You are reading a single comment by @skydancer and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
@skydancer
Festus you make some excellent points about behaviour in bus lanes. Bus drivers are being trained in cyclist awareness classes accross london now (they call it cyclist tolerance classes:-). Some of these classes are delivered by CTUK and some by bus driver instructors who have been accredited as cycling instructors.
The key messages to the drivers from this training are:
Expect cyclists to ride centrally in the bus lane.
Avoid overtaking them unless drivers can move into the next lane.
Drivers should hang back and not overtake in most cases.
Expect some cyclists not to ride centrally and behave the same way towards them.
They are also given the opportunity to give advice to cyclists.
Their advice to cyclists includes:
Let a driver signalling pull out so don't race to overtake if a driver is indicating right.
Avoid passing on the nearside (left) at lights wait behind or pass on the right to get to the advanced stop box.
Pass a bus wide when overtaking where the rider is more likely to be visible to the drivers
Avoid swearing abuse at drivers who try to edge out of bus stops. (I was shocked at how much abuse they claim they get from cyclists)
Avoid pulling in front of a bus causing the driver to brake suddenly. Their braking is monitored centrally as are the drivers with around 8 cameras on a bus, one is in the drivers cab
The drivers I have worked with have been really keen to work to improve thier relationship with cyclists and they relished the opportunity to express their views to a cyclist (There will be a write up of this project in the next issue of London Cyclist magazine)
Many drivers also cycle to the depots
And Chainwhip, Love your advice from scandinavia. Are your roads filled with luv caring and sharing? (Did you notice i said please and thank you to you without words?)