Pace Warns Motorists: Don't Ride on Shoulders Behind Their Buses
By Chuck Sudo in News on Oct 21, 2011 3:30PM
Gov. Quinn signed off on a pilot program in August that allows for Pace buses to drive on the shoulder of the Stevenson Expressway during rush hour.
That experiment is about to start next month until whenever the first major snow falls and already Pace is warning motorists looking to draft behind their buses on the shoulder to not do so.
Pace has even gone so far as to put cameras on the backs of their buses to catch the inevitable when it happens and assist the police when it happens.
We're still on the fence about this pilot program. As we mentioned in August when Quinn signed of on the program, there are too many qualifiers involved for us to believe it can be worthwhile. The shoulders will only be available when expressway traffic is slower than 35 MPH. Buses will be restricted to traveling no more than 15 MPH over the top traffic speed in the main lanes, never greater than 35 MPH. The shoulders will also be off limits during periods where they're being used for snow removal, maintenance, traffic stops or traffic breakdowns.
Motorists may be better served weaving between the lanes as they normally do rather than follow buses on the shoulder.