Cyclist vs bus driver, city road

Just spoke to a friend and when he was on the way to work between angel and old st he saw an altercation between a cyclist and a bus driver, didn't catch the incident that caused it but said that by the time he was there punches were being thrown!
I know bus drivers can be confrontational cunts (as can some cyclists!) but I'm sure a they'd would get into a ton of trouble for actually fighting someone whilst on duty.

this was yesterday around 11am, anyone else see/hear anything about this incident?

Just spoke to him again, apparently once the bus driver got out of the bus the cyclist tried to ride off but the bus driver pushed him off his bike, then threw the bike into the path of a car on the other side of the road!
Police turned up shortly after.

Lovely behaviour

In all hoensty i find most bus drivers reasonably good. Its taxi drivers that make me see red. I regularly shout fuck off cunt to them or give the ma two fingered salute.

why not talk to them instead? if its slow speed, as many roads are in town-just civilly ask why did you do that? this approach is the most admirable, its people that drive badly-and that’s what gets forgotten.also that way can be the most disarming.
of course if they are out and out cunts like the taxi that cut me up and pulled in to kerb-shortly after tuesday, then again speak to them.
perhaps in a calmer manner than I did....guy didn’t know what had hit him, he had a punter in so couldn’t do anything. polish guy.
parently, cording to my polish flatmate that’s normal behaviour over there-aggressive because people are quite generally subservient and don’t like saying shit and the aggressor gets away with it-well this guy certainly knows more about dangerous driving now.

Just spoke to him again, apparently once the bus driver got out of the bus the cyclist tried to ride off but the bus driver pushed him off his bike, then threw the bike into the path of a car on the other side of the road!
Police turned up shortly after.

Lovely behaviour

Ha! I think Ive met this bus driver

can we have another update please..
sounds riveting.

In all hoensty i find most bus drivers reasonably good. Its taxi drivers that make me see red.

It depends. I had a chat on the red light with few black cab drivers and they were nice. Also, the guy who took me home after my accident was very helpful and chatty - and he was also a serious cyclist (took part in few charity rides).
But I don't pity those from Addison Lee. They are just "special". What a bunch of berkshire hunts.

why not talk to them instead? if its slow speed, as many roads are in town-just civilly ask why did you do that? this approach is the most admirable . . .

Fuck admiration, I am not in the game of seeking admiration from someone who just tired to kill me in an attempt to shave 12 seconds (if that) off their journey time, seeking admiration here is the wrong response, what you should be doing is reminding them that to risk another's life brings with it a rightfully angry response.

It really is not cool to nearly kill one of us, maybe someone's girlfriend or son or mother or brother to save a little time getting to work, it is less cool for the cyclist to placate the driver, let him know that his casually considered actions that nearly killed my son or best friend 'aren't really so bad'

Fuck that, each time a life is threatened we need spend no time taking the sting out of the situation, if anything it needs to be amplified.

that’s one position that you expressed many times before elsewhere, and im not going to try to persuade you to leave it.
I don’t passively take bad driving, and adopt a 'what can you do' attitude-just like the other day that I posted about above.
ultimately though, what does it do everyone going around angry, confrontational and belligerent? nothing-it achieves nothing other than perpetuating worse situations.
I believe theres more power in self control, and the ability to deal with situations maturely.

But I don't pity those from Addison Lee. They are just "special". What a bunch of berkshire hunts.

Amen to that

Fuck admiration, I am not in the game of seeking admiration from someone who just tired to kill me in an attempt to shave 12 seconds (if that) off their journey time, seeking admiration here is the wrong response, what you should be doing is reminding them that to risk another's life brings with it a rightfully angry response.

It really is not cool to nearly kill one of us, maybe someone's girlfriend or son or mother or brother to save a little time getting to work, it is less cool for the cyclist to placate the driver, let him know that his casually considered actions that nearly killed my son or best friend 'aren't really so bad'

Fuck that, each time a life is threatened we need spend no time taking the sting out of the situation, if anything it needs to be amplified.

please see when you read it again that I was talking about admiring a calm response to situation -not admiring the driver.

But I don't pity those from Addison Lee. They are just "special". What a bunch of berkshire hunts.

Have just had an Addison Lee white knuckle ride - sat in the back & 1/2 asleep, it seemed that aside from going too fast, enough for me to tell the driver to slow down, when overtaking cyclists, he left almost exactly the same gap to the cyclist, as the cyclist was from the kerb - it was a useful lesson to me (aside from why I still use AL), that road positioning & defensive cycling is key. Re AL, maybe AL accounts are the reason for their excessive speeds - as the driver has to accept account work & gets less of the fare

Most of the time when I've been able to remain calm, I feel I've had a much better response from drivers; I feel they've truly understood what they've done wrong and even if for a few hours have taken something positive. When I've shouted/lost it, they shout as much as me or are frightened by my response and speed off taking that bad karma else where to dump it on someone elses head.

You're doing it all wrong, Fest... Shoot them if they try to get away...
All road users are selfish cunts, atm my most hated are fellow cyclists (at least you know where you stand with buses/taxis/cars/lorries/motorbikes/yachts)... Clueless plums, the fucking lot* of them...

• 95% of them anyway...
  

agreed on those AL guys. drive like they and the van is fuelled on hyperamphetaminedioxide.

You're doing it all wrong, Fest... Shoot them if they try to get away...
All road users are selfish cunts, atm my most hated are fellow cyclists (at least you know where you stand with buses/taxis/cars/lorries/motorbikes/yachts)... Clueless plums, the fucking lot* of them...

• 95% of them anyway...
  
  

Like I mentioned the other night, the best way to deal with nodders is NOT TO. Filter down the inside. No life loving nodder will dream of being there. You pedal with less effort as they grunt and push, sweating that granny gear yet cant shake you off at successive lights.

What is getting my goat recently are the motorbike/mopeds having an identity crisis. YOU ARE NOT BICYCLES! STOP BLOCKING ROUTES THAT YOU HAVE NO CHANCE OF GETTING THROUGH, PLEBS.

Most of the time when I've been able to remain calm, I feel I've had a much better response from drivers; I feel they've truly understood what they've done wrong and even if for a few hours have taken something positive. When I've shouted/lost it, they shout as much as me or are frightened by my response and speed off taking that bad karma else where to dump it on someone elses head.

agree 100%.

+1, however sometimes it is necessary to be aggressive, but these situations are generally few and far between. Usually best dealt with calmly, as the drivers will have more of a reason to listen if you are not trying to kill them in the face with your d-lock.

I agree that trying to stay calm is advisable, However, sometimes frothing at the mouth whilst you scream obscenities about there parentage, and overall lack of a brain is the only thing that is viable. On the occasions where I have looked at the disparagingly and said...''please...wtf?...If I hadn't have avoided you then the only thing I could have done then was crash and die, '' and that sometimes works better than me going 'apeshit'...

please see when you read it again that I was talking about admiring a calm response to situation -not admiring the driver.

Yes ! I understand !!

I was not trying to imply you that you had said we should admire the driver.

I think a calm response to a driver who nearly kills my 2 year old son to save himself a few seconds getting to a red traffic light is not in any way admirable (to clarify, I think the response is not to be admired).

I think a calm response to a driver who nearly kills someone's much loved girlfriend or someone's father is not a good response, certainly not a response worthy of admiration (to clarify, I think the response is not to be admired).

hyperamphetaminedioxide.

want

@Tynan, fair enough, I guess the situations you mention are a clear cut case of 'dangerous driving', the rider will respond in the way they feel.

there isnt a great deal of length in any more exchange between us on this thread, as every situation is different, and we cant see them from our screens here. suffice to say that some situations are petty- stupid inconsiderate and could be dealt with calmly and some are dangerous driving that are a different kettle of fish.

I have spoken to laughing bus drivers who have cut me up, and been told "If I kill you Ill only get 6 months ban mate" and that frightened the fuck out of me, and made me really aware of the Roadpeace charity work, and inadequacy of the law.
things will have to change.

. . . suffice to say that some situations are petty- stupid inconsiderate and could be dealt with calmly . . .

Yes a situation could, of course, be dealt with calmly.

But like I say I think being calm is often the wrong approach, the last thing I want the driver to go away with is the idea that what he or she just did was in any way 'no big problem'.

We have evolved to respond to various environmental and interpersonal stimuli - we learn from these stimuli - to calmly deal with someone who has risked your life for their own (often trivial) convenience or through a casual indifference is literally teaching them that what has just happened is not a big deal, we recognise emotions in others, they help us work out how 'important' something is to someone - reciprocal altruism is not based entirely on being nice to each other, the threat of getting your head kicked in plays an equally important part.

Like you say, you need to judge each situation on it's own merits, but I lean away from the idea of placating bad drivers with a calm explanation of what you think they might have done wrong - you could calmly chat to the kind of cunts who risk the lives of adults and children in a hurry to get to the next set of red lights, but I doubt some stupid cyclist, who has just got in their way, and who is now telling them off is likely to resonate with them.

"Here love, I nearly knocked one of those cunts off their bikes this afternoon, he gave me a right ear bashing"

"What did he say ?"

"He said: 'Excuse me, do you realise you nearly knocked me off my bike'"

"Stupid cunts"

"Yeah, stupid fucking cunts"

"Did you pick the dry cleaning up . . . . ?"

Who knows, I could of course be wrong, but it's quite tiring to read story after story after fucking story of some poor bastard crushed under the wheels of car driven by some driver texting while turning a corner - and then having to listen to the oft repeated admonishment to remain calm, not to get too excited about all this, speak nicely to the driver, whatever you do don't tarnish the image of cyclists, and other general slave mentality advice.

People on this very forum have gone as far as to say the reason you mustn't upset car drivers is that if you do - revenge might come in the form of some kind of collective punishment on all cyclists ! This really is slave mentality laid bare, don't upset the master or we will all get a beating !!

The Eloi come to mind.

I have spoken to laughing bus drivers who have cut me up, and been told "If I kill you Ill only get 6 months ban mate" and that frightened the fuck out of me . . .

How did you deal with this driver, how did you let him know it was unacceptable for him to risk your life ?

Everyone on the road drives like a cunt, if you keep that thought in your head every time you get on your bike your less likely to get knocked off/killed/injured

Nearly got knocked over by a bunny hopping mountain biker! Why do they ride like such dicks ?