Annoyed and Angry...Go Ahead Bus

[Trickedem]

Ever since being knocked off on my commute, I have taken to wearing a helmet cam so I will have some evidence if anything happens. I don't regard myself as a helmet cam vigilante and I normally delete the close passes and the like. However on my way home tonight, about 100 metres from where I was knocked off before, I had one of the closest passes I have ever had from a bus. I can't help but think it was deliberate and I was pretty shook up. In the past I have reported bad driving to Roadsafe (no response) and another bus company (standard reply), so I am not sure what to do with this.

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

move on

 

[gaz]

Give them a foot and they will take an inch.

In situations like this, i can't help but think that it is some kind of punishment for pushing in front, which is what you did. There was no ASL there, you just pushed in front of him. I would recommend waiting behind the first bus. Why? Open road syndrome.

Open road syndrome is where a driver can see the open road ahead, and they just must get in front so they can go their speed. However, with a bus in front blocking the view of the open road, the likely hood of them passing is very much lower.

I'm of course not excusing such driving but I like to think we can look back at our footage and try and make our selves safer cyclists.

 

[Hip Priest]

Very close indeed. There's no excuse for a pass like that, but Gaz is right about open-road syndrome. I often opt to sit in primary behind the traffic, providing I'm sure I'll get through the lights on that sequence, for that very reason.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

My first thought while watching this was " I know I'm a country bumpkin, but them cyclist in that there London certainly like to take risks" yeah, I would have stayed well behind the two buses
No excuse for poor driving, @Trickedem , scary experience, good you're ok.

 

[Pale Rider]

There was plenty of time for Trickers to filter to the front of the queue of two buses.

As regards the pass, it was close, but was it also not on zebra crossing zig-zag lines?

I think it's an offence to pass a car on those, although I'm not sure if it's an offence to pass a cyclist.

 

[MarkF]

Poor driving, but if I had been familiar with that road, narrow, busy with railings blocking my escape, I wouldn't have filtered in front of the bus.

 

[MarkF]

It was two buses though. What if it is several?

I didn't like the look of that road and railings, it reminds me of one out of Shipley, I'd wait, just as I would behind courier vans too, the drivers are stressed and more concerned with their schedule than the cyclist.

 

[andyfraser]

I'm quite lucky. My commute is on reasonably quiet roads so I opt to stay in traffic in primary because It doesn't make that much difference. On rare occasions where it's bad enough that I do filter I don't go all the way to the front for reasons similar to @gaz.

One of the advantages of cycling is you can filter rather just sit in traffic. I don't know what I'd do on roads like that. If you don't filter you might as well be in a car I suppose.

I think I'd definitely report the bus driver though. There's no excuse for a pass like that. I think I've said this before but I'd be asking what the bus driver would think if he'd knocked the OP off and killed him. If he'd feel nothing he shouldn't be driving. If he'd be devastated he should've thought of that before making a dangerous pass.

 

[AndyRM]

Poor from the bus driver. Though just because you can get by on a bike, doesn't mean you necessarily should.

 

[Tanis8472]

No excuse for the close pass, but you also went over the stop line to get in front of bus. A no no as far as im concerned.
ASL would be fine obviously. I would have waited behind as others have said.

 

[400bhp]

So bl00dy stupid that overtake, more so given that there's railings on your left,

It's a bit tricky to decide what to do when you've got a couple of buses waiting at red. As @gaz says, it's a punishment pass for going to the front, exacerbated because of your over emphasised positioning move to his left when you went past.

 

[CopperBrompton]

I'm with TNM here. The pass was dangerous, but you crossed the stop line in order to put yourself in that position. With an open road ahead, the buses were likely to make faster progress, and if not it's never long before they pull up at a bus stop.

 

[Trickedem]

Thanks for the comments everyone. Because of the angle of the bus at the front of the queue I thought he was turning right as some buses do at this junction. But even if I made a mistake it doesn't excuse the dangerous driving. I could easily have not shown that part of the recording, but I deliberately left it in to add context. Anyway I am going to report this as it was so close and if I had wobbled I almost certainly would have been seriously hurt.

 

[Beebo]

I know that road through Plumstead all too well, having been hit not far from that junction. It is a horrid stretch of road.
What may not be clear from the video is that the bus at the lights is actually at a bus stop. I've often thought it is a stupid place to put a bus stop, it makes the traffic do silly things at the lights, so if i can i will try to get in front of the buses.
It doesnt condone the stupid close pass though.