The South Australian government has released onboard security footage showing dangerous driving behaviour and close calls regarding motorists and buses.
In the video, motorists are seen cutting in and colliding with buses, triggering accidents and close calls, putting drivers, passengers and other road users at risk.
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The footage was released as part of National Road Safety Week 2025 and highlights the daily challenges bus drivers face when motorists do not leave a safe distance between their vehicle and the bus or fail to give them right of way.
The government hopes the video will encourage motorists to take greater care on the road and avoid preventable collisions.
In one incident, a prescribed security officer is thrown forward in a bus when the driver is forced to brake suddenly to avoid a crash after being cut off by a motorist as they merge left into a bus lane on Grenfell Street.
Bigger buses in the fleet can carry up to 90 passengers and weigh more than 25 tonnes – four times as heavy as an elephant – and can take more than 25 metres to stop when travelling at 60 kilometres per hour.
By cutting in front of a bus, or moving in quickly from the side, a motorist minimises the space a bus has to safely stop or complete a turn, increasing the risk of a collision. Sitting in a bus driver’s blind spot can also pose a risk.
An average 205,250 people catch Adelaide Metro services each day, with more than 2.7 million bus services running each year.
To keep drivers and passengers safe, Adelaide Metro has a range of safety measures in place on some vehicles, including lane departure and blind spot detection, crash avoidance warning, and driver alerts when vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists are present. Electronic coaching tools are also used by some bus operators to track drivers’ on-road performance.
To view the video, visit https://dit.sa.gov.au/news/feed?a=1498814
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