Was this bus driver bad?

[Arch]

I'd let the bus go, (subject to the usual stuff about him indicating, me seeing that well in advance, and still being well behind him), but if I was passing a bus and it started/continued to pull out, I suspect I'd shout something like "oi!", simply out of fear and self preservation, and be a bit miffed to receive the two fingers. But mostly, I approach buses with the assumption that they are going to pull out, and have the brakes covered, so it's generally no problem to let them out...

 

[gambatte]

I reckon I'd have let the bus go.

But: technical point, considering Johns quote from the highway code. Was the cyclist actually carrying out an 'overtake'?

was the bus stop itself part of the carriageway or a 'layby' type stop.

 

[magnatom]

Nothing much more to add. As the others have said the cyclist probably should let the bus out and the bus driver should be a little more patient as the cyclist may have had a reason for continuing to pass.

Way to much anger and aggression on the roads.

Jacomus is right about the zen bubble. All we need is a force field bubble to go with it and the world would be perfect

 

[HLaB]

I tend to let the bus go aswell. Feel sorry for a bus drivers though, as I said I usually hold back to let them out but because good drivers pause/ look before pulling out, cars keep comming.

 

[Jacomus-rides-Gen]

Nothing much more to add. As the others have said the cyclist probably should let the bus out and the bus driver should be a little more patient as the cyclist may have had a reason for continuing to pass.

Way to much anger and aggression on the roads.

Jacomus is right about the zen bubble. All we need is a force field bubble to go with it and the world would be perfect

Just imagine that!

Car pulls out and sends you flying, bouncing off down the road in the force field, still on the bike.

"SMIDSY"
"No problem old bean, perfectly unharmed. You might want to see a mechanic about what the EMP has done to your electricals though"

 

[magnatom]

Just imagine that!

Car pulls out and sends you flying, bouncing off down the road in the force field, still on the bike.

"SMIDSY"
"No problem old bean, perfectly unharmed. You might want to see a mechanic about what the EMP has done to your electricals though"

The worry is that bouncing about inside the force field might be so much fun you would end up aim for the cars!

 

[pompey]

The worry is that bouncing about inside the force field might be so much fun you would dispense with the bike

 

[magnatom]

This has got me thinking. I wonder if you had
Warning! Force Field in use. Give this Cyclist Room!

On the back of the bike, would it have more success?

There are some numpties out there that might just fall for it....

 

[magnatom]

The worry is that bouncing about inside the force field might be so much fun you would dispense with the bike

I think we have just invented a new form of transport

 

[John the Monkey]

Apropos of nothing in particular, I have to say that one of the things that really sh1ts me up on my commute is passing a bus that *then* puts it's indicator on (i.e. overtake a bus that isn't indicating to pull out, then as you pass the rear of the vehicle seeing the side mounted right turn light start to flash). I always have that moment where you wonder if they've seen you or not.

I also have to say that I'm often surprised by the number of motorists who don't allow buses out (quite often I'll stop, and 4 or 5 cars will go around before there's a gap for the bus).

 

[Cab]

The bus driver was signalling before pulling off, but the cyclist kept comming anway.

While it is good form to allow a bus out if it is indicating, it isn't mandatory to do so. i.e. if it isn't safe or appropriate to let the bus out then you don't have to. If I'm going at speed and see someone indicating to pull out then whether I back off and let them go depends very much on whether I have time to safely do so. If I can, I'll let a bus out.

If I don't have time or if for any other reason I have not chosen to slow down and allow the bus out, and it bus pulls out anyway, then the bus driver is 100% in the wrong. You don't drive assuming that others will get out of your way, you drive according to whats happening on the road, and to pull out in front of someone in such a way as to make them slow down is dangerous, and utterly wrong.

 

[Cab]

Highway code rule 167?

167

DO NOT overtake where you might come into conflict with other road users. For example

• when a road user is indicating right, even if you believe the signal should have been cancelled. Do not take a risk; wait for the signal to be cancelled

(Other examples removed for clarity) Note that it's a "Do Not" not a must not, which I think means it's not an illegal manouevre.

You're not overtaking if the other road user isn't moving. If the bus isn't moving, and isn't part of the traffic yet, then the emphasis is (presumably) on the person joining the traffic to do so safely.

Also;
223

Buses, coaches and trams. Give priority to these vehicles when you can do so safely, especially when they signal to pull away from stops. Look out for people getting off a bus or tram and crossing the road.

An entirely sensible statement that I hope we'd all agree with. What I'd question here is whether, in the view of the cyclist, it would have been safe to let the bus out. Might have been icy, he might have been going at a fair pace; the truth of the matter is that its up to the individual road user to make that call, and if you're joining the traffic then you'd have to be extremely foolhardy to assume they'll make a decision in your favour. I'd go so far as to say thats incredibly dangerous.

Again, the cyclist may not have felt able to stop safely in the time from seeing the indication from the bus. (Happened to me last week in the rain - I had to do a less controlled stop than I'd have liked because the bus moved out into the main part of the carriageway - wouldn't have been a problem in the dry).

Thats so often the problem. I've lost count of how many times I've had to pull an emergency stop because of people (not always bus drivers) believing that because they've indicated (even for a nanosecond) the manoevre they're about to make is 'safe'.

 

[John the Monkey]

You're not overtaking if the other road user isn't moving. If the bus isn't moving, and isn't part of the traffic yet, then the emphasis is (presumably) on the person joining the traffic to do so safely.

I'd guess that the rules on moving off (earlier in the current version of the code) apply in that case, (the emphasis is very much on the person moving into traffic to ensure it's safe, as I recall).

I've lost count of how many times I've had to pull an emergency stop because of people (not always bus drivers) believing that because they've indicated (even for a nanosecond) the manoevre they're about to make is 'safe'.

It's a rarity with Manchester bus drivers (at least in my experience). Drivers of motorcars are far, far worse in the city in terms of awareness of what's around them.

 

[Amanda P]

Probably there was less than perfect driving/cycling from both people here.

But no bus driver should ever be rude or insulting to anyone - she (I'll assume she's a she for the moment for simplicity) also needs a zen bubble. For all she knew, the cyclist could have been her boss. Or the MD of the bus company. Or the chief constable of West Yorkshire...

That's a useful test to apply to any behaviour. Would I behave that way towards my boss/daughter/next door neighbour (or any combination of these relationships)? If the answer's no, you've probably done something wrong.

 

[nethalus]

Probably there was less than perfect driving/cycling from both people here.

But no bus driver should ever be rude or insulting to anyone - she (I'll assume she's a she for the moment for simplicity) also needs a zen bubble. For all she knew, the cyclist could have been her boss. Or the MD of the bus company. Or the chief constable of West Yorkshire...

That's a useful test to apply to any behaviour. Would I behave that way towards my boss/daughter/next door neighbour (or any combination of these relationships)? If the answer's no, you've probably done something wrong.

No the cyclist was deffinately not an MD at the bus company. She looked like a student on a bike, yes both the cyclist and the bus driver were female!