Apalling actions from an Arriva bus driver

[BimblingBee]

I wonder if Matthew_T considers himself to be a 'professional rider'? It seems to me that if you are going to video your exploits and highlight poor driving by others regardless of their profession then your own riding must be exemplary.

Would you have followed a car driver to a place of work/home to give them your two pennies worth? I somehow doubt it. Why? Well you probably knew that whilst you may get into a verbal argument the actual likelihood of physical violence with a uniformed bus driver at a main bus station is incredibly small but any argument would certainly make for good (in your view) YouTube footage that would increase your online fame/notoriety. This is highlighted (in my view) that despite living a stones-throw from excellent riding in rural areas away from sources of self induced road rage you insist on revisiting the same areas to encounter cars/buses etc.

As someone else has said you are on dangerous ground and as you get older you will loose the benefit of been viewed as a spotty teenager with a chip on their shoulder to an adult viewed as fair game in a physical fight.

Good luck.

 

[PK99]

And thats a problem?
I can deal with things as I please. I did not at any point cause the driver to swear or threaten me. I approached him in a passive-aggresive tone and did not give him any abuse. .

Again : how do you think the driver might have interpreted your head pointing?

plus: do you understand the meaning of passive aggressive?

Passive-aggressive behavior is behavior that expresses aggression in an indirect, passive way. This includes procrastination, hostile jokes, stubbornness, resentment, sullenness, or deliberate/repeated failure to accomplish requested tasks for which one is (often explicitly) responsible.

and

Passive aggressive behaviour takes many forms but can generally be described as a non-verbal aggression that manifests in negative behavior. It is where you are angry with someone but do not or cannot tell them. Instead of communicating honestly when you feel upset, annoyed, irritated or disappointed you may instead bottle the feelings up, shut off verbally, give angry looks, make obvious changes in behaviour, be obstructive, sulky or put up a stone wall.
http://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/counsellor-articles/what-is-passive-aggressive-behaviour

 

[Kbrook]

Bimbling bee , I agree entirely. He was after a safe confrontation, would he have gone to Mr 18stone, driving a Ford Focus ST, on a council estate with sofa in the garden, with Kylie Jake and Britney smoking fags outside, house.... No he wouldn't.

Any you are also right about where he rides also.

 

[The Jogger]

So that permits the driver to speak to me like s***? Who was he to know that I didnt have any disabilities? I could have had a disability which forces me to assault people. Who was he to know that?

My disability in this case is irrelevant. Seeing a 'professional' bus driver give me the finger would have made me confront him either way.

He might of thought you were giving him the finger when you pointed at your headcam and retaliated.

 

[RWright]

And thats a problem?
I can deal with things as I please. I did not at any point cause the driver to swear or threaten me..

 

[cd365]

but that is your problem mathew seeing someone giving you the finger makes you want to confront them.

There are a lot of people who would confront someone if they are given the bird, it is not just Matthew's problem.

There are a lot of internet bullys on this forum who seem to pick on Matthew no matter what he posts, I for one do not know how he puts up with it and continues to stick with CycleChat. OK his manouver past the bus wasn't the best but does that give the bus driver the right to do what he did? Matthew is quite prepared to stick up for himself and go to someone's boss and complain, if more people did it there might be a massive shift in these so called proffesional/commercial drivers attitude to other road users. If I was the boss of these bus drivers I would give them a final written warning and make sure they receive retraining and be prepared to test them on their Highway Code knowledge.

It is not aspergers that is Matthews problem, it is the fact he is a teenage boy. All he needs to learn is who and when to speak to people when complaining, that will come with age. Matthew is passionate about cycling and wants to educate drivers that cyclists are vulnerable road users. I was a lot more dangerous as a cyclist at his age than he is, his cycling judgement will get better and does appear to be.

I ask all of you internet bullys to have a good think before posting or you could have a Hannah Smith on your conscience.

 

[MontyVeda]

I.... despite living a stones-throw from excellent riding in rural areas away from sources of self induced road rage you insist on revisiting the same areas to encounter cars/buses etc.

....

maybe that's simply 'riding home'

 

[RWright]

Matthew, why did you pass the bus the second time if you felt he was endangering your life? Something about that seems strange to me, why would you put yourself in that situation twice?

I like your videos but I think you are in the wrong on this one. The horn, the pointing at your helmet cam, driver could have thought you were giving him the finger. You approach him sounding like an whiny 8 year old asking him if he understands the consequences of his actions and you have him on video. WTF did you expect him to do? I really think you need to step back and listen to yourself on the video. What you are doing seems like bad mojo to me. Be careful out there and concentrate on what you are doing.

 

[Kbrook]

Hannah smith... Get real, no one is telling Matthew T to top himself. We are pointing out that he is not blameless and he needs to think about his behaviour before he ends in the same place as poor Hannah. And your comment is very insulting to all those who have pointed out the possible consequences of his actions.

 

[ClichéGuevara]

The overtake at the crossing's a bit of a red herring really, Matthew would have passed the bus at the bus stop anyway.

Isn't the bigger issue here the poor road layout? The bus driver over took on chevrons and across a right turn arrow, but to be fair, if he hadn't he'd have been sat there for the duration. There looked to be enough room to make the road 3' wider, which would leave space for all.


Oh, and I agree with a few others, there seems to be a few locals with the pitchforks and flaming torches out for Matthew, who for a youngster is handling the abuse better and more maturely than I would.

 

[The Jogger]

[QUOTE 2614790, member: 30090"]Driving a vehicle in a reckless manner and threatening someone ain't handbags at dawn and inflated ego's.[/quote]

Viewing the video the driving wasn't that bad and as for the cycling that wasn't exactly perfect.

 

[The Jogger]

Oh, and I agree with a few others, there seems to be a few locals with the pitchforks and flaming torches out for Matthew, who for a youngster is handling the abuse better and more maturely than I would.

Most people are disagreeing with his actions are not carrying pitchforks or are abusive.

 

[Hip Priest]

Oh, and I agree with a few others, there seems to be a few locals with the pitchforks and flaming torches out for Matthew, who for a youngster is handling the abuse better and more maturely than I would.

Bit of a straw man that.

Everyone has Matt's best interests at heart, whether they approve of his actions or not. I see no bullying, flaming or abuse, just criticism.

 

[Boris Bajic]

There are a lot of people who would confront someone if they are given the bird, it is not just Matthew's problem.

There are a lot of internet bullys on this forum who seem to pick on Matthew no matter what he posts,

It is not aspergers that is Matthews problem, it is the fact he is a teenage boy. All he needs to learn is who and when to speak to people when complaining, that will come with age. Matthew is passionate about cycling and wants to educate drivers that cyclists are vulnerable road users. I was a lot more dangerous as a cyclist at his age than he is, his cycling judgement will get better and does appear to be.

I ask all of you internet bullys to have a good think before posting or you could have a Hannah Smith on your conscience.

I think this is a valid criticism in many ways. I imagine also that I am one of those bullies to whom you refer.

Like you, I rode a good deal more dangerously as a teen than he does (and drove and rode my motorcycle more dangerously). I was banned before I was old enough to drive and it doesn't get much more stupid and reckless than that. I was a complete arse most of the time and was frequently reminded of it. But...

I did not film myself being an arse. Matthew films himself, arse or otherwise.

I did not seek confrontation. Across several videos over several months, Matthew seems to.

I did not ramp up and up and up a situation that might have been dealt with by a smile or a look or a shrug. Matthew seems to.

I did not post tapes of my derring-do online (OK, there was no 'online') and ask for comment. Matthew does. And he gets it.

Some is supportive (I think wrongly) and some not. I may be very wrong. I may be right. It's the Internet and it doesn't matter.

I know little, but I know this: I've been cycling quite high mileages for most of the forty-plus years I've cycled. I've carried all of my children on kiddie seats and two of them on a tag-along. I've cycled in many, many countries. I have three teen or young-adult children who've got the cycling bug and ride whenever they can. One races too, which I never did but it makes me smile.

In all that time, in all those decades and all those nasty moments when I've tried to move just after a crash or peeled a dressing off a skinned arm... I haven't had a tenth the number of confrontations, rows, abusive confrontations and generally spiky experiences that our young Hero of Righteous Road-Use has seen, filmed and put on line in a few, short months.

I have never boasted about having a taxi driver sacked. It is alarming.

This is a young man (boy) who seems to think it is his place to seek confrontation and to shape a scary, big world into absolute shades of right and wrong. To many, many members of these pages his behaviour is immature, egotistical and at some levels deeply troubling.

I am in no doubt he will continue and am in no doubt he will be supported by others on these pages.

I think he may get to thirty and wish (more than he's ever wished anything in his life) that the whole Internet could be deleted. And most of all his absurd and inflammatory tapes of real and imagined traffic offences on the mean streets of Rhyl.

 

[Hip Priest]

The overtake at the crossing's a bit of a red herring really, Matthew would have passed the bus at the bus stop anyway.

That's the whole point.

There was no need for Matthew to attempt a risky overtake at the pelican crossing, because he would've passed the bus anyway. Foresight.