Bus driver jailed for hitting cyclist

[walm]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-17066...

Pretty shocking video.

I am glad to see some more reasonable justice here rather than 3 points and a £60 fine.

Just for the apologists:
Probably the cyclist's fault - he should be paying road tax.
He shouldn't have been in the middle of the road - the gutter is more appropriate.
He probably ran a red light so he deserved it.
He probably wears lycra so he deserves it.
Did he have lights?
Was he wearing lumo clothes?
etc... etc...

[will_]

Reminds me (a bit) of when I nearly got killed by a coach driver deliberately trying to swipe me onto the kerb. I still get the sweats when I think about that.

That is a shocking video. 17 months doesn't seem nearly enough for what I would consider to be much closer to attempted murder than GBH.

What sort of person thinks that is in any way justifiable behaviour?

[walm]

will_ said:

What sort of person thinks that is in any way justifiable behaviour?

Will - as you well know - most of PH.

[BruceBogtrotter]

I agree. More like attempted murder. I mean wtf, seriously!

[BrabusMog]

How blatantly obvious is that?! Shocking actions from the driver.

[will_]

walm said:

will_ said:

What sort of person thinks that is in any way justifiable behaviour?

Will - as you well know - most of PH.

I think quite a few say that because they are internet idiot swaggering morons.

But to actually do it takes a particular strain of evil.

I sincerely hope that he has a horrendous time in jail and loses everything from this.

[will_]

Oh joy, the Daily Soovy morons have got hold of it.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2102245/Bu...

Note how most of the comments basically suggest cyclists deserve it.

What a terrifying insight into some people's mentality.

If this thread were in GG I wonder how many similar comments would be made....

[Johnnytheboy]

That was a completely bizarre thing to do even if - as the article suggests - there was some kind of prior altercation. Surely driving a bus is like carrying a whole bunch of witnesses round with you? Mind you, have you seen the driver's mugshot? He looks like a right tool. Oh I see he's from Frome, that explains a lot.

[Digga]

The bus driver was an idiot not capable of safely driving any motorised vehicle, let alone a passenger carrying one and the cyclist did not, in any way, deserve this.

However, from the article and the video, I wonder why the cyclist was not at least warned about his own part in the events prior to the crash. The report states he propped his bike up against the front of the bus when it stopped. What law exists which allows a cyclist to block another vehicle in in this manner?

The video also shows the cyclist trying to 'box' the bus in behinnd him. Aginst, this does not justify the bus drivers actions, but does call into question the legalisty of the cyclists riding. IMHO he certainly played a part in the escalation of road rage which led to the major offence.

[anonymous-user]

will_ said:

Oh joy, the Daily Soovy morons have got hold of it.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2102245/Bu...

Note how most of the comments basically suggest cyclists deserve it.

What a terrifying insight into some people's mentality.

If this thread were in GG I wonder how many similar comments would be made....

Well, it is in SP&L, and there's a fair few who seem to have decided even handed justice is the way forward: punishment was right but the cyclist deserved what he got.

[Mr Gear]

will_ said:

Oh joy, the Daily Soovy morons have got hold of it.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2102245/Bu...

Note how most of the comments basically suggest cyclists deserve it.

What a terrifying insight into some people's mentality.

If this thread were in GG I wonder how many similar comments would be made....

Well, click here and find out! http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

It makes my blood boil that the general consensus seems to be that it was "fair enough". fk you Pistonheads, fk you Daily Mail, you're both populated by fking dheads (present company excepted) what the fk is wrong with the world I live in?

[Johnnytheboy]

Mr Gear said:

will_ said:

Oh joy, the Daily Soovy morons have got hold of it.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2102245/Bu...

Note how most of the comments basically suggest cyclists deserve it.

What a terrifying insight into some people's mentality.

If this thread were in GG I wonder how many similar comments would be made....

Well, click here and find out! http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

It makes my blood boil that the general consensus seems to be that it was "fair enough". fk you Pistonheads, fk you Daily Mail, you're both populated by fking dheads (present company excepted) what the fk is wrong with the world I live in?

I don't think it was "fair enough", though it should be a salient reminder to anyone that wants to get in any altercation with another road user, that you never know what they are going to be capable of (Kenneth Noye, anyone?)

[will_]

Mr Gear said:

will_ said:

Oh joy, the Daily Soovy morons have got hold of it.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2102245/Bu...

Note how most of the comments basically suggest cyclists deserve it.

What a terrifying insight into some people's mentality.

If this thread were in GG I wonder how many similar comments would be made....

Well, click here and find out! http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

It makes my blood boil that the general consensus seems to be that it was "fair enough". fk you Pistonheads, fk you Daily Mail, you're both populated by fking dheads (present company excepted) what the fk is wrong with the world I live in?

I dreaded to look.

I despair.

[Mr Gear]

Johnnytheboy said:

I don't think it was "fair enough", though it should be a salient reminder to anyone that wants to get in any altercation with another road user, that you never know what they are going to be capable of (Kenneth Noye, anyone?)

Sure. But the line was crossed big-time.

[will_]

Maybe we should have a list of things that mean you "deserve" to be hit by a bus?

Shouting? Nope.
Banging on a bus that's cut you up? Nope.
Blocking a bus? Nope.

Nothing that the cyclist did meant that it was in any way justifiable for the bus driver to do that to him.

It is absolutely impossible to justify the "punishment" fitting the "crime". It really doesn't matter what a cyclist does on the road that annoys someone - nothing they can do means that they "deserve" to have their life put at risk deliberately.

To flip the issue - if the bus driver blocked the cyclist, would the driver have "deserved" to have been punched, stabbed or beaten by the cyclist?

[Mr Gear]

will_ said:

Maybe we should have a list of things that mean you "deserve" to be hit by a bus?

Shouting? Nope.
Banging on a bus that's cut you up? Nope.
Blocking a bus? Nope.

Nothing that the cyclist did meant that it was in any way justifiable for the bus driver to do that to him.

It is absolutely impossible to justify the "punishment" fitting the "crime". It really doesn't matter what a cyclist does on the road that annoys someone - nothing they can do means that they "deserve" to have their life put at risk deliberately.

To flip the issue - if the bus driver blocked the cyclist, would the driver have "deserved" to have been punched, stabbed or beaten by the cyclist?

Nail + Head.

That's why anything anyone posts to the contrary is loathsome bullst of the highest order.

[Johnnytheboy]

will_ said:

It is absolutely impossible to justify the "punishment" fitting the "crime". It really doesn't matter what a cyclist does on the road that annoys someone - nothing they can do means that they "deserve" to have their life put at risk deliberately.

To flip the issue - if the bus driver blocked the cyclist, would the driver have "deserved" to have been punched, stabbed or beaten by the cyclist?

You are absolutely right on both counts. No one should take the law in to their own hands to right some perceived wrong by another road user.

It doesn't matter who's wrong and who's right (usually IME it's a bit of both). No one deserves to be the subject of vigilantism. If someone's done something dangerous, tell the police.

ETA a 'p' to 'police', lol

Edited by Johnnytheboy on Friday 17th February 12:02

[Chris71]

will_ said:

Nothing that the cyclist did meant that it was in any way justifiable for the bus driver to do that to him.

Indeed. You'd have to have a lot of practice side-swiping cyclists to guarantee you weren't going to pitch him under the bus, bounce him into oncoming traffic or simply brake his neck when he lands on the pavement. In other words, you have to assume that ramming someone with a bus is likely to kill them. And nothing the guy on the bike could have done, short of jumping onto the bus with a loaded shotgun and taking pot shots at the driver, justifies that.

The sad thing is it's not that unusual. I've had at least one deliberate attempt by a van driver to drive into me along with several serious near-misses that may or may not have been accidental.

In a way I'm glad this one made the news. It was the first thing my colleagues were talking about when I got in the office this morning and they're certainly not cyclists. Fortunately, there was no doubt about who was in the wrong.

I hope the guy wasn't too badly hurt. From the video it looks like it could have gone a lot worse.

[will_]

Chris71 said:

The sad thing is it's not that unusual. I've had at least one deliberate attempt by a van driver to drive into me along with several serious near-misses that may or may not have been accidental.

It is a mentality I 100% cannot comprehend.

To put someone's life in danger, or physically injure them, over some perceived annoyance or mistake is criminal and should be dealt with much, much more strongly in my view.

Chris71 said:

In a way I'm glad this one made the news. It was the first thing my colleagues were talking about when I got in the office this morning and they're certainly not cyclists. Fortunately, there was no doubt about who was in the wrong.

True, maybe this will make some people think before the red mist decends and they lose all grip on scale, proportionality and reality.

[XitUp]

Should be attempted murder.

Did he get banned from driving for life?