London Bus Drivers - Dangerous.

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rossyl

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Aug 11, 2009
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693
Location
N.London
Car
CLK 230K W208 Coupe (1999)(Auto)
Last weekend I drove approx 700miles around the country...I never had any close calls, or any incidents, until....... I was within 0.5miles of my home in North London!

I'm driving at about 20-25mph going up hill. There is a large double decker bus in front of me. It signals to stop at a Bus Stop and pulls over. The opposite side of the road is clear, and so I indicate and start to overtake. At the point I started to overtake the bus still had his left indicator on. Just as I am halway past the bus, the bus pulls out. I am forced to swerve towards parked cars on the other side of the road to avoid the bus hitting me and slam on the brakes.

The bus driver did not even indicate and clearly did not look before almost causing a collision.

I have noticed many times recently how aggressively bus driver's drive.

-I have been on a bus that hit the wing mirror off a car and carried on going.
-I have been on a night bus that was driving so wrecklessly fast people have got off.

I can't help thinking the people driving double decker buses think that they are driving Citreon Saxo's.
 
Black cabs have a similar reputation :eek:

To be honest, you have to 'expect the unexpected' and treat everyone on the road like an idiot driving in major cities. I would have in the back of my mind as I commit to pass a bus that has pulled over that there's probably about a 25% chance of them pulling out on me. :(

Will
 
I think buses now have the right of way & if there's an accident the drivers know the burden of proof will always be on the car driver to prove it wasn't their fault.

My experience with London bus drivers has taught me that if you do not signal when overtaking one at a bus stop they will just pull out, even if you are on top of them. If you signal, they'll let you pass.

Your guy must have been having an off day.
 
A mate of mine always used to say 'a bus can be as late as it likes, but it can never be early'. They used to have people checking that (making sure they weren't running early at certain points on their route).

I know someone who used to drive buses around central/east London - I think they like to get around their route ASAP (that they can just about get away with) in order to have a longer break at either end of their routes. Probably easier at nightime though ;)

Will
 
I think buses now have the right of way & if there's an accident the drivers know the burden of proof will always be on the car driver to prove it wasn't their fault.

My experience with London bus drivers has taught me that if you do not signal when overtaking one at a bus stop they will just pull out, even if you are on top of them. If you signal, they'll let you pass.

Your guy must have been having an off day.

Check your Highway Code, buses have always had right of way but only pulling out from a bus stop! And even then it should be done in a safe and legal manner ie indicators and looking before pulling out etc
 
Yes, having the right of way is fine. But when someone has indicated and has already half overtaken, buses do not have a right of way to pull out into your path.
 
The sequence of mirror, signal, manoeuvre is sadly forgotten by many drivers in my experience.
 
Yes, having the right of way is fine. But when someone has indicated and has already half overtaken, buses do not have a right of way to pull out into your path.

Oh I agree wholeheartedly! Having had a Leicester bus pull into my lane whilst I was still in it a few years back causing £3.5k worth of damage to my C Class!! :wallbash:
 
One nearly severely damaged my n/s/f wing and bumper. Thankfully it was just a scratch. A quick call to the police, as he began to pull away, soon sorted the incident out. They boll0cked the driver - he was also boll0cked by his manager, and I leave happier with the necessary insurance details in my pocket. Eventually the scratches were repaired. And to think I actually stopped to let him through. Most are morons, a few are genuinely nice and make time to thank you.
 
Bus drivers think they own the road..It's a case of 'I've got a bus so get out of my way!!'

I've had a number of run ins with them in the past..As OP has said, they just leave bus stops with no indication, purposely block roads to stop you overtaking whilst they are at a bus stop and have no consideration for other road users. !!
 
Yep - seen that plenty of times, they often stop far from the kerb (inconveniencing passengers boarding/leaving as a result) in order to position themselves 'defensively' and stop other cars/vehicles passing them whilst they're stopped.
 
Nothing new, buses have always had "the right of way"!

You have to have some sympathy with them though. Car drivers do not want to be stuck behind a bus so very, very few will allow a bus to pull out. On top of that the poor guy has to deal with his (generally less than courteous) passengers as well.

Still no excuse for pulling out without checking first though....
 
A bus in London in the '90s hit my wife's Mazda. (Actually it was my Company Car and I never used it). He drove off and she drove off after him. She pulled in front of him and refused to let him pass until he got out. He said he never touched her car so she showed him the marks - his paint on her car and hers on his....He then apologised and gave her the details.

I must admit she surprised me as she is one of the meek and mild set...:D

But lets admit it - bus drivers don't get paid a lot so if you pay peanuts you tend to get monkeys...
 
Yeah right....If you do complain, the driver will probably get 6 months paid leave due to the stress of a complaint and then another 6 months of free counselling lol
 
Most London buses now ( certainly the ones round here ) have little dome cameras recording what goes on in front of the bus .

Presumably due to the amount of spurious claims they get , ie a car ( 4 up ) pulls in front of the bus , slam on the anchors , bus piles into the car , and all five occupants claim for whiplash from the insurance co. of the bus.

This is a popular scam amongst the eastern european / gipsy population.

If there was a real problem ( ie the bus hit you but disputed it ) they could check the camera on the front ( and the internal cameras ) and see what happened.
 
Make a complaint and hope the driver gets sacked.

Oh I am definitely complaining. Although rees is probably right, he might get time off.

However...if we all complained when someone was reckless, as in this scenario, the evidence would stack up against this driver and he would be warned. Hopefully he'd then be more careful. It would also likely result in bus drivers being more careful.

I think there is just a lack of scrutiny.
 

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