Appalling bus driving

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gaz

Cycle Camera TV
Location
South Croydon
I certainly go through stages where by I will get / see more crappy driving. You're going to have this problem more than the rest of us due to the time you travel :sad:
 

Bigsharn

Veteran
Location
Leeds
From personal experience it's very rare that Transdev will do anything about dodgy driving, so it's a good thing you went straight to TFL. That was a horrendous overtake and he deserves to be pulled up on it.

The drivers at work soon get told if they do anything wrong in overtaking a cyclist. Just get a job at TfL and you're sorted :tongue:
 
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benborp

benborp

Guru
Just had a phone call from TfL.

I've been asked to grant permission for all of the details of the first incident to be passed on to the relevant manager at the bus company.

I think I should probably get another call before the end of the day regarding the second incident in that case.
 

pshore

Well-Known Member
I've seen a lot of these bad-bus-driver threads go past and there is always a complaints procedure that if lucky ends in a ticking off.

What narks me is that for buses, they are contracted to do that job for us by our councils. In some cases they are subsidised so our council tax pays for them to drive around.

So, given that we are paying for these drivers, we are entitled to push for better standards for drivers we employ.

Wouldn't it be interesting to have an open national database of drivers and companies that we pay for and the levels of complaints against them. I not saying make the drivers identifiable, just a unique number or something so we can see how good or bad they are.

Before you shout no chance, too much money etc, remember we have fixthathole etc created and run for free that has pushed open-ness and results in a positive direction.

End of though dump.
 
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benborp

benborp

Guru
I just followed up my complaints to TfL regarding the two bus drivers. I hadn't had any response to the Transdev complaint but I had been told that the Go-Ahead driver would be investigated.

Apparently both incidents had been passed over to the companies involved for investigation and the result was that both drivers have been disciplined. The usual statement was made that due to data protection legislation the details of what disciplinary actions were taken could not be revealed.

I'm fairly happy with that.
 

buddha

Veteran
Today was a bit mad on the A23.

First a no.59 forces me in to the gutter on Kennington Rd. I observe that this driver seems oblivious to all other forms of traffic, so give them a wide berth.

A few minutes later, going up Brixton Hill (at more than 15mph - it's not really a hill is it?) a no.109 overtakes and immediately swings left, in to my path at a bus stop and slams on the brakes. Even at a mere 15mph up a slight gradient I had to do an emergency stop.
Then he puts the left indicator on :rolleyes:

Finally, an HGV decides it's okay to overtake me, and the car in front, waiting for an elderly lady to cross the road. Almost taking both me, and the ped out in succession.

Once past Croydon though, drivers were patient and gave me lots of room :thumbsup:
 

Deb13b

New Member
Location
Co. Durham
Omfg those vids are really scary. I think anyone who cycles in a busy city ( especially London ) is either very brave or totally insane. Or perhaps a bit of both
 
Yep, cambridge buses have cameras on them too, and when I was pushed into the pavement by one and injured badly, the police tried to trace the driver who just drove off. Based on the time it was narrowed down to two buses, one of which the footage did not show me, and the other bus apparently had a "faulty" harddrive and the footage was lost... Based on this (lack of hard evidence despite a witness, but we did not take the reg number) the police were not prepared to prosecute. :sad:

Which bus company was that Maggie?
 

astrocan

Veteran
Location
Abingdon, Oxon
I asked him whether he had watched the onboard CCTV footage, and mentioned that I was a police officer.
He sounded like he was mopping up coffee at the other end of the phone line and muttered something about hard drive faults

That sounds like great fun if you are a police officer. At what point, exactly, does the offence of impersonationg a police officer kick in?
Perhaps the fault on the hard drive was coffee contamination?

As an LGV driving instructor I can usually deliver an accurate and devastating critique at the roadside which I follow up with a complaint by phone and a letter. In the last letter I pointed out that I had written several times with no discernable improvement in standards and if I was obliged to write again then a copy of all corespondence would be sent to Vehicle & Operator Services Agency (VOSA).
There is no evidence that this had any effect other than to say that was about a year ago and I have not had cause to write again, so it might be a tactic that others could employ.
 

Cubist

Still wavin'
Location
Ovver 'thill
That sounds like great fun if you are a police officer. At what point, exactly, does the offence of impersonationg a police officer kick in?
Perhaps the fault on the hard drive was coffee contamination?

As an LGV driving instructor I can usually deliver an accurate and devastating critique at the roadside which I follow up with a complaint by phone and a letter. In the last letter I pointed out that I had written several times with no discernable improvement in standards and if I was obliged to write again then a copy of all corespondence would be sent to Vehicle & Operator Services Agency (VOSA).
There is no evidence that this had any effect other than to say that was about a year ago and I have not had cause to write again, so it might be a tactic that others could employ.
I don't suppose saying you're a cop when you aren't is a good idea!

Your approach would indeed have a devastating effect, if the driver is listening!
I remember a driving instructor came into the nick when I was on the front desk. He told me that he had just witnessed an HGV reversing out of Pellon Wire Works onto the main road without assistance, and he thought that was a very dangerous thing to do, and of course contrary to the Road Traffic Act (it isn't per se, it's just contrary to the HC)

"So I got out of my car, and went and spoke with the driver." He said "I told him what I had seen and I told him that he didn't have to say anything but what he did say would be given in evidence."

"Really" I replied, "And what was his reply to the caution?"

"He told me to f*ck off."
 
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