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"My idea is simple and I’m sure by no means original. A law should be proposed and soon after passed similar to the 'Click it or Ticket' law. If you don’t yield to a bus when it’s pulling back out into traffic you’re breaking a traffic violation and is punishable by fine or whatever else is decided on to bring forth change." Tyke Johnson over at MetroRiderLA is on to something, even if he recently made the jump into a car-free life. If he had done so 5 years ago, he would have been excited for California Vehicle Code 21810.
Too bad the experimental code went defunct on January 1st, 2004, after it was not renewed. 21810 was enacted in a few counties (OC participated, but not LA) for a pilot program that basically states "the driver of a vehicle overtaking a transit bus shall yield the right-of-way to the bus" if the bus has its turn signal on to reenter traffic.
Though, if one looks at 21756c (Passing Standing Streetcar, Trolley Coach, or Bus), which is in effect, you will find that "whenever any trolley coach or bus has stopped at a safety zone to receive or discharge passengers, a vehicle may proceed past such trolley coach or bus at a speed not greater than 10 miles per hour."
It's all minutia, and we can't expect all citizens of California to actually know these codes. What we should expect is common sense and courtesy.
Photo by So Cal Metro via Flickr.
