Do London bus drivers own the road?

[Pica-Pica]

ElectricPics said:

Pica-Pica said:

psi310398 said:

They all seem to learn from a version of the Highway Code that says pull out and then indicate.

I’m quite happy to stop and let them out per the Highway Code but I’m not a bloody mind reader!

Bus stops, people get off. The waiting queue gets on. No-one else left waiting. Now where is the bus likely to go next? That is not mind-reading - that is observation.

Sometimes quite difficult to see through a bus, particularly if there's another on or other traffic behind it. That said, if a bus is at a stop, the next likely occurrence will be that it pulls out from it.

If you are trying to see through it, you are obviously too close!!! As the bus approaches a stop, observe how many waiting. It really ain’t hard, all this observation stuff.

[Teddy Lop]

You notice a difference in bus driving standards just between inner London and the outer burbs. The former do seem instructed to try to the vehicle as a weapon - if you flash one out when they're indicating they'll refuse to move till you stop, but if you ignore and try to pass they'll stamp on the gas and try to drive into you, even when they have their own clear lane they often try to sideswipe you for fun. I figured bus driving was a rehabilitation program for psychopaths.

[PF62]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

I actually jump on the bus in London now and then, and I've never noticed it being driven badly.

You get the occasional moron bus driver who stops over the pedestrian crossings, even though it is blindingly obvious to everyone (including them) that there is no chance of making it over the junction before the lights change.

[anonymous-user]

vikingaero said:

Totally agree about Uber drivers. They are a special breed of stupid and a long way ahead of Addison Lee drivers. At least Black Cab drivers are on the whole polite when they cut you up.

Not so polite when they do a u turn to get a passenger and you plough your motorbike into the side of them, and then deny they were doing a u turn

[Poppiecock]

hyphen said:

You forgot coach drivers. Not National Express but the private companies.

One recently challenged me to a fight as he tried to bully me with his piss take lane change, I was in a £100 shed and held firm

I always say never try to intimidate someone in a company car.

[psi310398]

Pica-Pica said:

Bus stops, people get off. The waiting queue gets on. No-one else left waiting. Now where is the bus likely to go next? That is not mind-reading - that is observation.

In London, where three or more buses can be stood nose-to-tail and where one is often paused for a period, please explain exactly how I’m supposed to observe.

It also doesn’t help when the standing bus has its hazards on and the near side lights are obscured by the bus behind.

[egor110]

Poppiecock said:

hyphen said:

You forgot coach drivers. Not National Express but the private companies.

One recently challenged me to a fight as he tried to bully me with his piss take lane change, I was in a £100 shed and held firm

I always say never try to intimidate someone in a company car.

Maybe once upon a time but the majority of big companies are going to have disciplinary procedures for crash’s drivers .

Over 30 years we’ve gone from 3 prangs and your investigated to now any incident and your off driving whilst the investigation happens , if it’s your fault your looking at 6-12 months off driving!

[Poppiecock]

egor110 said:

Maybe once upon a time but the majority of big companies are going to have disciplinary procedures for crash’s drivers .

Over 30 years we’ve gone from 3 prangs and your investigated to now any incident and your off driving whilst the investigation happens , if it’s your fault your looking at 6-12 months off driving!

Our rules are that we face an investigation and action is only taken if you're proven to be negligent.

In most of the cases I can think of, you'd be legally right, even if you should really back down to avoid an incident - so I'm fairly confident I could argue my way out of it.

[Pica-Pica]

psi310398 said:

Pica-Pica said:

Bus stops, people get off. The waiting queue gets on. No-one else left waiting. Now where is the bus likely to go next? That is not mind-reading - that is observation.

In London, where three or more buses can be stood nose-to-tail and where one is often paused for a period, please explain exactly how I’m supposed to observe.

It also doesn’t help when the standing bus has its hazards on and the near side lights are obscured by the bus behind.

Just suck it up then.
Stuck in traffic? You are traffic!

[psi310398]

Pica-Pica said:

Just suck it up then.
Stuck in traffic? You are traffic!

All I was hoping for was that a bus driver might occasionally indicate before pulling out. You know, as required to do by the rules of the road.

If a bus driver wants to wreck some old snotter of mine, he’s welcome but he might have a mind for his passengers...

[DonkeyApple]

Sa Calobra said:

Using their vehicle to force their way into traffic, cut you up etc?

Is it the law here or just an ingrained rudeness?

This isn't bus driver profession bashing. There are some considerate and polite ones out there (up north)

If they didn’t then they’d never move. It’s London, you have to force people to be polite, like driving half out of junctions when turning right as no one is likely to politely let you across.

But the real secret is that bus drivers can’t afford to hit you so they will eventually back down, you just have to hold your nerve and simply be more ‘London’ than they are.

London driving is actually phenomenally efficient, but hesitation is not the name of the game. Foreigners from England tend to stick out a mile with their parochial civilities.

[DonkeyApple]

MrGTI6 said:

You think they're bad, wait until you encounter an Uber driver in a Prius. I don't think I've come across a single one that isn't blind, suicidal, or both.

My general rule of thumb is that I give way to buses, black cabs and cyclists, let them out etc. Uber’s, I’ll drive them off the road and into a wall if they show the slightest intent of getting in my way

[Sa Calobra]

Teddy Lop said:

You notice a difference in bus driving standards just between inner London and the outer burbs. The former do seem instructed to try to the vehicle as a weapon - if you flash one out when they're indicating they'll refuse to move till you stop, but if you ignore and try to pass they'll stamp on the gas and try to drive into you, even when they have their own clear lane they often try to sideswipe you for fun. I figured bus driving was a rehabilitation program for psychopaths.

I had this, I ended up swerving lanes to avoid a side swipe

[Sa Calobra]

egor110 said:

Maybe once upon a time but the majority of big companies are going to have disciplinary procedures for crash’s drivers .

Over 30 years we’ve gone from 3 prangs and your investigated to now any incident and your off driving whilst the investigation happens , if it’s your fault your looking at 6-12 months off driving!

Unpaid suspension? Otherwise what is the incentive to drive correctly? A relaxed away from driving break.

[anonymous-user]

S1KRR said:

In order of "Likely to do something ttty on the road" (swerve, park illegally etc)


1) Addision Lee
2) Minicabs (cant tell which are Uber and which aren't)
3) Buses
4) Black Cabs


In order of likely to be over aggressive and want to literally fight you when they fk up


1) Black Cabs
2) Buses
3) Addison Lee
4) Uber et al

In order of likely to be knowingly law breaking (dodging income tax or have a bald tyres etc)

1) Black Cabs
2) Minicabs
3) Addison Lee
4) Buses

HTH

Edited by anonymous-user on Sunday 18th August 12:59

I so agree with ALL of this :-)

I had a few run ins with black cabs on my motorbike. They are aweful.

I hit a bus head on and he checked his bus for damage not me. Crash was my fault, but he didnt' slow down when he saw I was heading towards him.

Had countless black cabs refuse to take me south of the river. One told me it was "too dark" there...

Once on a bus, a mad guy started headbutting the bus when it was stationary. The driver of the bus got out, walked over to him, calmly, then beat the st out of him!! Then calmly walked back to the bus and carried on driving. Bloody brilliant!

Minicabs - too many to mention. Always with howling wheel bearings and stty jizzed-on seats. Been in minicabs sideways wheels-locked up, twice.

Uber didn't exist when I lived in London, but mincabs = Uber as far as I can tell.

[anonymous-user]

keirik said:

vikingaero said:

Totally agree about Uber drivers. They are a special breed of stupid and a long way ahead of Addison Lee drivers. At least Black Cab drivers are on the whole polite when they cut you up.

Not so polite when they do a u turn to get a passenger and you plough your motorbike into the side of them, and then deny they were doing a u turn

Yup - and mine had his mate in the back, so when the police showed up, they both said I was lying (U - turn cab - rode my bike into the side)

[egor110]

Sa Calobra said:

egor110 said:

Maybe once upon a time but the majority of big companies are going to have disciplinary procedures for crash’s drivers .

Over 30 years we’ve gone from 3 prangs and your investigated to now any incident and your off driving whilst the investigation happens , if it’s your fault your looking at 6-12 months off driving!

Unpaid suspension? Otherwise what is the incentive to drive correctly? A relaxed away from driving break.

No paid .

But if you hit me and claimed vice Verda I’d but off driving whilst it was investigated then they’d still decide it was 50/50 due to no dash cams

[Pica-Pica]

psi310398 said:

All I was hoping for was that a bus driver might occasionally indicate before pulling out. You know, as required to do by the rules of the road.

If a bus driver wants to wreck some old snotter of mine, he’s welcome but he might have a mind for his passengers...

Out here in the sticks, I have found bus drivers always indicate to pull out. Much more so than car drivers (I have yet to see a motorcyclist indicate to pull out from stopped).

[GTI16V]

S1KRR said:

In order of "Likely to do something ttty on the road" (swerve, park illegally etc)


1) Addision Lee
2) Minicabs (cant tell which are Uber and which aren't)
3) Buses
4) Black Cabs


In order of likely to be over aggressive and want to literally fight you when they fk up


1) Black Cabs
2) Buses
3) Addison Lee
4) Uber et al

In order of likely to be knowingly law breaking (dodging income tax or have a bald tyres etc)

1) Black Cabs
2) Minicabs
3) Addison Lee
4) Buses

HTH

Edited by S1KRR on Sunday 18th August 12:59

[NickCQ]

Remember - a London bus’ indicators mean the opposite of what it’s about to do.

No indicator = about to pull out to the right.
Right indicator = (1) about to drive straight ahead in an empty bus lane or (2) one half of a hazard flasher meaning they’re on a stand and going nowhere (left indicator blocked by the bus behind natch).