magnatom said:
Ok.
Visibility is good.
Visibility is not good. As you approach the bus you can only see the car in front of it (just). That does not provide you with any warning of traffic movement up ahead and so it is very difficult to anticipate the movement of the car and bus.
Traffic movement up ahead is not necessary, although it can be helpful either way. The movement of the car causing the blockage is all you need. That car is clearly visible from the viewpoint of camera. Whilst up the inside of the bus it remains clearly visible.
magnatom said:
The car in front of the bus is not moving, nor is the bus.
It could move at any time. One car ahead is does not provide much warning of the bus moving. Possible as little as a second.
1 second is enough to extricate yourself from a situation like this if you are expecting it and have planned for it.
From the time the car in front starts to move (08:48:20 on the camera clock), to the bus moving is over 3 seconds (to 08:48:24).
magnatom said:
Visibility is maintained once I'd started going down the inside of the bus. I'd be able to see if the car infront started moving on.
Yes, but what good is that. The car starts moving and 1 second later the bus starts moving. Where do you go?
Left, quickly. Left foot out of pedal, onto kerb, pull bike up and out of road. Done in under a second. Done it before when I've needed to, ironically when stationary in a solid lined cycle lane and a taxi decided to pull in without looking to drop off a fare. If I hadn't moved I'd have been hit. If there had been a railing there I'd have been squashed. I didn't go up the inside of anything, I was just waiting traffic lights.
magnatom said:
The bus is also pretty close to the car meaning that the bus is unlikely to be able to move forward.
See above
See above.
magnatom said:
An escape route is available (there are no railings on the left). If everything did suddenly start moving then it's relatively easy to stop and get out of the way. This would be my reaction rather than trying to scoot through.
Bus starts moving. Imagine your back wheel/pedal/handlebar/rucksack etc catches on the bus at all, or worse on the buses back wheel. All it needs is the slightest contact (your wheels are in the equivalent of a rut) for you to fall over. Once down you are at the mercy of the back wheel of the bus. Do NOT underestimate a tyres ability to suck you under it once it has caught. (imagine a tie in a shredder).
That's part of the risk assessment. In tens of thousands of km of commuting, and occasionally doing similar risky activities this has never happened to me. I'm careful where I put myself and my wheels. Contact with the bus can be put to use, rather than something to fear. Using a hand to keep the bike in the right place with respect to the bus is a useful tactic for scooting past. It also means that if an escape route is needed then a healthy shove on the bus pushes you away from the danger area.
Of course I can't guarantee I won't encounter a problem. I could have a tyre blowout at that very time to send me skittling under the wheels. If I worried about those kinds of highly improbable outcomes I'd never get out the front door let alone on a bike. Again, it's the calculated risk I take.
magnatom said:
Up ahead it looks clear, so it's not just a case of squeezing past in order to gain a mere 10 yards or so.
You have absolutely no way of knowing this as you can only see the car ahead of the bus. What if the driver of the car suddenly looks up from their mobile sees the bus and decides to swerve to the left. Down you go.
The bus lane to the left of the car is clearly empty for at least 30 yards further on. I don't know the location in question, I'd probably have more to say if I did, but bearing in mind the cyclists that got through aren't still in view 50 seconds after first appearing on camera then I'm guessing there's space to move on in to.
A car swerving like that can happen at any time on the road. This situation is nothing special. It's sat there for a reasonable time without moving for the bus. It could, but it's highly unlikely. Are you saying that if you came across this situation, but could easily get past the bus with 2m of space, that you wouldn't go down the inside of that car, in a completely empty bus lane in case the car suddenly swerved into the side of you?
magnatom said:
The fact that two cyclists managed to get through the gap at a reasonable speed shows it is possible (before some fool got stuck).
Oh dear. An old aunt used to say, 'if your friend jumps off a cliff....'
No, all I'm saying is that it's possible, evidenced by the two cyclists who got through, nothing more.
I respect the fact that you would choose not to squeeze past. I'm not saying that everyone should have squeezed past. I wouldn't get annoyed if someone in front of me decided to stop just behind the bus and blocked anyone else from doing it. (Apart from the fact that they would have stopped across a pedestrian crossing). All I'm saying is that, from what I can see in that video, and what I see every day whilst cycling, I would probably have squeezed past too on the result of my risk assessment.
) pour encourager les autres.
