Stubben idiot

[TwickenhamCyclist]

FFS. It isn't just cyclists who occasionally get a hard time on the road. Bus drivers put up with a lot of crap, and I have a lot of sympathy with them.

Perhaps you should try driving a 12m x 2.5m bus round a tight route and see how you get on? Idiotic parking, no-one stopping to let you out of stops, rude passengers, sometimes pressure to keep to unrealistic timetables in congested traffic, and on it goes. As regards road markings, as has been mentioned, look at the swept path of a bus when it turns, it isn't the same as manoevuring a Ford Fiesta.

Domd1979 – I was obviously writing my post while you posted (I’m a slow typist). You are right about the consideration and co-operation, but in my opinion that was lacking from the side of the bus driver.
Yes bus drivers put up with a lot of crap, and yes they have to keep to unrealistic timetables in congested traffic, and yes the swep path of a bus when it turns isn't the same as manoeuvring a Ford Fiesta – but that’s still no excuse for some of the pants driving from buses that I, and it would seem many others, have experienced on both bike and in cars from a MINORITY of bus drivers.

Just look up videos on youtube – I know that most busses don’t have personal cameras, but look at the amount of clips of cyclist being cut up by busses and compare that to the ONE video of a cyclist annoying a bus driver – our very own nelthus, peed off because a cyclist filters to the front of the lights and doesn’t hold her up in any way.

We all get peed off at times and act selfishly – but the big, big difference is that the worst that happens to a bus driver is that a cyclist curses at them, but the worst that happens to a cyclist is that they are killed.

Sorry – but there is a lot of “might is right” attitude out there from a minority of bus drivers and if we cant vent our anger about it here then where can we?

 

[domd1979]

I more or less agree with what you are saying - it is a minority of bus drivers that sometimes drive badly, and in this instance the bus driver perhaps could have chosen to give way. From what the OP said though, its possible that driver thought he had more room to turn than if a car was sat waiting to turn, then got round the turn realising his mistake - with it being described that the bus went very close to a wall, it does sound like the driver made an effort to keep as much as possible on his side of the road. For a cyclist I wouldn't say it was as dangerous as many other situations - since both the cyclist and the bus were stationary waiting to turn, each knew where the other would be going.

A little while back I was in a not dis-similar position, except I was at some traffic signals - waiting in the ASL, red light, over to the right, as I was turning right when the signal changed in my favour. A bus, from the road to the right, was turning left, as he came round, his front overhang was coming over the ASL where I was waiting. He had no choice but to overhang the ASL on his way round - or else steam over the kerb I suppose - he realised he was close and slowed on his way round, and I backed up as he did so. He had right of way, and my positioning in the ASL was correct - neither of us at fault, but was easily resolved without abuse hurling!! It's interesting to consider the OP's scenario if the junction was signalised.

Domd1979 – I was obviously writing my post while you posted (I’m a slow typist). You are right about the consideration and co-operation, but in my opinion that was lacking from the side of the bus driver.
Yes bus drivers put up with a lot of crap, and yes they have to keep to unrealistic timetables in congested traffic, and yes the swep path of a bus when it turns isn't the same as manoeuvring a Ford Fiesta – but that’s still no excuse for some of the pants driving from buses that I, and it would seem many others, have experienced on both bike and in cars from a MINORITY of bus drivers.

Just look up videos on youtube – I know that most busses don’t have personal cameras, but look at the amount of clips of cyclist being cut up by busses and compare that to the ONE video of a cyclist annoying a bus driver – our very own nelthus, peed off because a cyclist filters to the front of the lights and doesn’t hold her up in any way.

We all get peed off at times and act selfishly – but the big, big difference is that the worst that happens to a bus driver is that a cyclist curses at them, but the worst that happens to a cyclist is that they are killed.

Sorry – but there is a lot of “might is right” attitude out there from a minority of bus drivers and if we cant vent our anger about it here then where can we?

 

[TwickenhamCyclist]

I more or less agree with what you are saying - it is a minority of bus drivers that sometimes drive badly, and in this instance the bus driver perhaps could have chosen to give way. From what the OP said though, its possible that driver thought he had more room to turn than if a car was sat waiting to turn, then got round the turn realising his mistake - with it being described that the bus went very close to a wall, it does sound like the driver made an effort to keep as much as possible on his side of the road. For a cyclist I wouldn't say it was as dangerous as many other situations - since both the cyclist and the bus were stationary waiting to turn, each knew where the other would be going.

A little while back I was in a not dis-similar position, except I was at some traffic signals - waiting in the ASL, red light, over to the right, as I was turning right when the signal changed in my favour. A bus, from the road to the right, was turning left, as he came round, his front overhang was coming over the ASL where I was waiting. He had no choice but to overhang the ASL on his way round - or else steam over the kerb I suppose - he realised he was close and slowed on his way round, and I backed up as he did so. He had right of way, and my positioning in the ASL was correct - neither of us at fault, but was easily resolved without abuse hurling!! It's interesting to consider the OP's scenario if the junction was signalised.

 

[Joe24]

I do realise busses need more room then a car, which is why if i have seen a bus there about to turn down, i move over to the left where its safe, so they can come down the road with no problem. So its not that i was expecting the bus to use the same room as a car.
If a police van would of cut the courner too much then i wouldnt of been too happy, but they probably wouldnt of slowed down or struggled as much as the bus did. I'd also hope that they would have some consideration and let me go, but for a van theres normally enough room.