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Man blames his GPS after he rear-ended a T bus on Columbus Avenue in Roxbury, police say

By adamg on Wed, 08/07/2024 - 11:50am
Wrecked front end of car

Photo of car's post-crash front end by Transit PD.

Transit Police report a man who plowed his 2004 Honda into the back of an MBTA bus at Columbus Avenue and Dimock Street - where there are two center bus lanes marked off with barriers and red pavement paint - around 6:30 p.m. yesterday told arriving officers he was just following his car's GPS.

The man will be summonsed into court because he was driving with a suspended license, police say, adding that, at least, there were no injuries.

Neighborhoods: 
Roxbury
Topics: 
Crime
The T
Free tagging: 
Columbus Avenue
buses
Dimock Street


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Comments

By Michael on Wed, 08/07/2024 - 12:08pm.

was his phone OK when he dropped it

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By brianjdamico on Wed, 08/07/2024 - 12:44pm.

into the bus ahead.

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By Rwgfy on Wed, 08/07/2024 - 2:10pm.

Bad drivers blame anything (GPS, BPD dignitary protocols, sun) but themselves

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By FakeBostonCharlie on Wed, 08/07/2024 - 2:23pm.

He was looking at his device and not the road. Reckless driving much?

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By lbb on Wed, 08/07/2024 - 3:00pm.

You don't have to take your eyes off the road to view a dashboard GPS, and they have voice. It's possible he wasn't even looking at it, just listening to the verbal instructions.

With all that said, I'm pretty sure the verbal instructions weren't "drive into the bus".

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By anon on Wed, 08/07/2024 - 3:41pm.

had not caught up with changed to all the traffic patterns throughout the City. Additional bike, truck and bus lanes with lanes that merge from 2 down to one and switch from left to right and vice versa is very confusing.

By cybah on Wed, 08/07/2024 - 7:11pm.

"You must always be in complete control of your vehicle at all times"

Your excuse doesn't fly. Either your eyes are on the road and paying attention.. or not. Believe it or not, roads are designed to a standard.. width, markings, stop lanes. This isn't 1940 and we're building Storrow Drive with its short ramps and merges. This is new construction built to standards which meet safety guidelines (such as stopping and changing lanes). Very very very standard stuff.

I think the dude was looking at his phone and using the GPS as an excuse. That collision is a rear end collision.. so either he was following too close... or was looking at something more than a few seconds so when he finally looked up it was too late to make a complete stop.

Also considering the damage.. he was probably going more than 10mph.

So yeah he was speeding and looking at his phone. It has nothing to do with road design.

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By anon on Wed, 08/07/2024 - 8:04pm.

BTD doesn’t follow any kind of standards. Especially on newly designed roads.

By cybah on Thu, 08/08/2024 - 7:30am.

You gonna say this to me, you better cite your sources other than anecdotal evidence.

By anon on Wed, 08/07/2024 - 4:58pm.

It could be the GPS explanation was in response to the question of why he was in the bus lane. That's separate from why he rear ended the bus. This is why hearsay has not been considered evidence for hundreds of years.

By anon on Wed, 08/07/2024 - 8:05pm.

My GPS told me the speed limit on a small residential street in Brookline was 40 mph.

Fortunately I was driving and not the GPS. I have no idea why self-driving cars are allowed anywhere near a public road.

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