the right to ride on the road?

[PK99]

I would imagine it's the same old story but the reason is a run in with a bus driver tonight. I ride the same road morning and night generally without incident but tonight a bus driver decided to take offence to me being on the road and while driving RIGHT up behind me started blasting his horn and gesturing I should be on the cycle path, which is shared (basically a path)has a busy bus stop on it and countless tricky busy junctions. The road is definitely the better option or believe me I would take the cycle path.
I caught up with him further up and he just stated I should not be on the road as there is the a cycle path available, I disagreed but wanted to check this out for my own peace of mind really.
I might add the fact that up until now all bus drivers on this particular road have been patient and courteous while never being held up for more than a minute as it isn't the longest stretch of road anyway.
Thanks for clearing that up.

I had a very similar run in with bus driver a year or so ago.

I wrote a polite, but assertive and factual complaint on the company's web feedback form and got a very positive letter back apologising for the drivers actions and stating that he had been identified from the info i gave and disciplined. It did not read like a form-bulshit response.

 

[downfader]

No you don't have to use it.

If it is sensible then it may be worth using it, but most that I know are either badly done or covered in sticks and glass and to be avoided.
If it is a shared path then the highway code suggests that if you are doing more than 12mph(iirc) then you should use the road anyway. Saying that, if it is empty of pedestrians it may be more efficient and faster...

I take it there is a reason for the question?

IIRC it was 18mph, but the wording appears to have changed (unless I'm looking at the wrong section)
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_069837

However if there are loads of pedestrians and obstructions then the road is a safer option for all.

 

[atbman]

HC Rule 61
Cycle Routes and Other Facilities. Use cycle routes, advanced stop lines, cycle boxes and toucan crossings unless at the time it is unsafe to do so. Use of these facilities is not compulsory and will depend on your experience and skills, but they can make your journey safer.

 

[davefb]

what a twonk..

you should stop at the end of a bus lane and say 'buses must drive in bus lanes'

 

[pshore]

I've had a couple of incidents in my village where drivers have tried to teach me a lesson for not being on what they thought was a cycle path. Strangely, I can empathise with their thought process - I mean, most cycle paths are just footpaths, so everybody gets confused about what is and isn't a cycle path. But, vigilantes need to be countered.

The last one was a forehead slapping one. He was a community bus driver picking up very frail OAP's. If I had cycled on the path where he wanted me to, I risk crashing into those OAP's and hospitalising them, exactly the people he was trying to help.


Even if you think it will go nowhere, I think it is useful to make a complaint politely if you feel their act was deliberate or dangerous. If you do nothing, that driver will carry on driving badly. If you do something, there is a chance they will be educated and perhaps even discuss the incident with colleagues/friends/family, spreading your story far and wide.