Thank you First Buses for trying to kill me!

[silverbow]

This morning at around 07:45 a First Bus past me with inches to spare. I was sucked into the bus and glanced off the side. (I have the dirt on my Hi-Viz to prove it!). I managed, I'm not exactly sure how to stay vertical and on 2 wheels mainly due to the fact that I had 2' 6" of road to wobble/accelerate into rather than hit the kerb.


Maybe it was difficult for the idiot to see me:

• It was a dead straight road
• I was only wearing one Hi-Viz jacket
• I only had 2 LED lights on the rear, 1 perm/1 flashing

Or maybe it was because he was doing circa 60 in a 40?

I don't know why but I seem rather calm about the whole thing.

I was just trying to remember if I had left that big comedy target on my back or the flashing ‘500 Bonus points’ on the back of my helmet, but no I haven’t!

 

[magnatom]

Write to First Bus and complain. At the same time suggest they take part in a cycling campaign. To help encourage them show them this. It can and does work!

 

[silverbow]

Write to First Bus and complain. At the same time suggest they take part in a cycling campaign. To help encourage them show them this. It can and does work!

Thanks for the link. Good advice I shall write and I'll let you konw how I get on.

 

[Origamist]

Your visibility is not the issue here - the cavalier/lazy/disdainful treatment that was meted out to you by the driver is the real problem.

 

[hackbike 666]

Bloody Worst Buses total crap.Sorry for what happened to you silverbow.

 

[HLaB]

They can be extremely bad but their schedulers want to take a good look at themselves too, expecting buses to get from A to B in too short a time.

 

[thomas]

Thanks for the link. Good advice I shall write and I'll let you konw how I get on.

I wrote to their head office in Norwich (or for the Norfolk area). I never got a reply. Very similar case to yours, it was coming up to a roundabout as it moved in on me. I had to hit the bus about 5 times before the driver stopped. Even then him and another driver just get a mouthful of really threatening abuse. It was outside a police station too, where I said we should report me hitting their bus and them trying to kill me.

They just kept on driving. Numberplate was too filthy to read, really disappointed.

I got the helmet camera like 3 days after that incident.

If you do write ask where my bloody apology is

 

[Arch]

Glad you are ok, and take them to the cleaners....

 

[Twenty Inch]

Write to them, and copy in

1) your MP
2) local plod
3) local council

Ask them to review their inside and outside cameras, and give them a deadline to respond. Be prepared for a long haul. Good luck.

 

[Landslide]

Glad you are ok, and take them to the cleaners....

Kaboom-tish!

 

[badkitty]

Sorry to hear that Silverbow. Glad you're ok. Well done for not turning to a big heap of jelly..( I think I would have..)

 

[Cullin]

Makes me wonder what sort of quality of driver is required for some bus companies, having driven HGV's myself, I wonder if the drivers know they have more vehecle behind their seat, as they seem to leave the backend sticking out in the road even when the bus stops allows them enough run in to clear the traffic. I did watched one trying to reverse to park up, but the driver had no idea where to place the backend, could not use the mirrors properly.

 

[mattybain]

Ironically I was going to post that after a couple of incidents reported to First Buses Manchester (I did get a reply) how much better the buses have been lately.

However last night a (135) First bus decided to overtake me whilst I was passing a parked lorry to the left, then suddenly after seeing a passenger proceeding to pull over to the left pincering me against the bus and the lorry.

Luckily I managed to break hard and avoid the danger however I shudder to think what would have happened if I was slightly further up the road. Gutted that my camera didn’t capture his registration plate as without it they wont be able to pin it down to a particular driver.

The driver did kind of apologise but it wasn't enough to stop a tirade of abuse from me. I really do need to calm down and take an anger management course. The pedestrians in Manchester are starting to give me a coronary. Is it really too much to ask for them to actually look before the step into the road?

 

[domd1979]

Fleet number? They're carried on the back, sides, and front of most buses. First use a five digit number usually.

Gutted that my camera didn’t capture his registration plate as without it they wont be able to pin it down to a particular driver.

 

[Biscuit]

Mostly I find HGV drivers exceptionally considerate when overtaking / approaching, and most car drivers if they just get on with overtaking and stop hesitating.
But bus drivers just have no idea. I assume there's a very different driving test for bus drivers than HGV? I'll look out for the fleet numbers, thanks for that.