Which vehicle is the worst to share the road with?

Alex January 12, 2013 4

With six months cycling under our carbon belts, and approximately 7000km travelled on European roads, we are happy to report that we have generally not had a problem with motorists. In fact, just a day in Melbourne on a bike and I've already had more issues with impatient, ignorant, idiotic drivers than six months over here.

So the drivers are all pretty accepting of cyclists in Europe, yes, but there is one category of vehicle that does stand out as more death-inducing than the others: BUSES.

Kat has her thumbs up as there is not a bus in sight!

It doesn't matter what country you're in or what road you're on, buses pass us a minimum of 2x closer than any other vehicle. They ALWAYS fail to wipe off any speed, with their gigantic, rectangular, incredibly non-aerodynamic shape doing all sorts of strange things with the wind as they swipe past our arms.

If trucks, cars, motorbikes and motorhomes can wait until after a corner to pass, why can't a bus?

If trucks, cars, motorbikes and motorhomes can overtake in the opposite lane when given the opportunity, why can't a bus?

If trucks, cars, motorbikes and motorhomes can wipe off a bit of speed to pass, why can't a bus?

Let me reason why.

Firstly, there is not a bus driver in the world who has ridden a bicycle on the road. This makes them completely unaware of what it is like to be the cyclist when a 14 tonne coach passes by. The FACT is that no bus driver in the world would drive like they do, if they had actually ridden a bicycle on the road.

Secondly, buses carry people, and people care about time. People always remember when a bus is late, but never when a bus is early. This is a little mind game which plays in a bus drivers head as he/she strives for timeliness. Every time a bus driver has to wait for a cyclist, this takes time, and due to the FACT the bus driver's in their little game world, everything is exaggerated.

As a result, when a bus driver has to wait just THREE SECONDS in order to slow down, give the cyclists some space and pass on the opposite side of the road, it is actually over THREE MINUTES of time loss in the bus drivers head.

Summing up

Bus drivers are idiots. Especially tourist bus drivers.

My crystal clear reasoning demonstrates that the mind games DO get to them and that they DO loose track of reality. If this wasn't the case they would surely afford us more safety.

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TAGS » bus drivers, motorists, worst motorists

POSTED IN » Alleykat Cycling Blog, Blogs

About the author: Alex View all posts by Alex

Alex is a young larrikin who loves bikes and travel. Ever since he left the hiking pack at home and decided to travel with a bike - panniers filled with awesome - he has never looked back! Let his years of bike-shop knowledge and bike-touring experience fill you with inspiration and assist you on your adventures.

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http://velophileaustralia.wordpress.com/ Karl

Yup. I got buzzed a few times by buses in France (near the German border). Pretty scary, but since I knew what to expect and had a mirror at least I was prepared and knew to hold my line.
Andersng

Don’t just blame the bus drivers – blame the bus companies, who probably penalise the drivers for lateness. I found the worst drivers in China were the trucks, presumably because they are paid per delivery, so woe betide anyone who gets in their way as they rush to make as many deliveries as possible per day.
R Nicolas

While I agree with your observations about buses, they scariest thing to me is the tour bus sized RVs. These are monstrosities are the size of a bus, and are generally driven by the elderly, or those with a self-inflated sense of worth and most of the time the driver has no extra training to drive one of these beasts safely. Seeing one of these things bearing down on me while I’m riding is scarier than seeing a truck, a bear, or an attack helicopter coming at me.
http://www.2cycle2gether.com/ Sheila

Our observations have been similar. Buses are by far the least considerate of cyclists and pedestrians – in fact, they are extremely dangerous. We haven’t seen one exception to that rule yet. However, I’m pretty sure some of these bus drivers have been cyclists and that they aren’t necessarily jerks or idiots. We pondered reasons for why buses are consistently rude and dangerous and we thought it probably had more to do with company rules and liability. For instance, in Baja, EVERYONE except bus drivers moved to the opposite lane to pass us and we noticed that bus drivers wouldn’t EVER cross the middle line, they wouldn’t even ride the line. This has to be some kind of company mandated rule and they likely have cameras installed on those buses to ensure drivers are following rules. Then there’s what others have mentioned, like timeliness ratios. All of these things are likely requirements for these people to keep their jobs. If these things are true, then the fault lies with the companies that require people to put others in danger for profit, something that many, many companies throughout the world do. That doesn’t mean that the individual drivers shouldn’t make different decisions while on the road – they should do what is safe, for them, for their passengers and for us pedestrians and cyclists. I just think there is more to this story than every bus driver in the world being an “idiot”.