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Road Etiquette (Buses)

by CT211070
Sun, Jul 24, 2016 18:58
10

Hi everyone, first time poster!

I had something happen on the ride home from work last week and thought I would check before emailing the bus company involved, in case I'm in the wrong.

I'm in a cycle lane (broken  lines) and the traffic ahead is building up as it often does. A bus passes me but maybe 10 feet ahead it has to slow right down. He then makes a very deliberate move to put his bus in the bike lane.

He then moves out and as I try to go past he moves back in again, this time making a gesture in his mirror. Eventually I have to go around him and the wrong side of the road to get past. He's not a happy chap.

I realise all the buses now have the stickers about not passing on the inside but wondered what the rule was if you're in a bike lane and have to go past a bus which has slowed down almost to a stop. Do you have to keep going around and back in every time?

Many thanks in advance.

 

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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10 comments

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Gourmet Shot | 8 years ago
0 likes

Reported a similar situation to First Bus..after chasing 4 times and threatening to report the matter to the police (driver assaulted me) I got the standard 'we take safety seriously' letter....so basically fck all happened.

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DaveE128 replied to Gourmet Shot | 8 years ago
0 likes

Gourmet Shot wrote:

Reported a similar situation to First Bus..after chasing 4 times and threatening to report the matter to the police (driver assaulted me) I got the standard 'we take safety seriously' letter....so basically fck all happened.

I'd report it to the police then!

I've only had to report things to bus companies twice. Both times they have taken it very seriously and I've felt that their actions were completely appropriate. One was Metrobus (their drivers normally seem very competent around cyclists to me) and one was Stagecoach, who I haven't got much experience of.

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CT211070 | 8 years ago
2 likes

Thankyou to everyone who replied. As per one of the first replies, there were no left turns or bus stops to pull into. Just a long straight road

I will make sure it's reported.

Thanks again.

Avatar
Edgeley | 8 years ago
0 likes

Report it.  Most bus companies do take safety seriously.

 

Each bus has an identification number on the back.

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Edgeley | 8 years ago
0 likes

Report it.  Most bus companies do take safety seriously.

 

Each bus has an identification number on the back.

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Matt_S | 8 years ago
4 likes

Report it.

If only to ensure that there is a record of a complaint against the driver in the event that they do have another incident and the police need evidence.

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Mungecrundle | 8 years ago
3 likes

Wether you were in a bike lane or not, why bother overtaking you in the first place if he then had to stop for traffic? Even if turning left or pulling left for a bus stop why overtake, by a few feet, and then cut you up?

They may just file your report in the big round filing cabinet, or it may be the latest in a long line of complaints over their driver's standards and the straw that finally leads to some long overdue disciplinary.

I would go further and say that even were you the worst arsehole cyclist on the planet, drunk, no lights, cycling the wrong way, dressed in black, wearing headphones with a mobile phone in each hand looking for pokemon, even then the bus driver should be the very essence of moderation and calmness given that they are responsible for the safety of so many passengers and in charge of such a potentially lethal vehicle.

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. . | 8 years ago
1 like

Good luck if you do report it.   I reported a dangerously close pass via the First website a few months ago, and got a letter back which basically said "we have reviewed the cab video and you are wrong". 

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StraelGuy | 8 years ago
6 likes

If you were in a marked cycle lane and the bus wasn't attempting to turn left in front of you then the bus driver is being a dick and should be reported. If there was a left turn ahead and the bus was indicating left then hanging back behind it would have been the sensible thing to do.

 

I suspect you are talking about the first option, in which case report him for being a dick.

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Dnnnnnn replied to StraelGuy | 8 years ago
1 like

guyrwood wrote:

If you were in a marked cycle lane and the bus wasn't attempting to turn left in front of you

Or slowing down for a bus stop. But it does sound like the driver was being a dick. If it was clear that there was slow traffic ahead he probably shouldn't have passed you in the first place.

Reporting it won't do any harm. The bus company is unlikely to admit anything but they might have a word with the driver. Unless people report bad driving their employers won't know.

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