and wanted his nickel out … kicked out a straight razor, was gonna cut me,” she a female driver. “I had to tell my passengers on the bus … I said hold on, I have opened the door and I was gonna have to speed up and use that bus as a weapon because I wasn’t gonna let him cut me.”

deal made

Detroit.....

Makes the US a 2nd world country IMO.

I would seriously be ashamed to live there due to all that ghetto sh#t

reply to post by no special characters


you've got to remember...The Good stuff Rarely makes the news...U.S. Still rocks overall!
Thnx

i can totally understand why the drivers are not driving. the fact it took police half an hour to respond to a beating is past ridiculous. it just went to prove just how vulnerable the drivers actually are. thus causing a knee jerk reaction of panic. or this could just be the straw that broke the camel's back, admittedly i don't know what problems have been like for transit operators there, but at the same time i have seen that assaults on bus drivers in my area have been getting worse over the years. to the point of cameras being installed on all buses as well as a useless "safety shield" for the drivers to use if they choose.

now i haven't been able to see any reason stated for this attack, being a group it may have been sport. there are many reasons for the assaults on bus drivers. i would say number one is fare disputes, that is trying to make people pay the proper fare. there are many drivers in my area that don't even bother doing their jobs and demanding proper fare, it's not that they are being lazy, simply put they don't want to risk a fight. then you have those upset at the cost of the fare, upset that the bus is running behind, and some people just seem to want a confrontation no matter what the cause.

being a public transit driver can be rather dangerous at times. what i fail to understand is why nothing is done about it until things hit the point of drivers starting to refuse to work. transit companies know full well this has been going on and getting worse. i see in the op's new's items that they want either a cop on each bus or a patrol car following each bus. that is totally unsustainable, do you know how many bus routes forget about buses, there are in a city?even one cop per route the cost would be astronomical, and if their bus fair is anything like ours it's already way overpriced how will they pay for the protection?

what they really need to do is build proper safety shields in buses, preferably solid with a separate lockable entry door for the driver. that would deal with a huge chunk of the issue, by totally removing the driver as an easy, trapped target. now nothing is perfectly safe, but at least it would give the driver time and ability to call for help, as well as keep the driver safe until help arrives.

which brings me to the second and i think biggest part of what apparently happened to set this off. what took the cops so long to respond? this seems to tell me that there are not enough cops or that cops are not routed effectively to cover all territory appropriately. that really should be the aim of people's anger not the drivers who are understandably upset at this incident, each one seeing themselves as the victim. but as per norm the news story is all about the drivers not working and not what it should be about, that is why did it take so long for police to show up? unfortunately this is common with the media, they will stir up anger and resentment towards the workers involved while totally ignoring the fact that there is something wrong that caused the problem in the first place.

Easy solution.

Arm the bus drivers.

Or outfit the drivers cockpit with a bullet proof
box. Like they have at the gas stations.

Other then a police officer on every bus (a lot of cash) then that
is really the only two things to do.

Unless they just shut down them down and let everyone walk.

reply to post by popsmayhem


While I relate to what you are saying,but my question.....what about the beating of passengers?
Are they just left to defend themselves?