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Bus driver jailed for attack on cyclist

#63
gttim said:
Some drivers will make a big effort to just get passed of me so they can swerve right in front of me to make another stop, blocking me. It is dangerous for them to do this and just asinine. I now take the lane when a bus starts doing this, and block them. I have had words with a few drivers.
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I commute by longboard (skateboard) in NYC and this happens ALL the time with taxis. They'll go around me, then come to a stop. I'll usually roll by and slap their car or something. I'm not some punk kid either...just to stop that thought in most people's mind.

People like to just continue walking right in front of you too, like I can stop on a dime or something. It keeps the morning interesting!
 
#64
gttim said:
I frequently have to dance with MARTA buses on the road. They are stopping every block, and I am not. Some drivers will make a big effort to just get passed of me so they can swerve right in front of me to make another stop, blocking me. It is dangerous for them to do this and just asinine. I now take the lane when a bus starts doing this, and block them. I have had words with a few drivers.
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London the same, I was going to mention that particular problem but due to the fact it's out of frame.... If I had to put money on it though, I'd be happy to bet that's what happened myself too ime.
 
#66
To answer a few things:

In the UK, it is illegal to cycle on the pavement (sidewalk). However, this is generaly waived when dealing with under-16s.

In the UK it is legal to "lane split", this is where you can have a bike cycle up beside your car and still be in the same lane. However (something that is often missed) is you should only over take to the right, you shouldn't "undertake" as it is often called, unless the vehicle you are beside is turning right.

There is nothing to indicate the cyclist made any gestures towards the driver. Modern buses in the UK tend to have a host of cameras in and on them, generally covering the passangers inside (from a number of angles, where you could typically see some of what happens to the sides of the bus, as well as cameras infront and behind the bus. This is not true of all buses, but that one seems to be fairly new, so I'd suspect it would have cameras. In which case, they would have likely be used in evidence.

Just because there is a queue of traffic, does not mean the cyclist is at fault, there are two lanes there, I see no reason why drivers couldn't overtake prior to the junction (where you'll note that one lane is for a turn off, the other is straight on).



I've seen behaviour like this from some bus and taxi drivers before, they get ****** off because there is someone slow infront of them and I've seen them trying to intimidate cyclists by swerving infront of them and passing so close they practically knock them off their bikes. Heck, a friend of mine was taken off his bike just a fortnight ago by a taxi which proceeded to speed on without stopping.

Regardless, even if the cyclist wasn't being a douche, there was no excuse for the driver to act that way. By the way some of the posts have gone in this thread, it sounds like you'd shoot someone simply for cutting you off :rolleyes:
 
#68
This story popped up on yahoo; apparently the bike rider and the bus driver had a heated exchange minutes before about the bus driving too closely to the bike. So it looks like the cyclist was probably riding right in front of the bus on purpose...

Again, no excuse for hitting him with a bus. But maybe that played into the bus driver only getting 17 years. I say "only," though that is a huge chunk out of your life...
 
#69
I drive my bus down 5th ave in nyc right along central park, and I can tell you the bike riders can be very discourteous. They ride in the middle of the road, in the bus lane, against traffic, etc..

That being said, I think of it as an occupational hazard. Something that makes my job more difficult, but a part of my job nonetheless.
 
#71
macaroni tony said:
This story popped up on yahoo; apparently the bike rider and the bus driver had a heated exchange minutes before about the bus driving too closely to the bike. So it looks like the cyclist was probably riding right in front of the bus on purpose...
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That's an interesting perspective. Wouldn't it be more accurate to say that "the bus was riding directly behind the cyclist on purpose"? After all, (1) the bus appears to have plenty of room to pass the cyclist safely if he chooses to do so, and (2) the lane does not appear to be wide enough for both the bus and cyclist to safely share it.
 
#73
Febs said:
That's an interesting perspective. Wouldn't it be more accurate to say that "the bus was riding directly behind the cyclist on purpose"? After all, (1) the bus appears to have plenty of room to pass the cyclist safely if he chooses to do so, and (2) the lane does not appear to be wide enough for both the bus and cyclist to safely share it.
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how-to-win-at-bingo.gif
 
#75
Febs said:
That's an interesting perspective. Wouldn't it be more accurate to say that "the bus was riding directly behind the cyclist on purpose"? After all, (1) the bus appears to have plenty of room to pass the cyclist safely if he chooses to do so, and (2) the lane does not appear to be wide enough for both the bus and cyclist to safely share it.
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Well...this whole thing happened shortly after they made their left hand turn. So the bus had to complete his turn in the left lane (I am assuming as much), as did the biker. Biker, knowing this, would most likely stay in the left side of the left lane as he completes his turn, knowing there are cars (or a bus) behind him. This is what I see out of cyclists IME...anywho, he doesn't stay closer to the curb, rather smack dab in the middle of the lane, seemingly just to antagonize the bus driver further. After enough time for the bus driver to establish his turn, check his mirror and change lanes, he does so, with the bike rider coming out of the lane with him. Purposely or not, I don't know.

Now I'm not biased toward the bicyclist for any reason...but this is just what I see
 
#76
Despicable, but that was a pretty impressive P.I.T. maneuver, nonetheless! I couldn't help a chuckle.... :hiding:

Hover, you and I are gonna have to hang out when we get to Hell....



Really, though, I don't condone the bus driver's behaviour at all. He could have killed the guy.
 
#79
macaroni tony said:
Biker, knowing this, would most likely stay in the left side of the left lane as he completes his turn, knowing there are cars (or a bus) behind him.
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If the lane is not wide enough for the bus and the cyclist to share (and that clearly appears to be the case from what I can see in the video), then the bus needs to switch lanes to pass the cyclist safely. In that case, it doesn't matter whether the cyclist is in the middle of the lane or the the side of the lane. In fact, there is a pretty compelling argument to be made that in that situation, it is safer for the cyclist to be in the middle of the lane because moving to the side invites the bus to attempt to make an unsafe pass within the same lane as the cyclist.
 

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