2 f*ckwits in 15 minutes. Must be "idiot on the road" day

[Sh4rkyBloke]

So, it's just coming up to 7.55am and I'm on my way to meet up with Tharg for our commute in this morning. So far, so good.

I go past a Wiseman Daires lorry (40ft artic) who is stopped at the lights behind another car, and as the lights change I continue onwards towards the Town Centre. About 500m further down the road (just after some more lights) I hear him behind me and accelerating, but there's no other traffic and there's plenty of room to overtake...

... the first part of his overtake is okay, not brilliant, but okay.... but then clearly he has decided that he's gone far enough past me to start pulling back over to the left... it's a shame that about 1/3 of his trailer hadn't yet passed me and I ended up with it about 10" from my shoulder as he ploughed onwards, regardless.

The adrenaline kicks in and I get out of the saddle to chase him, fairly certain that he'll be stopped at the next set of lights down the road (they're always red when I approach!). I catch him there, but just as they are changing so I have just enough time to shout to him to ask what he's playing at, and why can't he fully get past the cyclist before pulling back in. He just looks at me blankly and I take primary in front of him through the lights and round the corner (muttering to myself, of course) as I'm taking the next right turn. I signal and move to the centre of the road and look back (with my angry eyes) to see him shouting at me and giving me the finger. F*cking muppet!

Meet with Tharg about 10 mins later and we start on our way. Obviously I bore him silly with my story too.

Down the road we are doing about 20mph and just approaching a zebra crossing as a bus is bearing down on us from behind. I look back as I hear him starting to overtake us and see that he's already beside Tharg (who's behind me) while the oncoming traffic is continuing, and he's not moving out much at all. I gesticulate with the old "palm facing them and out to my side" to try and make him refrain from going past... but he blunders on anyway, forcing us to take evasive action and move to the left. All this takes place on the zig-zags of the crossing too.

We catch him down the road and stop to have a word or 20. Obviously it's our fault he can't get past, but he had to overtake as there was traffic coming the other way.... yep, that's pretty much what he said before he stated that "I'm done with you" and closed his window on us.

It's fair to say we were quite irate and rather vocal at this point (having almost been killed by him) and I opened his window to tell him that he wasn't finished with our little chat just yet...

We tried to explain how dangerous the overtake had been, and that it was also illegal... to which he looked blank and started to argue otherwise. It ended with me shouting that he was on camera (which unfortunately isn't working at the moment) and maybe he should read a copy of the Highway Code some point soon.

WTF? Why do these idiots blame others for their f*ckwittery? Really gets my goat!

<rant over>

 

[Sh4rkyBloke]

Oh, just to flag the reg plates:
Wiseman Dairies: SF03 VPA
Finglands Bus: YX51 AYD

Both muppets.

 

[Tharg2007]

it seems to be a common bus driver excuse, "there was traffic coming the other way".

191

You MUST NOT park on a crossing or in the area covered by the zig-zag lines. You MUST NOT overtake the moving vehicle nearest the crossing or the vehicle nearest the crossing which has stopped to give way to pedestrians.

[Laws ZPPPCRGD regs 18, 20 & 24, RTRA sect 25(5) & TSRGD regs 10, 27 & 28]

 

[magnatom]

Get your camera fixed, pronto!!!

 

[thomas]

Shame no video, could be useful to send to the companies.

I know how scarey lorries pulling in too soon can be.

 

[upsidedown]

Not defending the Wiseman driver's driving, but if you'd stayed behind him at the lights he'd be one less who had to get past you.

 

[Sheepy1209]

Not excusing the bus driver, he was clearly in the wrong, but pointing out that it's NOT illegal to overtake on the zig-zags.

What's illegal is to overtake the moving vehicle nearest the crossing, or the stationary vehicle nearest the crossing IF it's waiting for someone to cross. While it's simpler to treat zigzags as 'no overtaking' it's more subtle than that - but the difference is important for any filtering 2-wheeler.

Bus driver though - clearly a git.

<edit: oops, beaten by User3143>

 

[Rob3rt]

Manchester Bus drivers are off their f*cking tits, no point in getting irrate at them because they dont give a damn.

I find the most common thing they do (in my experience) that is highly annoying and quite dangerous is, at a bus stop they are stationary, so you have 3 choices overtake (what you should do), hit the back of the bus(dont know how to break?) or stop behind them (lengthening your overall journey and shortening your life breathing the muck they are spewing out), so you choose option 1, you begin to overtake them, then they start to pull out without looking and accelerate, hence forcing you to remain on the outside, you gesture to them to either hurry up and undertake or slow down and let you pull back into the inside, and they just keep pootling along not letting you move in, which not only is dangerous, but it annoys the other drivers who are now stuck behind you, them being drivers dont realise that the bus is the one causing the issue and become angry at you.

Its happened to me at least 3 times near the precinct on oxford road and a couple of times between fallowfield and didsbury in the last 2 weeks.

 

[Tharg2007]

Had you stopped to give way to some peds then?

try reading it again

You MUST NOT overtake the moving vehicle nearest the crossing

we were moving as sharky has said

 

[thomas]

we were moving as sharky has said

I believe on zig zags cyclists do not count as vehicles. Someone posted a bit of the highway code supporting it the other day. Though, it doesn't really matter what it says as it sounds like the driver didn't have a clue.

 

[Tharg2007]

Sorry what part should I read? I'll ask you again, did you stop for a ped that was using the crossing?

You MUST NOT overtake the moving vehicle nearest the crossing

this bit, we were moving vehicles nearest the crossing

 

[Tharg2007]

That's fine then, you should have said in the first place though Tharg

i did say it so I will just take the above as an admission you were wrong and leave it at that

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Bigfontastic! Keep the noise down lads - I'm trying to get some kip here!

 

[Lurker]

Not excusing the bus driver, he was clearly in the wrong, but pointing out that it's NOT illegal to overtake on the zig-zags.

What's illegal is to overtake the moving vehicle nearest the crossing, or the stationary vehicle nearest the crossing IF it's waiting for someone to cross. While it's simpler to treat zigzags as 'no overtaking' it's more subtle than that - but the difference is important for any filtering 2-wheeler.

Eh? It's illegal to overtake a moving vehicle nearest the crossing (and, in the UK, pedal cycles are vehicles) - although the HC isn't worded as well as it could be. Whoever drafted the HC could have made their meaning clearer if they had said:

"191

You MUST NOT park on a crossing or in the area covered by the zig-zag lines. You MUST NOT overtake the moving vehicle nearest the crossing. You MUST NOT overtake the vehicle nearest the crossing which has stopped to give way to pedestrians."

[Laws ZPPPCRGD regs 18, 20 & 24, RTRA sect 25(5) & TSRGD regs 10, 27 & 28]

 

[hackbike 666]

Get your camera fixed, pronto!!!

What is the point though?

I only get the odd incident myself although I wish I had a camera for the classic yesterday where the knob in his company car left hooked me at Aldgate one way system...(he came from the middle lane I think) I was not expecting it I must admit because when he turned left he found he was looking at 4 lanes of traffic waiting for the lights to change as it was a one way street.

I was already shouting "you cant go left you f-ing twat".

I think I was more annoyed how he just cut across me...not the doing the left turn lark into a one way street wrong way.

So when he works it out he swings it round merrily and it's all sorted.I was already looking out for his next manoeuvre after his first trick.

How he didn't see the 4 lanes of traffic pointing at him at the first place I will never know.Sorry I was bursting to tell that story.

Actually I think I will tke the camera and record these little gems...I can always delete the boring stuff.