What’s With the Lack of Humanity?
First - employing aggressive drivers.
We've all had them. Moments when you're out enjoying your bike for the sake of it, or training, or simply commuting to work, when suddenly you're reminded of just how vulnerable you are: someone driving a car - or bigger - either accidentally or deliberately gets you reaching for the brake levers.
Of course, how you react affects how the situation develops. I ride my bike nearly every day to work and back, and so I have such "moments" regularly - despite being hyper-aware of road positioning, traffic flow, and so on, despite being a driver myself for over 25 years, and in spite of riding defensively to prevent someone passing me when it's not safe to do so.
But it's when someone deliberately uses their vehicle to intimidate me by braking suddenly in front of me or worse, to try to have me off by swerving towards me, that I've been guilty of yelling and getting angry at the motorist or taxi driver just as much as the next person, as their actions nearly have me through their rear screen or onto my (already damaged) hip.
Here in the UK we need some of how this American judge dealt with a motorist braking deliberately and causing riders to crash into him - five years in jail. As Deputy District Attorney Mary Hanlon Stone wrote in the court papers;
"It is time that motorists learn that they must share the road with people on bicycles and that the courts will view assaults on cyclists by motorists as seriously as other assaults with deadly weapons."
Lately however, I've been trying, really trying, to be calm, to do as the Pros do in Spain or Belgium: just shrug.
"Sorry mate, I held you up, you're beeping at me, you're pissed off, not much I can do, just be on your way and leave me alone". All conveyed in one quick shoulder movement.
And it's been working - insofar as drivers generally continue to pass me without further confrontation or hassle, and my blood pressure remains at safe, normal levels.
I figured I would convince myself that we're all just people trying to get to somewhere, sharing the road space, not looking for trouble. If someone didn't see me I told myself it wasn't personal, it was a little slip on their part, and we all make mistakes. Last night I accidentally kicked a full glass of orange juice over my nice new wool rug; yeah, I make mistakes too. I was finding this attitude helped me get to work and get home in a happier frame of mind.
Then this morning a bus driver nearly killed me.
He saw me, and he chose to teach me a lesson. I'm not exaggerating for effect when I say that - Lothian & Borders Police are taking a dim view of his actions and are pursuing the matter as I write.
What happened? I was riding to work on the outskirts of a bitterly cold and wintry Edinburgh, avoiding the ice and slushy snow on the inside of the wide, two lane northbound road.
Suddenly I heard a loud 'bang!', right in my ear. It took me a nano-second to realise that this noise was the noise a First Bus Volvo coach makes as it punches its square nose through the air at 60mph. Normally, we don't hear this noise, but normally the bus isn't less than one inch from our heads!
Not the First Bus that nearly killed me, but the same type.
It went past me, 40mph quicker than I was travelling, and it hit me. Ironically, a number 62, the one I'd be on if I wasn't on my bike.
In a heartbeat, I realised what was happening, I found that I was caught in the airstream beside the bus that battered me against the side of it once more, before it passed me, and just like in the movies, I remember thinking "This is how I go".
Somehow though, I stayed upright, and ended up with 'only' marks on my jacket. But I was shaken.
The bus driver didn't stop.
I caught up with him at the next traffic lights, and as I pulled alongside to speak to him, he could see me coming, and opened his window, ready for an argument and glaring down at me.
"Do you realise you hit me?" says I. "You were too far out". "But I'm skin and bone - you're in a huge truck..." "You were too far out".
As I said to the guys at work today, I just cannot understand the mentality of some folk, particularly those given the huge responsibility of driving large vehicles - how can anyone think it's justified to barge past, almost over, a skinny cyclist, in a 13-ton coach, at 60mph? How unaware - or uncaring - of the potential consequences of your actions would you have to be to do that?
Strangely, the feeling that's overtaken me this afternoon as I can sit here and type this, is that this is truly my lucky day.
Pete Longbottom, Zak Carr, Jason MacIntyre, and many more riders aren't so fortunate.
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I don't think you reacted unreasonably. I think I'd have got on the bus and have a date in court for vandalism and assault.
Thanks, most people would be the same, me included, but this morning I was too stunned by what had just happened, and by the driver's aggressive attitude: in his mind it was my fault it has been snowing, the roads were not gritted, I was on a bike in front of him...
But none of that was going to make him slow down or move out even a little. We'll see what action the police feel is appropriate, and I'll update here.
Thanks again - I'm off home now, but my wife is collecting me!
That's an awful story, you were really lucky, be careful mister.
It's probably the most dangerous time of year to be on the bike what with the weather, drunk/drugged drivers and the majority of the nations' workforce just returning to work.
I'm running this winter rather than cycling and it feels a lot safer on the pavements than it would out on the road just now!
Hope you're feeling better now. You're right, we all have close-calls, but this sounds as close as it can get without being fatal.
I hope the driver gets into a whole world of trouble for his actions, and never does anything like it again.
The attitude and lack of respect of so many drivers is shocking these days.
Taxi drivers and bus drivers are the worst, but I've noticed more and more females are driving aggressively, where even just a few years ago you hardly ever encountered a less than courtious lady driver.
I hope the First Bus driver is sacked - or at least, given a written warning. Do the police treat hitting you and then not stopping as a Hit & Run?
Wishing you all the best Martin, don't let it deter you from riding your bike.
KM
Take care Martin, hope the bus driving idiot gets into a lot of trouble.
First Bus - last bus in my book.
I agree, First Bus drivers often have a stinking attitude. I have to use First from where I live, and I sit and cringe when I see their standard of driving.
I've seen the bus I'm on driving far too close to cyclists, and speeding above the limit too - this happens a lot.
If I had a choice, I would not use this bus company. I hope you recover from this scare quickly Martin, and the police (or - dare I imagine it, his bosses?!) take the driver to task.
The bus driver has obviously never lost someone special; to play with someone's life so carelessly and deliberately...take care Martin.
R
This bus driver needs sacked, and to have his licence taken away from him. Shocking. Hope you are ok.
Don't think I have ever seen you so annoyed and shaken up Martin. Lucky you had the experience to handle the situation some less experienced cyclist like myself could have ended up a lot worse.
Hope it hasn't put you off the commute to work and that the bus driver gets his comeuppance.
Your comment about shrugging is invaluable advice. I too try my darndest to remain stoical in my car and on my bike when aggressive drivers come my way. Last week I failed though – in snowy conditions, an inconsiderate driver overtook me with two of his wheels driving through the mound of snow that gathers in the centre of a lane - and showered me head-to-toe in dirty slush. I was hopping mad and chased after him to remonstrate (first time I have done that), but he didn't really notice me as, on his phone, he performed a turn in the road in heavy rush-hour traffic.
I realised later that I'd been stupid– it simply wasn't worth it. My incident didn't come close to a near miss such as yours, and eventually I even saw the funny side.