We aren’t talking about a loss of air pressure. We are talking about a loss of power (electricity) as in what occurred in this case.

To answer your initial question, though, since I never really got around to it, air brake equipped buses are fail-safe in the same way as trains. They use air pressure to RELEASE the parking brake shoes, so a loss of air pressure from a severed line, or a failed tank or valve or pump or whatnot, will cause the brakes…

No, actually. What if the power cuts out while the bus is moving? Do you want the brakes to suddenly slam on at full force, throwing all the passengers out of their seats, and causing an accident behind you?

Not every single scenario is deserving of this kind of a fail-safe mechanism. If a vehicle loses electrical…

They ARE fail-safe. They aren’t dumb safe. This guy left the seat without engaging the brake. The only failure was on the part of the bus operator. If you are driving your car, and the electrical system cuts out, would you want the brakes to slam on? Nope! Nothing “failed” here. The operator was asked to “power cycle”…

Yeah, the interlock system is basically to prevent the bus from rolling forward as passengers are boarding/alighting if your foot slips off of the brake. It isn’t really an “emergency stop the bus from moving if all hell breaks loose” system. It has a very specific purpose only, which is to prevent you from pissing…

Some transit agencies have the driver’s area separated, but the door wouldn’t have been locked since the operator was outside of the vehicle. Yes, it is a bright yellow button, but on these buses it is sometimes located on the left side of the driver’s area, down beside the seat... so you can’t necessarily even see it…

Would you want your car to slam on the brakes if it lost power? The power loss isn’t the problem. The fact that the driver left the seat without engaging the parking brake is the problem.

Yes, it would have worked. It is indeed pneumatic.
Source: I used to drive these things.

I took my BRZ on ice a few weeks ago! So much fun!

This seems like a great “zombie apocalypse” boat.

I have literally three (four) wheeled a large paratransit van. Nobody had ever seen anyone do it before (it was at our agency’s yearly “bus roadeo”) and apparently it was simultaneously amazing, and terrifying, to watch.

Haha, I may or may not have done the same, albeit with a newer bus. We also might or might not have routinely drifted one or two turns that for some reasons the plows never cleared very well. Passengers don’t like when their bus is drifting across three lanes of traffic :P

My only experience driving a fishbowl, was…

School buses do. But even the larger transit buses can carry some speed ;)

Fun fact: Large buses and such actually have a lot more grip than you would think around curves.

Source: Absolutely not me, nor my former hypothetical shenanigans as a bus driver.

It’s just his niece; not someone he actually loves.

I use them all the time. First off, I ALWAYS drive with parking lights on at ALL times, period. More visibility is always better. I like having the rear lights on, which is particularly useful on overcast days, or when going through dark, shaded areas - sometimes brief enough to not trigger the automatic headlamps.

I…

I think you are misinterpreting what the vehicle is doing. Most people see that stability control light flashing and immediately thing, “Fuck this, I thought I turned that off!” It IS off. What that light is signifying is that the e-diff is still functioning. That is a system which prevents excess wheelspin in order…

Actually no. I deliberately omitted the pedal dance because it’s a fucking stupid trend that needs to STOP being a thing. The 3 second hold turns the traction and stability control OFF. For 99% of people this will be enough. Only a hardcore track or drift master could make a case for doing the pedal dance.

Yup. I’m glad I couldn’t get one until the 2015s were out. They solved most of the teething issues at that point.

I won’t disagree with that. And if I see an S2000, I’ll definitely come over and take a look. That just doesn’t mean I truly wish I’d bought that car instead of my BRZ.

I guess the distinction I’m making, is that there is a difference between oogling a car because one day you want to own own, and oogling a car because…