"Do not close any of the windows"

[joncombe]

Had an odd experience on a bus today. It was very wet so when the bus arrived all the windows were steamed up.

A couple of stops later a passenger got in and attempted to close one of the windows (all the windows were open), because water was coming in through the window and dripping down onto the sea underneath. This prompted the driver, who heard the sound of the windows closing, to stop in the middle of the road and shout to the passenger not to close the window and demanding they re-open the window. He said if the window was closed he can't see because and so it's dangerous and he'll just stop the bus if any windows are closed until all the windows are opened again.

After that, each time anyone else got on the bus, he told them they must not close the windows.

It was quite bizarre. Of course it being wet, all the windows were steamed up and there was also mist around the corners of the windscreen though not across it.

So I'm not sure if the de-mister was simply broken on the bus or if it's just that it's that bad it's not good enough for wet conditions. I would have thought if it was broken the windscreen would have been just as misted up as the other windows, which it wasn't. Either way I thought it was very poor to tell people to leave all the windows open even when it's cold and rain is coming in! The route is operated by Wright StreetLite which I'm well aware are pretty dreadful buses (every panel seems to rattle all the time, the suspension is very hard and it seems to be very jerky when driven). Is this a general problem with these buses?

 

[radamfi]

Of course it being wet, all the windows were steamed up and there was also mist around the corners of the windscreen though not across it.

"Being wet" does not automatically lead to windows steaming up. The bus that you travelled on probably wasn't double glazed.

 

[Jordan Adam]

Sounds like broken demisters... At Stagecoach here drivers will refuse to drive a bus if the demisters are not working.

 

[edwin_m]

Were the driver's side window and the glazed panels in the door also misted up? I'd have thought these would also have to be clear to drive safely.

 

[borage]

Saw the same thing happen a few months ago: on a Wright Eclipse Urban in the rain, a couple of times a passenger would shut a window as they boarded, only for the driver to reopen it (albeit without any shouting or indeed any explanation) at the next stop. It seemed very strange, but misting sounds like a plausible explanation.

 

[joncombe]

"Being wet" does not automatically lead to windows steaming up. The bus that you travelled on probably wasn't double glazed.

Perhaps - but I don't think I've ever been on a British bus where that does not happen!

 

[joncombe]

Were the driver's side window and the glazed panels in the door also misted up? I'd have thought these would also have to be clear to drive safely.

The door was slightly, I didn't notice if the drivers side window was

 

[joncombe]

Saw the same thing happen a few months ago: on a Wright Eclipse Urban in the rain, a couple of times a passenger would shut a window as they boarded, only for the driver to reopen it (albeit without any shouting or indeed any explanation) at the next stop. It seemed very strange, but misting sounds like a plausible explanation.

Yes I guess that was probably the reason. Or a driver that really liked fresh air!

 

[radamfi]

Perhaps - but I don't think I've ever been on a British bus where that does not happen!

Virtually all coaches have been double-glazed since about the mid-80s. Some of the Plaxton Interurbans were not double-glazed bought in the early 90s for Stagecoach Express routes. Some Wright-bodied Volvo single decks were double-glazed as well as some Citaros. Outside Britain and Ireland, double-glazing is common on local buses.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Virtually all coaches have been double-glazed since about the mid-80s. Some of the Plaxton Interurbans were not double-glazed bought in the early 90s for Stagecoach Express routes. Some Wright-bodied Volvo single decks were double-glazed as well as some Citaros. Outside Britain and Ireland, double-glazing is common on local buses.

And the difference it makes to the passenger environment is significant. Fewer rattles and far less damp.

 

[joncombe]

Virtually all coaches have been double-glazed since about the mid-80s.

Yes however I was referring to buses rather than coaches (yes I'm aware coaches are used on a few bus routes, but it's very much a minority)