DDOT averages more than 1 collision per day
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Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) bus drivers were involved in 369 collisions last year, the Detroit News reports.
- Officials determined 174 of the crashes were preventable — a 35% increase from 2022.
Why it matters: The average daily crash has continued this year, and numbers are only expected to increase with the projected hiring of 200 new drivers.
- New hiring is needed to address a driver shortage that contributes to the DDOT buses' subpar on-time performance.
What they're saying: "With the hiring the city has done, and the hiring they plan to do, they're bringing in people who have never driven heavy equipment. That's going to show up in accident numbers," Schetrone Collier, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 26, told the News.
State of play: In response to the rise in preventable collisions, DDOT is implementing a "Drivers at Risk" program to spot problems with drivers. The agency is also deploying undercover safety officers to make sure drivers are following rules.
By the numbers: More than two-thirds of the crashes involved other vehicles, 113 involved immobile objects and six involved pedestrians.
Between the lines: Distracted driving is contributing to many preventable crashes, DDOT chief safety officer Corie Holmes told the News.
- New and existing drivers will be trained on reducing distracted driving.
Flashback: DDOT's handling of problem drivers has been under scrutiny since a driver involved in 19 previous collisions, including one that killed a passenger in 2015, ran over and killed a 67-year-old crossing the street downtown in June.
- The driver was fired and the family of the victim is now suing the city.
Go deeper: Investigative details of this year's bus collisions