Near Miss of the Day 318: Bus driver ploughs straight across cyclist’s path on mini roundabout

Cressex Road, respect for wanting to ride down there. Bus driver was probably surprised that he was actually moving at that time and wanted to get out of there before traffic built up.

I have just had yet another near miss from a Stagecoach bus. This idiot decided to punish me for having the nerve to not use the hawthorne clippings covered, shit strewn cycle path so decided to teach me a lesson. He overtook me inside a pedestrian reuge crossing in the centre of the road. Anyone who has been passed through one of these pinch points by a car driver knows how close the car is, so imagine a huge bus close passing you through a crossing point. I caught up with him at the next bus stop, before I could remonstrate with him he opened the window and kept telling me to use the cycle path. 

I have reported it to Lancashire Police, not even a reply. I have reported it to the inspector at the Preston depot, who said he would look into it and get back to me. No reply. I emailed the CEO of Stagecoach, no reply from him but a standard Dear John email from his PA, word for word the same as the email she sent me in August when another one of their drivers tried to kill me by teaching me a lesson for not using the cycle path. When I sent her a sarcastic email back pointing out the duplicate reply, and asking her where the reply was for the first incident, she didn't bother replying.

In future if I have a Stagecoach bus approaching me from behind, I will move from secondary to primary position, fuck 'em. I will make sure they can't squeeze through, which is sad really, as I may piss other people off but my wife wants me to return from my rides alive.

For information, if anyone has any problems with a Stagecoach driver, the CEO email address is martin.griffiths [at] stagecoachgroup.com

Don't get your hopes up, he won't reply.

Report it to the police please and as others have said, if they don't act / after they act, the traffic commisioner. Also local council might be interested as it is the local population on that bus as well as anyone who it collides with.

"Redline Buses has refused to cooperate and will not provide me with the contact information for a manager or supervisor despite leaving a message and speaking with their staff."

If that's the hole Redline want to dig for themselves, their "failure to cooperate", their lack of appropriate systems, processes and procedures, would be "of interest" ... at the very least, to both:-

• The Traffic Commissioner;
• The Health and Safety Executive.

Neither will be interested in the shocking driving ... it's regarded as a matter for the police.  But they SHOULD note, and hopefully act on, the corporate and management failures in the company's treatment of the incident. 

'Driver made eye contact' but obviously never saw him!

It could just be that, the driver never considered giving way to a bike.

Whatever, very poor professional driving. Suggest report to police if the bus company aren't playing ball.

Since a roundabout is a circular road in itself, the reality it's whoever is on it first.  on a mini rouandabout it prob shouldn't be.  But I think technically they all treated the same.  A big roundabout where you can't see the exit to your right? deliberately obscured entrys? They aren't in reality all the same.

https://www.transportfocus.org.uk/advice-and-complaints/bus-complaints/

Bus complaints

Transport Focus is unable to help passengers with specific complaints about bus and coach (scheduled domestic) services. However there are other organisations that will be able to help you. Their various roles and contact details are all explained below.

Both cyclist and bus belting onto a roundabout at speed, both with a feeling of being inconvenienced to give way.  I'm no different.  Cyclist wins in this case as on it 1st.  This is why they deliberately obscure visibility on some roundabout appraoches. Mostly I find when there is doubt on RoW, the car stops for me.

Bus driving seems to attract more than its fair share of psychopaths.

I've lost count of the close passes I've had from Thames Travel/River Rapids bus drivers. 

Please report it OP... there will be no problem in finding out who the driver was from the time/date/location, if the police are sufficiently interested, which one would hope they should be.

Rode through High Wycombe a few years ago.  Can confirm that the drivers there are idiots.

Relatively common behaviour for a bus driver (and the majority of vehicles on a mini roundabout) in my experience.

It does sometimes seem as if the better the visibility, the more likely someone is to just barge through.

But in any case, if the bus co is ignoring you then pass it onto your local police.  Definitely.

Please report this to the police!! That's terrifying.

Mini-roundabouts, the only thing in the world more confusing than quantum physics

Clearly had no intention of giving way - far too much effort to have to pick up speed again if having to wait for a cyclist. Needs reporting or it will become acceptable behaviour.  Sometimes we are inconvenienced by other road users, road works , traffic lights etc - accept it.

Lyndon, police.  Please.

There could be many people on that bus, and someting of that size will destroy anything that it touches.  Yet another highly trained, professional driver.

Please report this to the police (which probably means it shouldn't be on here). Even if you accept (a) the possibility of the cyclist being hidden in a blind spot and (b) that the bus may not physically have been able to go fully around (as opposed to over) the mini-roundabout, the driver made no attempt to slow or to negotiate the roundabout correctly. Surely the police can take this up without a full reg no, because the bus company should be able to identify the driver based on route and time.