Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1896-05-05
LoNDoN's BUS DRIVERS.
They Are Said to Be the Best IN the
Worlo at Handling the Reins-

They Are Said to Be the Best IN the
Worlo at Handling the Reins-
| The majority of the streets of Lon
don, at least those on which the
principal traffic of the city proper
cenJers, are narrow, and the navi-
eating of the buses along these high
ways, which are always crowded to
distraction with every description Of
vehicle, large and small, is a feat in
driving which would turn the hair OF
a Broad street bus driver gray in a
day and drive him crazy in a week.
But his London prototype does not
lose any sleep of nights worrying
about it. To him the safe conduct of
his bus along his route is work Of
the most ordinary kind, says the
Philadelphia Times.
1t is generally acknowledged that
these bus men, who undergo course
of long years of most careful train
ing, are, when put to it, the finest
drivers in the world, bat, at the
same time, their everyday task is
made comparatively easy for them
by the punctilious observance OF the
rules of the road, practiced by every
Englishman who drives in London,
be he lord or commoner.
There is never the slightest trouble
caused by the misunderstanding of
these rules by an ignorant driver;
the most ordinary costermonger who
drives his little donkey cart in the
crowded section of the city is per-
fectly familiar with them, and never
eWnces the slightest inclination to
rebel against their dictates by not
pulling up out of the way when a
coach or four-in-hand signals its in
tention to drive by.
The first time an American mounts
the steep steps at the back of bus
and takes a seat on the roof for
ride along Fleet street or the Strand,
or trip down Cheapside, his atten-
tion is riveted for the greatest part
of the journey and his breath fire.
quently taken away by watching the
maneuvers of the bus driver.
The way these men keep their
horses under control and steer their
clumsy vehicles in and out of the
constant crush of wagons and all
manner of vehicles is exciting and
wonderful. Look ahead of you and
the street seems packed, with only
small opening, which to the eye of
the uninitiated appears scarcely
wide enough for bus to go through,
and yet the driver goes ahead un-
hesitatingly, and, presto, change, in
minute you are through the crush,
and have never even scraped the
wheels of the wagon on either side of
you.
If, however, one Of these wagons
had suddenly turned into the narrow
passageway through which you have
passed, the driver bent on getting
out before the bus, there would have
been a crash and smashup, an ac-
cident which very likely would hap
pen under similar circumstances a
dozen times in day in an American
city. But between the drivers of the
wagons and the bus drivers, and all
other drivers in London, perfect con-
fdence exists, the bus driver, know
ing that he has the right of way, 60
ing ahead without fear, while the
driver of the cart or wagon, being
fully aware that he must stand aside
so that the numbering public con-
veyance can go through, does so
without a murmur of discomfort at
the few minutes of lost time which
he is bound to suffer.