Silly overtaking...

[Regulator]

If buses piss you off with a silly overtake, don't forget the emergency fuel cut off device, normally handily located at the rear of the vehicle.... 


 

[clarion]

...shame taxis don't have them...

[Gattopardo]

If buses piss you off with a silly overtake, don't forget the emergency fuel cut off device, normally handily located at the rear of the vehicle.... 


 

Do you know which flap its under and how much you have to reach just to stop this behaviour?

[Gattopardo]

Car driver stupidity always seems that little bit worse when they have kid(s) in the car. We drive extra carefully if we have the kittens in the car.

Maybe we need a "kittens on board" sign.

The strangest shout I got was while being overtaken and involved kids. I'd just filtered at a red light, set off at green, wide road, plenty of space for cars to go past on the school run (before stopping 100 yards further on in a monumental queue). Car pulls alongside, window comes down, driver leans across his ten year old son "There are children around here ya idiot!", window up and away.

I filtered again past the aforementioned queue, never saw him again, couldn';t be bothered stopping to ask him to decipher the message.

This morning was an example just as described in the OP, and happens almost every day whether it be car, van or bus. Why on earth the bus driver thought he could pass 30 yards before the back of the traffic queue I'll never know. Left hand lane (which we were in) clear and on a filter at the lights, bus pulls alongside, slams on brakes, not going to make it in front. Moves in behind. 20 yards after the left turn ont he filter he's stopping at the bus stop.

The point of the attempted overtake? Lost somewhere in the traffic I think.

Ok random prize goes to you, I'd have stopped and asked just to find out what he meant.

[PaulR]

Bus driver being a totally inconsiderate shocker   So do you think the driver even cared?

I generally coexist very happily with the very many bus drivers on my route.  It is very unusual to get one doing something stupid/dangerous (less than one a week).

I can only say about what I experience through my comute.  New Cross and Peckham seem quite bad and a minimum of an incident a day.

I've been having increasing numbers of incidents with buses and taxis pulling in on me on the Old Kent Road - on some occasions it has quite plainly been deliberate and entirely malicious.

[Ian H]

I am pro the Zen approach.  I am fluid.

When approaching the back of a queue I judge the situation...

I can identify with your approach. I rarely get active hassle.

[Gattopardo]

Bus driver being a totally inconsiderate shocker   So do you think the driver even cared?

I generally coexist very happily with the very many bus drivers on my route.  It is very unusual to get one doing something stupid/dangerous (less than one a week).

I can only say about what I experience through my comute.  New Cross and Peckham seem quite bad and a minimum of an incident a day.

I've been having increasing numbers of incidents with buses and taxis pulling in on me on the Old Kent Road - on some occasions it has quite plainly been deliberate and entirely malicious.

Have that feeling too but I can see the why they do it. what do they gain? Apart from a reputation?

[PaulR]

Bus driver being a totally inconsiderate shocker   So do you think the driver even cared?

I generally coexist very happily with the very many bus drivers on my route.  It is very unusual to get one doing something stupid/dangerous (less than one a week).

I can only say about what I experience through my comute.  New Cross and Peckham seem quite bad and a minimum of an incident a day.

I've been having increasing numbers of incidents with buses and taxis pulling in on me on the Old Kent Road - on some occasions it has quite plainly been deliberate and entirely malicious.

Have that feeling too but I can see the why they do it. what do they gain? Apart from a reputation?

Hmmm, when I watch one of my sons winding up his brother or sister, I begin to suspect it's a deep-seated feature of human nature.

[Charlotte]

If buses piss you off with a silly overtake, don't forget the emergency fuel cut off device, normally handily located at the rear of the vehicle.... 


 

Do you know which flap its under and how much you have to reach just to stop this behaviour?

Under the flap that says "Emergency engine stop" or "Fuel cut-off".  Some of them, you have to lift the whole engine compartment flap up.

It's the big red button.

Do not ask me how I know this 

[Regulator]

If buses piss you off with a silly overtake, don't forget the emergency fuel cut off device, normally handily located at the rear of the vehicle.... 


 

Do you know which flap its under and how much you have to reach just to stop this behaviour?

Under the flap that says "Emergency engine stop" or "Fuel cut-off".  Some of them, you have to lift the whole engine compartment flap up.

It's the big red button.

Do not ask me how I know this 

On some of the newer buses, it's under a little flap on the rear left hand side.... 

[juliet]

NB: if you do that to a bus, you'll be stranding all the passengers as well.  Who will likely not have seen what happened so will assume that you are just a crazy cyclist who gets their kicks from disabling buses.

Actually, I can't think of any decent reason for doing this, other than perhaps if you think that the driver is sufficiently dangerous that you wish to stop them from moving off whilst you call the police to get them on the scene.  If you're just hitting the cut-off & sodding off, then they'll just restart it & be even more cross, less safe, & more pissed off with cyclists. 

[Regulator]

NB: if you do that to a bus, you'll be stranding all the passengers as well.  Who will likely not have seen what happened so will assume that you are just a crazy cyclist who gets their kicks from disabling buses.

Actually, I can't think of any decent reason for doing this, other than perhaps if you think that the driver is sufficiently dangerous that you wish to stop them from moving off whilst you call the police to get them on the scene.  If you're just hitting the cut-off & sodding off, then they'll just restart it & be even more cross, less safe, & more pissed off with cyclists. 

I've had to do this to prevent a bus driver leaving the scene before.

[juliet]

If it's a police-calling incident, fair enough.  It does sound upthread like people are suggesting it as revenge of sorts, which I think is a really bad idea.

[Pete]

Ooh, Boudica! But... a blade on the chainring would cut richie b's foot off at the ankle. Nice and surgical. 

Oxyacetylene on the handlebar (pointing right, of course!)?  Or on a 'bent maybe fix it to the flagstaff?

168

Being overtaken.

Actually I've more experience of rule 168½:

168½ - Overtaking cyclists.
All cyclists must be overtaken immediately and as quickly as possible without delay, regardless of road and traffic conditions, because they're unsightly, in your way, shouldn't be on the road anyway and don't pay road tax.

Does that about cover it?

[Gattopardo]

Bus driver being a totally inconsiderate shocker   So do you think the driver even cared?

I generally coexist very happily with the very many bus drivers on my route.  It is very unusual to get one doing something stupid/dangerous (less than one a week).

I can only say about what I experience through my comute.  New Cross and Peckham seem quite bad and a minimum of an incident a day.

I've been having increasing numbers of incidents with buses and taxis pulling in on me on the Old Kent Road - on some occasions it has quite plainly been deliberate and entirely malicious.

Have that feeling too but I can see the why they do it. what do they gain? Apart from a reputation?

Hmmm, when I watch one of my sons winding up his brother or sister, I begin to suspect it's a deep-seated feature of human nature.

No thats sport

[Mr Larrington]

Actually I've more experience of rule 168½:

168½ - Overtaking cyclists.
All cyclists must be overtaken immediately and as quickly as possible without delay, regardless of road and traffic conditions, because they're unsightly, in your way, shouldn't be on the road anyway and don't pay road tax.

Does that about cover it?

Almost, but you need to add:

You do not need to pull out to overtake a bicycle, as they are two-dimensional objects

[ABlipInContinuity]

If it's a police-calling incident, fair enough.  It does sound upthread like people are suggesting it as revenge of sorts, which I think is a really bad idea.

The last time I stopped a bus, one of the passengers was very visibly shaken by what the bus driver had done to us.

The incident was horrible. On approach to a stop line at a set of red traffic light the bus driver drove right up behind us and then, as we were slowing down anyway, drew along side us and tried to squish us into the kerb. I was told Maffie to move out of the buses way, stay calm and just let the bus go when the lights changed.

When the driver opened the doors and started swearing at us and telling us we had no right to be on the road, as if a switch were flicked I jumped on the bus and waited for him to stop ranting before calmly trying to explain that, no matter what he thought about the way we were cycling, driving like that was incredibly dangerous and not an appropriate way of dealing with it.

He shut the doors on my bike and wouldn't open them so I could get back off. So I turned the bus off.

He called the police, so we waited calmly for them to turn up. As we did so, he walked up and down the bus trying to coerce the passengers into supporting his account of events. In this time, Maffie opened the doors for me from outside. The shaken passenger alighted to ask Maffie if she was okay and explain that she was really upset by what she had seen.

After calmly explaining what had happened to the anti-cycling police officer, he (much to my relief) gave me a stern ticking off for interfering with a vehicle and told me that if I wished to complain to the bus company I should contact them with the fleet number of the vehicle. In fact the officer marched me around the back of the bus to get the fleet number.

I don't condone this sort of behaviour and in many respects I regret it. It wasn't the right thing to do. It did not change the bus drivers attitude. The police felt I should pursue the matter of dangerous driving privately.

I was staying really calm until those doors opened and the driver started spouting abuse. For a while afterwards I was angry with myself for rising to it. I also think the bus driver got a sick sense of enjoyment out of the whole saga.

As others have said, staying calm means the perpertrators of the crap driving are much more likely to die young of a heart attack rather than you.

[Gattopardo]

If it's a police-calling incident, fair enough.  It does sound upthread like people are suggesting it as revenge of sorts, which I think is a really bad idea.

The last time I stopped a bus, one of the passengers was very visibly shaken by what the bus driver had done to us.

The incident was horrible. On approach to a stop line at a set of red traffic light the bus driver drove right up behind us and then, as we were slowing down anyway, drew along side us and tried to squish us into the kerb. I was told Maffie to move out of the buses way, stay calm and just let the bus go when the lights changed.

When the driver opened the doors and started swearing at us and telling us we had no right to be on the road, as if a switch were flicked I jumped on the bus and waited for him to stop ranting before calmly trying to explain that, no matter what he thought about the way we were cycling, driving like that was incredibly dangerous and not an appropriate way of dealing with it.

He shut the doors on my bike and wouldn't open them so I could get back off. So I turned the bus off.

He called the police, so we waited calmly for them to turn up. As we did so, he walked up and down the bus trying to coerce the passengers into supporting his account of events. In this time, Maffie opened the doors for me from outside. The shaken passenger alighted to ask Maffie if she was okay and explain that she was really upset by what she had seen.

After calmly explaining what had happened to the anti-cycling police officer, he (much to my relief) gave me a stern ticking off for interfering with a vehicle and told me that if I wished to complain to the bus company I should contact them with the fleet number of the vehicle. In fact the officer marched me around the back of the bus to get the fleet number.

I don't condone this sort of behaviour and in many respects I regret it. It wasn't the right thing to do. It did not change the bus drivers attitude. The police felt I should pursue the matter of dangerous driving privately.
I was staying really calm until those doors opened and the driver started spouting abuse. For a while afterwars I was angry with myself for rising to it. I also think the bus driver got a sick sense of enjoyment out of the whole saga.

As others have said, staying calm means the perpertrators of the crap driving are much more likely to die young of a heart attack rather than you.

My bold by the way did the policeman explain how this was possible?

Can I ask in what part of the country this was? Also how long ago.

[ABlipInContinuity]

If it's a police-calling incident, fair enough.  It does sound upthread like people are suggesting it as revenge of sorts, which I think is a really bad idea.

The last time I stopped a bus, one of the passengers was very visibly shaken by what the bus driver had done to us.

The incident was horrible. On approach to a stop line at a set of red traffic light the bus driver drove right up behind us and then, as we were slowing down anyway, drew along side us and tried to squish us into the kerb. I was told Maffie to move out of the buses way, stay calm and just let the bus go when the lights changed.

When the driver opened the doors and started swearing at us and telling us we had no right to be on the road, as if a switch were flicked I jumped on the bus and waited for him to stop ranting before calmly trying to explain that, no matter what he thought about the way we were cycling, driving like that was incredibly dangerous and not an appropriate way of dealing with it.

He shut the doors on my bike and wouldn't open them so I could get back off. So I turned the bus off.

He called the police, so we waited calmly for them to turn up. As we did so, he walked up and down the bus trying to coerce the passengers into supporting his account of events. In this time, Maffie opened the doors for me from outside. The shaken passenger alighted to ask Maffie if she was okay and explain that she was really upset by what she had seen.

After calmly explaining what had happened to the anti-cycling police officer, he (much to my relief) gave me a stern ticking off for interfering with a vehicle and told me that if I wished to complain to the bus company I should contact them with the fleet number of the vehicle. In fact the officer marched me around the back of the bus to get the fleet number.

I don't condone this sort of behaviour and in many respects I regret it. It wasn't the right thing to do. It did not change the bus drivers attitude. The police felt I should pursue the matter of dangerous driving privately.
I was staying really calm until those doors opened and the driver started spouting abuse. For a while afterwars I was angry with myself for rising to it. I also think the bus driver got a sick sense of enjoyment out of the whole saga.

As others have said, staying calm means the perpertrators of the crap driving are much more likely to die young of a heart attack rather than you.

My bold by the way did the policeman explain how this was possible?

Can I ask in what part of the country this was? Also how long ago.

By complaining to the bus company.
Not sure what relevance the other questions have to the thread.

[microphonie]

Classic zombified 'must.overtake.cyclist' incident this morning. Country lane, not particularly wide, I can see another cyclist coming towards me and, approaching behind him, an old style Mini. At the precise moment myself and the other cyclist crossed, the dim bint driving the Mini decided to overtake him. 
Good job it was a Mini...anything bigger and I'd have had to go offroad. 

BTW if anyone reading this happened to be the other cyclist: 1) I was not calling you a 'stupid twat' and 2) Hello!   

[Gattopardo]

By complaining to the bus company.
Not sure what relevance the other questions have to the thread.

So do the bus company give points on peoples driving licences

The other qestions are more based to see which police force it was, that even with witnesses of an incident, do not do more about it.

[ian]

Car driver stupidity always seems that little bit worse when they have kid(s) in the car. We drive extra carefully if we have the kittens in the car.

Maybe we need a "kittens on board" sign.

Prime example. I don't usually bother playing the road vigilante, but this lunchtime an Audi goes past me, driver on her mobile. She stops at the pedestrian crossing lights and I come up along side. Window is wide open. I notice she's still yattering away on the phone and there's a medium sized kid unbelted in the front seat. So in my best State Trooper voice I couldn't resist mentioning the sheer inadvisability of her approach to driving.

Now, I'm expecting the usual estuarine eloquence and to be told to fuck off and mind my own, but nope, she looks up and says - in a rather posh voice - "but I'm just popping around the corner".

So that's alright then.

[hellymedic]

As I understand it, a very high proportion of crashes occur within 2 miles of the driver's home address...

[Tim Hall]

I'd better move house then...

(Badoom - tish)

[teethgrinder]

Bad overtakes?
I could have a thread all to myself.
My usual tactic is, when you hear something about to make a stupid overtake, hopefully you're in primary if you're going pretty quick. Stand your ground and get them to commit to their overtake. Stand your ground as much as is safe and give yourself room to avoid them.
Then, as they overtake you (and are now committed because they almost have to go through with it) drop back a bit if neseccarry. I only do this if i really have to. I stand my ground and react when it's dangerous to be where i am. The aim is to get them past you ASAP, preferably with you still in primary position, unless it's too dangerous (eg you're being cut up)
If they have to go very fast to overtake you on the wrong side of the road, oncoming drivers get worried. Sometimes you will hear screeching tyres and see smoke. Don't worry about that, just make sure that you are safe from the overtaker, The overtaker will most likely prevent the on coming car from hitting you. But because you are in primary position, you can dive left if you need to and you have more room to take evasive action. Hence standing my ground. I want to have somewhere to go, so I gaurd that road space, which I call my margin for your (the motorist) error. It very rarely get that bad.
But, once the numpty has thrashed their engine to get past you and you are now travelling a little bit slower, so are well away from the back of said numpty, you have a good view of the road ahead. If it is safe, you can overtake your overtaker and leave them fuming.

Sometimes they get very upset when you pass them again though. Be prepared for an angry motorist to have a go at you. Don't even think about trying to reason with them, let them go off in a huff. They won't hang around for long because they will be followed by yet more impatient motorists who are quick with the horn if they have to slow down for anything.

On the other hand, they sometimes learn. It does happen sometimes.