Another hit and run.

teagar

This time it was a bus.

I shouldn't have really been cycling around rush hour this afternoon but I've had a rough day so I went out for some cathartic riding.

On my way back, a narrow a road, a bus brushes past me and pulls closer and closer to the curb untill there's no room for me, so my knuckles scrape the side of the bus and my wheel is rubbing up against the curb. 10 seoncds later it turned right..

Managed to stay upright and followed the bus. I mentioned to the driver who had his window down that he'd hit me, in case he hadn't noticed, and he gave a response along the lines of I shouldn't have been there on my "puny" bike, and, when I said it was, as far I was aware, illegal to knowingly hit someone and carry on, he said "water off a ducks back", though I doubt I was that elloquent at the time...Avoided swearing though.

Got the number plate, reported it to the police by the side of the road. Have to go into the station tomorrow if I want it followed it. Bit of a pain, but I guess it should be done.

I've noticed in the past that the stagecoach drivers are particularly aggressive around Cambridge.

I got the impression he did know I was there and drove deliberately close, which is why I think I will follow it up.

Shame really, it was a good ride and made up for the sh!te day I had.

At least I wasn't hurt.

-spider-

Best of luck if you follow it up, teagar. I hope they nail the clown. If this was deliberate (he's sure to say he didn't notice you or you swerved into his path) then he should get a ban. It's effin scary when these things leave you with little room

guinea

teagar wrote:

Have to go into the station tomorrow if I want it followed it. Bit of a pain, but I guess it should be done.

Surely that's crap.

They're trying to fob you off.

Andrew_J

Either way it needs reporting ...

If its none deliberate should he really be driving a bus for a living?

If its deliberate obviously needs reporting.


Good luck and glad you didnt get hurt.

mmitchell88

Any update teagar?

teagar

No news yet. Off to town in a minute. Will stop by.

Mettan

Good luck with it Teagar.

Chip \'oyler

You should have asked him if he's such a 'big man' when he's not in his fook off massive bus?

pedylan

Teagar

Stick with it. You are progressing this in exactly the right way. You didn't yell abuse or otherwise compromise your position at the scene.

Make a detailed complaint to the police, state that in your view it's at least careless driving and ask them what road traffic law, in their opinion, it contravenes.

Then write to the bus company - direct it to the head of operations and do a disclosed copy by name to the most senior person you can find on their corporate site.

I've "pursued" incidents both ways - once jumped on a bus when he stopped and threatend the driver - NOT smart; and once I did not retaliate but reported a vehicle to the police who DID folow it up with in my view a satisfactory outcome.

So don't let a driver with that macho attitude let his next victim be a schoolkid on a bike who ends up under his wheels.

cannonfodder

Stick with it and good luck, you'll be doing a lot of people in Cambridge a service

geoff_ss

After several close overtakes on successive morning commutes from a bus, eventually it got so silly that I reported it to the police. A few days later I got a 'phone call from the police telling me they'd had a word with the driver and warned him to be more careful. I didn't have any more trouble.

It's worth reporting because if there are sufficient negatives reports about a particular driver then there's a body of evidence the police can use against him. If 'your' driver has such a dreadful attitude to other road users then something needs to be done about it before he kills someone. Good luck.

I use buses a bit more these days (got me bus pass ) and the drivers we get through the village are very considerate both to passengers and others on the road. They aren't all the same fortunately.

Geoff

Kieran_Burns

Slightly related - when driving one time a bus pulled out of a side street so close in front of me I was forced to do the whole ABS juddering to a crashing halt thing to stop ploughing into him.

The driver was looking right at me when he pulled out so I **knew** he knew I was there.

I was absolutely atmospheric with anger but somehow managed to not pile onto the bus when he stopped and simply took a note of its number, location and time.

I wrote a stiffly worded letter of complaint and got a reply stating that the driver had admitted the error, had been disciplined and they unreservedly apologised for any distress...yada... yada

It does work, so follow it through.

plankton

Good for you for keeping your calm and trying to resolve it properly.

I hope it gets sorted our fairly.

volvicspar

I was hit the other day on the a635 .by some Knobhead in a white rental car, rentacar uk or something it was. He only clipped my outside knee but still. He stopped and said if he sees me again hell run me over properly. Didn't get chance to get a word in before he sped off. Amazingly he had his 9 year old daughter in the car. What a great example to set....

Didn't get his reg. I want to know is who do you call ? Can you call 999 or what ? I could have followed him easily as the traffic always gets stuck for ages further off but decided not to risk confrontation. I wish I had followed him and photographed his car now .

SO many wankers these days.

NWLondoner

volvicspar wrote:

Didn't get his reg. I want to know is who do you call ? Can you call 999 or what ? I could have followed him easily as the traffic always gets stuck for ages further off but decided not to risk confrontation. I wish I had followed him and photographed his car now .

SO many wankers these days.

Yes call the police.

If i threatened you with a knife on the street then ran off the police would have no hesitation in finding me. Why the difference with a 2 tonne killing machine??

Frank the tank

When I was knocked off in a hit and run, the driver got off with the failing to stop at the scene of an accident by claiming he didn't know he'd hit me. :shock:

teagar

Verdict: They're looking into it.

That's more or less what I got from the Police. They said it wouldn't be urgent since I wasn't hurt, which I guess is far enough.

Mike Healey

If the road was that narrow, consider taking the lane. You will then have sufficient room to move out of the way if a driver does anything that dangerous again.

teagar

Mike Healey wrote:

If the road was that narrow, consider taking the lane. You will then have sufficient room to move out of the way if a driver does anything that dangerous again.

The other cars who passed me didn't have much problem. It was more than it was rush hour and i was going into Cambridge, so there was a lot of oncoming traffic. Nevertheless.

Tom Butcher

I find bus drivers far worse than HGV drivers. Had a couple of run ins with them - the latest a guy in a Trent Barton when I caught him at the lights in Duffield after he'd almost edged me off the A6 - his response was "so I didn't hit you did I". If I'd been a novice rider I'd have been off and possibly under his wheels.

edit - don't mean to imply I find HGV drivers poor - I don't - just drawing a comparison with another group who drive a long vehicle with the potential to cut into you after overtaking.

Mettan

Geoff_SS wrote:

It's worth reporting because if there are sufficient negatives reports about a particular driver then there's a body of evidence the police can use against him. If 'your' driver has such a dreadful attitude to other road users then something needs to be done about it before he kills someone. Good luck.

Geoff

Yep, agreed - black marks - follow it through Teagar.

geerfree

teagar wrote:

Verdict: They're looking into it.

That's more or less what I got from the Police. They said it wouldn't be urgent since I wasn't hurt, which I guess is far enough.

Good luck with it, but im not too sure anything will be done. Been in a similar position before.

dilemna

Tom Butcher wrote:

I find bus drivers far worse than HGV drivers. Had a couple of run ins with them - the latest a guy in a Trent Barton when I caught him at the lights in Duffield after he'd almost edged me off the A6 - his response was "so I didn't hit you did I". If I'd been a novice rider I'd have been off and possibly under his wheels.

edit - don't mean to imply I find HGV drivers poor - I don't - just drawing a comparison with another group who drive a long vehicle with the potential to cut into you after overtaking.

Last summer on my commute to work I had a school double decker bus driver ram me into the curb as he passed. I banged on the side of the bus half way down and shouted at him. School kids shouted at him to warn that he was crushing a cyclist. Absurdly he was only 150 yards from turning right off the road into the school gates. However he was held up in traffic due to a ped crossing up ahead so I cycled down the outside. As I approached the driver's window he stuck his fat arm right out giving me the bird sign shouting fkcu you and meaning I could only pass by going around it fully onto the other side of the road on now which oncoming traffic was approaching. Bad move. I grabbed his arm, as there was nothing else to do, pulling on it giving it a gentle stretch as I feared he might strike me as I passed. See how you like being put in fear for your safety mate. It all happened so quickly. He was a fat bald headed thug with tatooes. Quite how such an unsavoury person gets to drive a bus full of school kids I don't know. I thought most school bus drivers were all women now to prevent this sort of thing. I didn't bother reporting it because I was more than satisfied that he had got his come uppance having tried to kill me and then assault me.

stumpyjon

Push it. My wife clipped a Stagecoach bus last year, no damage and they really went after her, tried to get her done for dangerous driving and failing to stop etc.. The police were brilliant though, they said Stagecoach have a real reputation for being heavy handed, all got dropped in the end, not even any warnings. About time the arrogant t*ssers got a taste of their own medicene and I'm fed up of 'professional' drivers driving like complete c*cks.

Sorry for the asterix but I'm sick of em.

Porgy

I had one this morning - not your usual fat ignorant middle aged cynical tosser mind you this wa sa young bloke - pulled his bus out without indicating while i was trying to pass and pushed me out into oncoming traffic. I managed to get ahead of him - window was open so i told him what he was while i passed it.

He then drove behind me beeping at me to get out of the way. but I left him behind pretty quickly. :roll:


When I was cycling in from Colliers Wood last year I went through Chelsea - there was a particular bus driver who had a problem - i encountered more than once.

First time he passed me too close and immediately pulled in and stopped leaving me trapped, and with a stupid old cow who started pushing me while i was talkign to the driver who told me i should have given way tot he bus. Now she didn;t see this happen and considering the stuation i was in - trapped between the pavement and a bus - i don't see how she could think i had any control over what had happened. was i supposed to be pyschic - or look behind constantly and stop every time a bus wanted to get by.

The driver clearly had problems with cyclists as just waiting 2 seconds for me to go past the bus stop would not have hurt him. In fact I would swear the f.ucker speeded up just so he could catch me - i heard the engine whining as he accelarated towards me.

Next day - same time same place - bus coming up behind me clearly about to overtake - I caught him out and got into the middle of the lane to stop him in good time so he came right up behind me - i must have been doing 25 i guess so i wasn;t really holding him up and i knew he was about to stop at a bus stop so i maintained my position. He tried to overtake me with oncoming traffic clearly in the way - he pulled back in pushing me to the left - passe dme and stopped at the bus stop. this time I went mental and yes it was the same f.ucking driver!!