Report this school bus driver?

[Dukester]

I've been commuting to work now for a month or so from where I live now.
Where I used to live in town I commuted everyday for years but it was only a
couple of miles. Now it's about 10.

I work 6-3pm, so I hit the school bus traffic in the afternoons. My route
home takes me on a rural state road with little to no shoulder. Not heavy
traffic, except for the kids and buses. There is one particular bus now
that I encounter regularly in the afternoons and makes me uncomfortable when
I see him in the mirror. My first encounter was when he passed me closely
on a solid yellow line going up a blind hill. Today he passed me on a
narrow, albeit short, bridge, again the yellow line, and oncoming traffic
that went into the shoulder for him! I had taken the lane in both cases.
One day last week he followed me closely, gunning the engine over & over,
although why he didn't pass there I don't know; the road is the same width
in it's entirety. All times he passes at a high rate of speed and very
close, never more than an arm's length, if that. Maybe it's nothing, but no
other traffic has rattled me so.

So should I call & make a complaint and probably be written off as a quack
biker? The only reason I hesitate is because this is the route I ride every
day! I don't want a bus driver in a worse mood breathing down my neck from
here on out. Or should I just wait 30 minutes and avoid him altogether?

Side note; this particular road is designated by the state with money
allocated as a pathways corridor with a bike lane, so it is not an unusal
place for cyclists.

--
Cheers!
Duke

 

[Badger_South]

On Tue, 20 Apr 2004 16:17:57 -0500, "Dukester"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>So should I call & make a complaint and probably be written off as a quack
>biker? The only reason I hesitate is because this is the route I ride every
>day! I don't want a bus driver in a worse mood breathing down my neck from
>here on out. Or should I just wait 30 minutes and avoid him altogether?
>
>Side note; this particular road is designated by the state with money
>allocated as a pathways corridor with a bike lane, so it is not an unusal
>place for cyclists.
>
>--
>Cheers!
>Duke

I'd arrange a face-to-face with the guy and his manager. That way you'll
come across as a concerned citizen, and may be able to make a good out of a
bad sitch.

-B

 

[dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers]

>I'd arrange a face-to-face with the guy and his manager. That way you'll
>come across as a concerned citizen, and may be able to make a good out of a
>bad sitch.
>
>-B

One thing that might be of use is to carry a camera + notebook & pencil. *If*
possible, get a pic of him. *If* possible start making a diary of incidents,
logging all the details you can. It may well be worthwhile mentioning this to
the police - who knows, they may have other complaints against the guy already
and yours may help them take action (one can but hope), and if worst came to
worst and he hit you - there's evidence of previous intent, which may assist in
stopping him getting out of a "I'm sorry mate, I didn't see you" lie. Just my
two-penn'orth as we say over here. A concern I have is if this guy is driving a
school bus full of kids, what signal is he sending to them about how cyclists
are viewed!

Is there anything like the CTC on the other side of the pond? Over here in the
UK, the main reason I joined the CTC (Cyclists' Touring Club - but it's for all
cyclists not just touring - web site http://www.ctc.org.uk/ ) is that
membership includes £5,000,000 third party insurance, free cycling-related
legal advice, campaigning & lobbying to protect cyclists' interests and it has
the Cyclists' Defence Fund. By joining the CTC I've got access to immediate
legal help if, for example, I'm the victim of an "accident".

Cheers and safe cycling, helen s

--This is an invalid email address to avoid spam--
to get correct one remove fame & fortune
h*$el*$$e*nd**$o$ts**i*$*$m*m$o*n*s@$*a$o*l.c**$om$

--Due to financial crisis the light at the end of the tunnel is switched off--

 

[kantspel]

>
> So should I call & make a complaint and probably be written off as a quack
> biker?

Maybe you could wait at a stop and let the driver know that he's making
you uncomfortable after he lets the kids off. If you frame it by saying
you didn't want to call it in and get him in trouble (without mentioning
that you thought he might retailate) it could divert negative feelings.

Some people aren't necessarily malicious, just ignorant.

 

[Pat]

Last year in Dallas, Larry Schwartz was killed by a school bus driver. She
got so close to him that the right side exterior mirror hit him in the back
of his head. (Then she kept on driving) What you are talking about is a
dangerous situation!

Pat in TX

 

[mark]

"Dukester" wrote
> I work 6-3pm, so I hit the school bus traffic in the afternoons. My route
> home takes me on a rural state road with little to no shoulder. Not heavy
> traffic, except for the kids and buses. There is one particular bus now
> that I encounter regularly in the afternoons and makes me uncomfortable
when
> I see him in the mirror. My first encounter was when he passed me closely
> on a solid yellow line going up a blind hill. Today he passed me on a
> narrow, albeit short, bridge, again the yellow line, and oncoming traffic
> that went into the shoulder for him! I had taken the lane in both cases.
> One day last week he followed me closely, gunning the engine over & over,
> although why he didn't pass there I don't know; the road is the same width
> in it's entirety. All times he passes at a high rate of speed and very
> close, never more than an arm's length, if that. Maybe it's nothing, but
no
> other traffic has rattled me so.
>
> So should I call & make a complaint and probably be written off as a quack
> biker? The only reason I hesitate is because this is the route I ride
every
> day! I don't want a bus driver in a worse mood breathing down my neck
from
> here on out. Or should I just wait 30 minutes and avoid him altogether?
>
> Side note; this particular road is designated by the state with money
> allocated as a pathways corridor with a bike lane, so it is not an unusal
> place for cyclists.
>
> --
> Cheers!
> Duke
>
This is a fairly sustained pattern of inappropriate, aggressive and
dangerous driving. Keep a log for a few days, noting time of day, location
of travel, license plate number and any other identifying information on the
bus,whatever description of the driver you can come up with, and as
objective and complete a description as you can manage of each incident. It
wouldn't hurt to dig through your state's motor vehicle laws and make notes
of the laws the driver has violated in each encounter. After you've logged
three or four incidents, find the driver's supervisor and give him the
information you've collected. If you're not happy with the results you get
from the driver's supervisor, contact the police.

Waiting 30 minutes and avoiding this driver would save you a fair bit of
grief, but it would also leave this clown free to harass and possibly injure
or kill another cyclist. Taking the trouble to document this driver's
behavior and contacting his employer or the police would very likely change
his behavior, and it's possible that word would get around in your community
that harassing bicyclists is not a good thing to do.
--
mark

 

[Comcast Giganews]

Please report it, I don't want to read about you as another fatality.

"Dukester" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I've been commuting to work now for a month or so from where I live now.
> Where I used to live in town I commuted everyday for years but it was only
a
> couple of miles. Now it's about 10.
>
> I work 6-3pm, so I hit the school bus traffic in the afternoons. My route
> home takes me on a rural state road with little to no shoulder. Not heavy
> traffic, except for the kids and buses. There is one particular bus now
> that I encounter regularly in the afternoons and makes me uncomfortable
when
> I see him in the mirror. My first encounter was when he passed me closely
> on a solid yellow line going up a blind hill. Today he passed me on a
> narrow, albeit short, bridge, again the yellow line, and oncoming traffic
> that went into the shoulder for him! I had taken the lane in both cases.
> One day last week he followed me closely, gunning the engine over & over,
> although why he didn't pass there I don't know; the road is the same width
> in it's entirety. All times he passes at a high rate of speed and very
> close, never more than an arm's length, if that. Maybe it's nothing, but
no
> other traffic has rattled me so.
>
> So should I call & make a complaint and probably be written off as a quack
> biker? The only reason I hesitate is because this is the route I ride
every
> day! I don't want a bus driver in a worse mood breathing down my neck
from
> here on out. Or should I just wait 30 minutes and avoid him altogether?
>
> Side note; this particular road is designated by the state with money
> allocated as a pathways corridor with a bike lane, so it is not an unusal
> place for cyclists.
>
> --
> Cheers!
> Duke
>
>

 

[David L. Johnson]

On Tue, 20 Apr 2004 16:17:57 -0500, Dukester wrote:

> So should I call & make a complaint and probably be written off as a quack
> biker?

Definitely. I had such a problem, and just called the bus company. They
know who is on what route, you don't have to provide numbers. From then
on, I have been given ample clearance when the busses pass.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by
_`\(,_ | little statesmen and philosophers and divines. --Ralph Waldo
(_)/ (_) | Emerson

 

[Curtis L. Russell]

On Tue, 20 Apr 2004 23:35:47 GMT, "mark" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>
>Waiting 30 minutes and avoiding this driver would save you a fair bit of
>grief, but it would also leave this clown free to harass and possibly injure
>or kill another cyclist.

And set a hell of an example for the kids in the bus. The normal kids
end up frightened and the future snots of America cheer...

Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...

 

[cal]

I recommend calling to complain. I had a very similar experience a
couple of years ago. On a regular training route of mine, I
encountered the same schoolbus nearly everyday. The driver passed me
at too high a speed and way too closely for safety, refusing to cross
the centerline of the road to give me any more space. I reported him
to his supervisor by phone. My conversation was in a very calm and
deliberate tone, requestiong that he instruct the driver in proper and
save technique for passing a cyclist. I also suggested that he remind
the driver that the cyclist was regulated and protected by the same
traffic laws in this state as the motor vehicles.

I was quite apprehensive the next time encountered this bus, too. But
the driver executed a perfect passing maneuver. After a couple more
passes in the next few days, all executed perfectly. I was quite
relieved. After about ten days, I called the schoolbus supervisor
again and thanked him, reporting the marked improvement and requested
that he thank the driver.

This all happened a couple of years ago and since then the driver
waves to me when we meet on the road and always passes me safely, even
when it requires waiting quite awhile for a safe opportunity.

My case ended well, which makes me think a calm approach, rather than
a confrontational one, which inceidentally was my very strong
inclination, was the correct one. It seems I learned something too.

Cal


On Tue, 20 Apr 2004 16:17:57 -0500, "Dukester"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>I've been commuting to work now for a month or so from where I live now.
>Where I used to live in town I commuted everyday for years but it was only a
>couple of miles. Now it's about 10.
>
>I work 6-3pm, so I hit the school bus traffic in the afternoons. My route
>home takes me on a rural state road with little to no shoulder. Not heavy
>traffic, except for the kids and buses. There is one particular bus now
>that I encounter regularly in the afternoons and makes me uncomfortable when
>I see him in the mirror. My first encounter was when he passed me closely
>on a solid yellow line going up a blind hill. Today he passed me on a
>narrow, albeit short, bridge, again the yellow line, and oncoming traffic
>that went into the shoulder for him! I had taken the lane in both cases.
>One day last week he followed me closely, gunning the engine over & over,
>although why he didn't pass there I don't know; the road is the same width
>in it's entirety. All times he passes at a high rate of speed and very
>close, never more than an arm's length, if that. Maybe it's nothing, but no
>other traffic has rattled me so.
>
>So should I call & make a complaint and probably be written off as a quack
>biker? The only reason I hesitate is because this is the route I ride every
>day! I don't want a bus driver in a worse mood breathing down my neck from
>here on out. Or should I just wait 30 minutes and avoid him altogether?
>
>Side note; this particular road is designated by the state with money
>allocated as a pathways corridor with a bike lane, so it is not an unusal
>place for cyclists.

 

[loki]

"Dukester" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I've been commuting to work now for a month or so from where I live now.
> Where I used to live in town I commuted everyday for years but it was only
a
> couple of miles. Now it's about 10.
[...]
> So should I call & make a complaint and probably be written off as a quack
> biker?

He's probably considering complaining about you - not that you did anything
wrong but he might be one of those 'Bikes don't belong on roads. They should
be on the sidewalk' types.

> The only reason I hesitate is because this is the route I ride every
> day! I don't want a bus driver in a worse mood breathing down my neck
from
> here on out. Or should I just wait 30 minutes and avoid him altogether?

Someone else suggested taking photos for evidence. I'd suggest that if you
did take photos that act alone would cause him to back off if he is acting
with malicious intent.

> Side note; this particular road is designated by the state with money
> allocated as a pathways corridor with a bike lane, so it is not an unusal
> place for cyclists.

Not to ignite a pro/anti bikelane debate but I'm having trouble
visualizing. If the road has a bikelane is he crowding you in the bikelane?
Or are you taking the actual car lane because the bikelane is unsuitable?

--
'The only way Ricky is going to get any smarter
is if he dies and comes back as turnip.' -sarah

 

[Rick Onanian]

On 20 Apr 2004 21:50:52 GMT, [email protected]omcom
(dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers) wrote:
>One thing that might be of use is to carry a camera + notebook & pencil. *If*

Good idea; even better, handlebar-mount a digital camera and set it
to take video. Then, when the bus is behind you, hit the button to
start recording and get a video that shows just how bad it is.

With that video, you can definitely damn the driver; if he then
continues to be a problem, or if the bus company is unresponsive,
you can use it against them in a police complaint and even send it
in to a "World's worst drivers" tv show...they won't want their bus
on tv doing that.

>two-penn'orth as we say over here. A concern I have is if this guy is driving a
>school bus full of kids, what signal is he sending to them about how cyclists
>are viewed!

This may be heretical in this newsfroup, but forget for the moment
cycling politics, and worry about what other dangerous driving this
bus driver is doing. It's possible that this driver will hurt or
even kill his passengers!
--
Rick Onanian

 

[dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers]

>It's possible that this driver will hurt or
>even kill his passengers!

Indeed, but from what we've been told it seems more likely he'll hurt the
cyclist. And neither are good :-(

Cheers, helen s


--This is an invalid email address to avoid spam--
to get correct one remove fame & fortune
h*$el*$$e*nd**$o$ts**i*$*$m*m$o*n*s@$*a$o*l.c**$om$

--Due to financial crisis the light at the end of the tunnel is switched off--

 

[Mike Martin]

On Wed, 21 Apr 2004 07:41:43 -0400, cal <[email protected]> banged out:

>I recommend calling to complain. I had a very similar experience a
>couple of years ago. On a regular training route of mine, I
>encountered the same schoolbus nearly everyday. The driver passed me
<SNIP>
>My case ended well, which makes me think a calm approach, rather than
>a confrontational one, which inceidentally was my very strong
>inclination, was the correct one. It seems I learned something too.
>
>Cal

Cal, that was a perfect response! Especially the call back to let the
supervisor know the driver had improved.

Mike

 

[H. M. Leary]

In article <[email protected]>,
Rick Onanian <[email protected]> wrote:

>snip
>
> This may be heretical in this newsfroup, but forget for the moment
> cycling politics, and worry about what other dangerous driving this
> bus driver is doing. It's possible that this driver will hurt or
> even kill his passengers!
> --
> Rick Onanian


OK Rick,

What the hell is a "newsfroup"??????

I have read this in several of your posts.

Is it an RI thing.....

HAND

--
"Freedom Is a Light for Which Many Have Died in Darkness"

- Tomb of the unknown - American Revolution

 

[Pat]

>
> OK Rick,
>
> What the hell is a "newsfroup"??????
>
> I have read this in several of your posts.
>
> Is it an RI thing.....
>
> HAND
>
it's an "in" thing for "old timers" of Usenet. Same as saying "proggies" for
programs or "prolly" instead of probably. it usually starts off with one
poster misspelling something and the others think it is comical, so they
keep it up.

Pat in TX

 

[Luigi de Guzman]

On 20 Apr 2004 21:50:52 GMT, [email protected]omcom
(dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers) wrote:

>Is there anything like the CTC on the other side of the pond? Over here in the
>UK, the main reason I joined the CTC (Cyclists' Touring Club - but it's for all
>cyclists not just touring - web site http://www.ctc.org.uk/ ) is that
>membership includes £5,000,000 third party insurance, free cycling-related
>legal advice, campaigning & lobbying to protect cyclists' interests and it has
>the Cyclists' Defence Fund. By joining the CTC I've got access to immediate
>legal help if, for example, I'm the victim of an "accident".

Not to mention big cred for having Phil Ligget as its president--truly
the voice of cycling, on the TV & Radio as well as before the people
and in the lobbies of Westminster.

A lot of the wailing & gnashing of teeth on this NG about the League
of American Bicyclists is also pining for an American version of the
CTC--which I understand the old LAW was, before the present
leadership.

-Luigi


"We should go to the masses and learn from them, synthesize their
experience into better, articulated principles and methods, then do
propaganda among the masses, and call upon them to put these
principles and methods into practice so as to solve their problems and
help them achieve liberation and happines."
-Mao Tse-tung, "Get Organized!"

 

[Luigi de Guzman]

On Tue, 20 Apr 2004 23:02:33 -0400, Curtis L. Russell
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On Tue, 20 Apr 2004 23:35:47 GMT, "mark" <[email protected]>
>wrote:
>
>>
>>Waiting 30 minutes and avoiding this driver would save you a fair bit of
>>grief, but it would also leave this clown free to harass and possibly injure
>>or kill another cyclist.
>
>And set a hell of an example for the kids in the bus. The normal kids
>end up frightened and the future snots of America cheer...

We are all of us snots, and none of us normal.

-Luigi

>
>Curtis L. Russell
>Odenton, MD (USA)
>Just someone on two wheels...

 

[H. M. Leary]

In article <[email protected]>,
"Pat" <[email protected]> wrote:

> >
> > OK Rick,
> >
> > What the hell is a "newsfroup"??????
> >
> > I have read this in several of your posts.
> >
> > Is it an RI thing.....
> >
> > HAND
> >
> it's an "in" thing for "old timers" of Usenet. Same as saying "proggies" for
> programs or "prolly" instead of probably. it usually starts off with one
> poster misspelling something and the others think it is comical, so they
> keep it up.
>
> Pat in TX
>
>

Hmmn

Never saw this on ARAPANET.

HAND

--
³Freedom Is a Light for Which Many Have Died in Darkness³

- Tomb of the unknown - American Revolution

 

[David Kerber]

In article <[email protected]>, mikie357
@forgedabit.net says...
> In article <[email protected]>,
> "Pat" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > >
> > > OK Rick,
> > >
> > > What the hell is a "newsfroup"??????
> > >
> > > I have read this in several of your posts.
> > >
> > > Is it an RI thing.....
> > >
> > > HAND
> > >
> > it's an "in" thing for "old timers" of Usenet. Same as saying "proggies" for
> > programs or "prolly" instead of probably. it usually starts off with one
> > poster misspelling something and the others think it is comical, so they
> > keep it up.
> >
> > Pat in TX
> >
> >
>
> Hmmn
>
> Never saw this on ARAPANET.

It's not quite THAT old <G,D&R>

--
Remove the ns_ from if replying by e-mail (but keep posts in the
newsgroups if possible).