Bus driver jailed

[Norm]

Which, unfortunately, we don't appear to have a facility for in law. Better still would be to have mechanisms in place to stop people from driving in the first place, if there is any significant liability that they might ever exhibit such behavior. I appreciate that this could mean surrendering my licence but there you go.

US spelling aside, I find myself in agreement with all of this including, worryingly, the last sentence.

I also work in a field where there are a lot of nice, caring people, and surprisingly enough to me aggressive people often do well. They may not have a lot of friends, but they often get promoted, and they win far more than their fair share of arguments, because people are afraid to cross them because they worry about the consequences. If we tackled aggression better and more effectively at a younger age, and it ceased to bring the rewards it does, then we wouldn't have so many people who go around with fizzling fuses.

I'm not sure if you consider the aggressive person to be the cyclist, who ranted for quite a while, or the bus driver who calmly tried to kill him.

 

[Nebulous]

I'm not sure if you consider the aggressive person to be the cyclist, who ranted for quite a while, or the bus driver who calmly tried to kill him.

I was trying to move away from this incident to look at more general aspects of human behaviour- I wasn't actually referring to either of them. We get people dividing into two camps - Be nice to people and they wont hurt you or stand up for yourself always or someone will take advantage. I was trying to frame the discussion in different terms.

Regard aggression as a tool . People use it because it works - and we learn that very early in life. Children often go through a phase of having a tantrum in supermarkets. Parents may respond by giving something to the child to keep it quiet. That doesn't always lead 30 years later to hitting someone with a bus - but it does start a recognition that there are returns for being aggressive.

 

[al78]

Neither you nor I are in any position to give a serious answer to that question - my supposition would be as wild and unfounded as yours.

All I can honestly say is, as I have already, that I might want to handle some of my own incidents rather differently another time.

And even then, there's no guarantees. The van driver who quite deliberately walloped me with his mirror on Wednesday did so AFTER I had entirely ignored his close pass and verbal abuse.

Well perhaps you should be confronting people who claim the bus driver should be charged for attempted murder, after all, there is no way you or anyone else is in a position to know that he intended to kill the cyclist.

When analyzing a situation, balance of probability does come into it. It is known from a lot of people's experience that confronting drivers in an aggressive manner tends to inflame an already heated situation. Absolute proof doesn't exist in real life, and is not the standard required to come to a conclusion about a particular situation. Therefore in this case I will claim that confronting the driver in the way the cyclist did is extremely likely to have had an influence on the drivers actions. That is not the same as saying the cyclist was at fault or he deserved what he got, but that it was likely a contributing factor.

I once started a thread on here about whether I should have confronted a driver in a very similar situation to this when I had the opportunity. The overwhelming advice was that it is a bad idea and it is best to avoid confrontation.

Anyway, I'm not going to post any more in this thread given it just seems to be going round in circles so it probably best to let it die gracefully.

 

[Norm]

I was trying to move away from this incident to look at more general aspects of human behaviour- I wasn't actually referring to either of them.

Excellent post, IMO.

 

[Baggy]

Having seen the footage of what happened on the roundabout, I can see why the cyclist might have been feeling confrontational (at 28 seconds) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17069235

 

[PK99]

There is a distinct difference between victim blaming and looking at a situation and educating what to do in the future should anyone else come into such conflict. After all no one wants to get hurt out in the roads and cycling is forever a learning process.

Exactly the approach we we encouraged to adopt in Victim Support training: It is the criminals crime but sometimes the victim's behaviour has put them in danger - which is why I collect my daughters from the station late or night or pay for a taxi home.

If the stories of an ongoing argument between driver and cyclist are correct, I doubt anyone would suggest he would be wise to engage in a similar argument in future.

 

[DresdenDoom]

Er no, I'd have to disagree that pensioners are viewed anywhere near as negatively as cyclists are, quite the opposite in fact. I can guarantee that if someone assaulted an OAP after a previous altercation virtually everyone (excluding obvious trolls) would be condemning the attacker.

There's always a problem where a genuine difference of opinion looks like trolling, but it can't be helped. I find I've been forced thru circumstances to join a club of which I'm not a natural member. Perhaps I should call myself Groucho?! Whatever, I share the same road space and encounter the same hazards as everyone else, although I perceive them slightly differently I think. I had my lifetime first SMIDSY only 2 days ago. I braked and steered behind her. Nothing to see here, move along folks it's just life and doesn't need posting on youtube.

 

[400bhp]

You know, I was tootling to work yesterday and I was having a think about this thread, and I wondered how long it would be before somebody threw this into the mix, thank you for not disappointing me dawsome

The ignore button is great.

 

[400bhp]

Having seen the footage of what happened o n the roundabout, I can see why the cyclist might have been feeling confrontational (at 28 seconds) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17069235

I get a few of those now and then. In fact I had on on Friday and one on Saturday. It's really agressive, impatient and selfish driving. These days I do try to let it go.

 

[semislickstick]

From the MIRROR

"Hill was disqualified from driving for two-and-a-half years and ordered to pass an extended driving test"

Usually run concurrent with prison sentences don't they.

 

[PK99]

Having seen the footage of what happened on the roundabout, I can see why the cyclist might have been feeling confrontational (at 28 seconds) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17069235

At 33 seconds ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17069235 ) the bus is moving from its bus lane onto the roundabout (check out the Google map satellite image of the junction), is indicating right, and is in the process of changing lane.

The cyclist at that point is in primary position, behind the bus on lane to the right,with a clear view of the direction of travel of the bus and of the rear right indicator.

The cyclist had a choice: Keep line and speed and end up along side the bus sharing the lane OR slow slightly and slot in behind the bus. He chose the first option.

Look at that portion of the video without knowledge of the subsequent events.

 

[400bhp]

At 33 seconds ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17069235 ) the bus is moving from its bus lane onto the roundabout (check out the Google map satellite image of the junction), is indicating right, and is in the process of changing lane.

The cyclist at that point is in primary position, behind the bus on lane to the right,with a clear view of the direction of travel of the bus and of the rear right indicator.

The cyclist had a choice: Keep line and speed and end up along side the bus sharing the lane OR slow slightly and slot in behind the bus. He chose the first option.

Look at that portion of the video without knowledge of the subsequent events.

Is it this junction?

If so, then there is no bus lane and it appears the bus went through on red.

 

[spen666]

this is worth looking athttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2102578/Cyclist-Phillip-Mead-forgives-road-rage-bus-driver-Gavin-Hill-mowed-down.html'] I feel sorry for driver[/URL]

 

[col]

Is it this junction?

If so, then there is no bus lane and it appears the bus went through on red.

Looks like the lights are for the road on the right. They are facing the road they are for.

 

[400bhp]

Looks like the lights are for the road on the right. They are facing the road they are for.

Additionally, if you look back away from the junction, the road the bus driver comes from is left turn only.

Now, this assumes I have picked up the correct roundabout of course.