N.B.S.

So the wife got a whiff of V.O.T. on the way to work, but on the way home we got a chance to experience the odd delight of N.B.S. -- New Bus Smell. Sort of a new car smell, only larger. Well, maybe more new plastic than new car.

Anyway, I had overheard some drivers talking about the new buses arriving a couple of weeks ago but this was the first time I had a chance to ride in one. From a rider's perspective, the buses look like a polished version of the split-level buses already in the system. The wife and I rode home together in the back of the bus. I thought the engine noise was less obtrusive. The wife said, "What?"

The one thing I couldn't figure out was a device hanging in front of the windshield near the door. After pulling the stop request, I walked to the front of the bus and asked the driver, "What's that?"

"What?" he asked.

"This," I said, pointing to the device hanging inside the bus in front of the windshield.

"Oh, that," the driver said. "That's a television camera."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said. "I'm not sure if it's going to hang me or save my ass in an accident."

How long do you suppose it will take before the Craziest Bus Crash Videos debuts on TV?