Guided bus madness

will3

ooermissus wrote:

Say that witness's account was correct, and the driver both saw the cyclist and made no attempt to brake, what charges would be expected? Sounds like attempted murder to me.

Don't be silly, this is a motor vehicle we're talking about.

It'd be "danngerous driving" at worst. It's a similar offence to dangerous shooting, dangerous knifing, dangerous poisoning and dangerous chainsawing.

Tom Dean

pastabake wrote:

I come to the conclusion that anyone riding with headphones nearly having an accident every 10 mins as a result of wearing headphones are equally as unsafe on the road not wearing headphones.

:?

esspeebee

Keith1983 wrote:

It does seem strange that there is a lack of signage to make it clear that the bus way is not for cyclists? I know it should be plain obvious, but clearly not!

I'd say the four foot high lettering "GUIDED BUS ONLY" on the entrance to the tracks is pretty clear.

ooermissus

Reports now say the bus was hooting the cyclist for a mile. Stagecoach is considering whether disciplinary action is needed, but the focus is on why cyclists are so feckless, lacking in common sense etc.

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Hunting ... 102011.htm

pauldavid

ooermissus wrote:

Reports now say the bus was hooting the cyclist for a mile. Stagecoach is considering whether disciplinary action is needed, but the focus is on why cyclists are so feckless, lacking in common sense etc.
http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Hunting ... 102011.htm

So come on then, why are we all so feckless and lacking in common sense. :shock:

Is it coz we is all stoopid.

Or is there a more scientific theory to do with getting cold ears when cycling without a hat

Cyclist shouldn't have been on the busway, bus driver should have done more to stop. Looks like equal amounts of responsibility to me.

Either way, nobody was seriously hurt so it doesn't matter.

Catch you later, I'm going bus baiting on my bike

cougie

pastabake wrote:

My earphones don't block out all sounds, if a massive bus was up my ars* I'd know about it.

You wouldn't you know.

I remember one ride - riding up a hill with my mate - 2 up on a sunny afternoon. Suddenly this shadow looms over us. Bloody great double decker bus behind us. We didnt hear a thing.

I tried a few rides with earphones - I didnt like it - they cant help but block your hearing, and we need all the help we can get with maniac drivers around.

mouth

cougie wrote:

pastabake wrote:

My earphones don't block out all sounds, if a massive bus was up my ars* I'd know about it.

You wouldn't you know.

+1. At cycling speeds, say 15-18mph a bus engine is virtually idling at something like 750-800 rpm. Assuming that the bus driver leaves a gap of 40 feet (is this fair, answers on a postcard please) behind the cyclist. Add in another 40 feet between cyclist and engine (the bus is rear-engined) I can promise you that there would be virtual silence even before taking wind direction into account.

A bus engine is reasonably quiet unless they are changing speed, either up or down.

mouth

ooermissus wrote:

Reports now say the bus was hooting the cyclist for a mile. Stagecoach is considering whether disciplinary action is needed, but the focus is on why cyclists are so feckless, lacking in common sense etc.

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Hunting ... 102011.htm

Doesn't specifically say whether Stagecoach are or aren't considering if action is needed:

"He said: “The operations manager for the depot is dealing with that issue, has viewed the CCTV, and is going through the company's disci-plinary procedure.”

To me the wording here "going through the company's disciplinary procedure" indicates that they are following up the incident and have initiated action. Stagecoach are a reputable company operating more than 6000 vehicles in the UK. They'll do the right thing.

ooermissus

Mouth - maybe I should have said "what action is needed".

I hope they'll do the right thing - and am reasonably confident they will. I think it's much less likely the result will be announced or reported on. I also think the police should have a look at this. At it's very worse this is "attempted murder by bus" with "because the cyclist was a tw@t" an extenuating circumstance.

We all know that a subset of drivers (some of them professional) think that cyclists are vermin and that a small, but still significant proportion of this group, will sometimes act on this sentiment. In my experience, these incidents are much more likely when the cyclist is somehow in the wrong - as many hotheads are motivated by a self righteous over-reaction to a perceived provocation.

So it's important that incidents like this are not treated and reported as if the only lessons to be learned are about the cyclist, and not the driver. The possibility that a professional driver deliberately endangered a cyclist because he was a tw@t is the big story here.

zippypablo

ooermissus wrote:

Mouth - maybe I should have said "what action is needed".

I hope they'll do the right thing - and am reasonably confident they will. I think it's much less likely the result will be announced or reported on. I also think the police should have a look at this. At it's very worse this is "attempted murder by bus" with "because the cyclist was a tw@t" an extenuating circumstance.

We all know that a subset of drivers (some of them professional) think that cyclists are vermin and that a small, but still significant proportion of this group, will sometimes act on this sentiment. In my experience, these incidents are much more likely when the cyclist is somehow in the wrong - as many hotheads are motivated by a self righteous over-reaction to a perceived provocation.

So it's important that incidents like this are not treated and reported as if the only lessons to be learned are about the cyclist, and not the driver. The possibility that a professional driver deliberately endangered a cyclist because he was a tw@t is the big story here.

Totally agree.

RideOnTime

Y-day nearly taken out by a bus turning on shared service. Then the bus driver behind gave me an ear bashing... Was unbelievably bad driving - Arriva...

ooermissus

It seems increasingly likely that the driver made no attempt to slow down. Apparently disciplinary action is being taken, but we're not allowed to know what was done. No word from the police.

One passenger, Patricia Fox, 44, of Needingworth, condemned the actions of the driver. She said the driver made no attempt to slow down, and called for her not to be allowed back on the road.

“She didn’t slow down at all. We were so close [to the cyclist] at one point we could see the wires coming out of his ears. He looked around and then jumped off the bike.

“She should have just pulled up behind him. There was no need for anything to have happened that day. If you came up behind somebody on a bike on the road, you would slow down.

“It could have been really nasty. It was only him jumping out of the way. He knew he shouldn’t have been on there, but she didn’t stop.”

Minutes earlier Ms Fox claimed the driver had braked hard to speak to another driver – the action, she said, meant that a man in a wheelchair sitting opposite her had to be prevented from tumbling forward.

Stagecoach bosses said the driver had undergone disciplinary action, but would not confirm if the driver remained in post.

The company’s managing director Andy Campbell said: “Action has been taken with regards to the driver. I cannot say anything more under employment law and data protection laws. It is an internal matter, but it has been dealt with under the company’s disciplinary procedures.”

http://bit.ly/v8qqfV