Supportive pedestrian

[Blackandblue]

A big thank you to the pedestrian who, yesterday evening, got on a bus to remonstrate with the driver who had cut me up.

The driver swooped past me and squashed me into the kerb. I banged on the side of the bus but he proceeded to squash me further. I pulled up to his cab and asked him what he was playing at. After remonstrating with another cyclist on the right hand side of his bus he turned to me and colourfully explained that he indicated, I should have seen his indicator and I should have got out of his way. I tried to explain that, to do this, I would have needed to stop and reverse backwards behind his bus. The use of an indicator to did not entitle him to drive through whatever was in his way, I told him. I don't think he heard me though as he was still shouting obscenities at me. He also had to deal with the chap who got on the bus and gave him a mouthful about cutting up cyclists. This chap then got off the bus. He wasn't intending to take that bus but still got on to support my case. Bravo to him.

Genital warts unto the bus driver.

 

[thomas]

Hopefully he learnt a lesson!

 

[Woz!]

Don't busses have a fun "Engine Cutoff" button on the back any more?

 

[JamesAC]

Don't busses have a fun "Engine Cutoff" button on the back any more?

Yes ..but why penalize a bus full of passengers who are just trying to go about their business?

 

[thomas]

Yes ..but why penalize a bus full of passengers who are just trying to go about their business?

Isn't it just a warning bell? Agreed, that by using it you really loose any right to complain. In Norwich a driver got annoyed with a bus so parked in front of it and refused to move (the double decker buses can't be reversed without a back man) so they had to wait hours for the police to come.

 

[Woz!]

Yes ..but why penalize a bus full of passengers who are just trying to go about their business?

I've never pressed it myself, but if I'd been run off the road and then verbally abused, I'd have no problems penalizing the passengers while I called the bus company to make my complaint.

 

[magnatom]

It's possible that the bus has external (and internal) CCTV. You should report the incident to the bus company. The driver obviously has an attitude problem and should not be on the road.

 

[Crankarm]

You could also ring up the Driving Standards Agency (DSA). I did when I was a passenger once on a bus where the driver frequently drove through 30mph limits in residential areas at 45-50mph late in the evening. She, yes a she although it was hard to tell, also drove with her foot to the floor 65-70 mph with one hand on the wheel and the other glued to her phone on badly subsided roads as they are around here making the ride for passengers rather scary and uncomfortable. The DSA were most helpful. I then saw a couple of inspectors on the bus the next week. After that the driver disappeared.........vaporised hopefully. The DSA have a very good website. They monitor driving standards of HGVs and PSVs. They can revoke licenses I think.

 

[Tynan]

buses are normally very good on my rides but I did get chopped by one who then flatly refused to concede that a bus had to indicate when stopping at a bus stop

 

[dudi]

Bravo to the chappy.

I would lodge 2 formal complaints about the driver.
firstly for nearly squishing you.
secondly for swearing a lot in front of his paying fares...

i'm sure, even in London, the bus company doesn't want it's driver squashing people or swearing...

 

[Jake]

where did this happen? Was cycling up brixton hill last night on way home, and heard this cyclist yelling at someone, but thought the other person was in a car as there was a bus infront of me. all i could here was shouting all the way up the hill!

 

[Blackandblue]

The incident happened just north of the junction at the north end of Blackfriars Bridge - heading southbound. It was at the bus stop outside El Vino's for those that know the area.

I got my phone out to take a picture of the driver but it didn't react in time before he shut his doors. I shook my head at him as we sat together at the next set of red lights. (I appreciate that it isn't all that scary or intimidating to be on the receiving end of me shaking my head - but I wasn't trying to scare or intimidate him.) I also made a point of reading his reg number and the number of the bus. I then promptly forgot them. I then left him behind in traffic.

I have to say my immediate reaction was to locate the cut off switch but I wasn't sure whether these were still readily accessible and in any event I'm not sure I can reconcile inconveniencing the passengers.

I then thought about lodging a complaint but I couldn't be bothered. Maybe if he thinks I got his photo and logged the details of his bus he'll sweat a little bit and maybe temper his actions in future.

Ultimately I was pleased with myself for putting the matter behind me and not lowering myself to his level - neither in terms of language used during our exchange nor in terms of aggressive behaviour. In times gone by I would have found this more difficult.

It helps sharing the experience on this forum.

Like EMD, I generally find bus drivers in London quite courteous (bearing in mind how many of them there are) - but there's always a rotten apple sooner or later.

 

[Jake]

it si worth reporting, even if you feel nothing will come of it. I think a lot of people one here, myself inclucded have had emails replied. so give it a try. Road surface is terrible all the way down that road, right from the top of the hill, then down past Evans and the cross roads, then down to the bridge. so many holes and just road uneaven mess

 

[swee'pea99]

(the double decker buses can't be reversed without a back man) so they had to wait hours for the police to come.

Friend of mine used to drive two routes, one of which, going west from Oxford Street, went straight on round Marble Arch and down Bayswater, t'other of which went left down Park Lane to Hyde Park corner (apologies to non-Londoners).

One day in heavy rush hour traffic, mind drifting, he suddenly came round to the noise of passengers banging furiously on the back window of his cab, and realised that he'd started turning down Park Lane, when today's route should've been a straight on. Traffic being the way it was, getting down Park Lane and then back up again could have been half an hour easy, so he got a bunch of passengers to get off the back of the bus and wave other vehicles back and to the sides until he had just enough space to reverse back the ten yards or so necessary to make the turn. Which he eventually managed, to gails of ironic cheering and applause from a rush-hour double-decker full of passengers.

 

[tyred]

Don't busses have a fun "Engine Cutoff" button on the back any more?

There's always a few cut-off for safety reasons. Screw that off and leave some poor mechanic to spend a few hours trying to figure out why there is no diesel coming though.

When I was at secondary school, a friend of mine did it as a joke to the bus belonging to a visiting football team when they beat our team