Comments on: Riding In The Bus Lane http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2009/10/riding-in-the-bus-lane/ Cycling Tips, Hints, and Tricks Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:50:20 +0200 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Matthew Coller http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2009/10/riding-in-the-bus-lane/comment-page-1/#comment-6989 Matthew Coller Sat, 14 Nov 2009 09:59:38 +0000 http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/?p=7070#comment-6989 From the footage you can clearly see that the bus driver had all the room in the world to get around the cyclist, but deliberately tried to sandwich him to the wall in an unbelievably dangerous way. It's true the T-way is banned to bikes, but at 5am when there are hardly any buses, you can understand a cyclist reinterpreting this blanket rule. But to be "taught a lesson" in such a malicious way was completely unnecessary. <br><br>I can't condone the cyclist's behaviour any more than the bus driver's, but you can see what it takes for such an issue to get into the news. Had the bus driver's dangerous 'lesson' actually killed the cyclist it would have barely rated a mention. Imagine the story: "A cyclist riding illegally on the T-way was killed by a bus" - and you can be sure it would be 'a bus', not 'a murderous vigilante bus-driver'.<br><br>Never before had I realised that the gulf between Sydney and Melbourne on cycling ran so deep. That in Sydney the bicycle has never been recognised as a valid form of transport, whereas in Melbourne, thousands opt to cycle to work every day. That even NSW's most 'cycling-friendly' roads minister only every considered cycling something for mums, dads and kids on weekends. I'm glad now I've never moved to Sydney - it's a crazy, topsy-turvy place. From the footage you can clearly see that the bus driver had all the room in the world to get around the cyclist, but deliberately tried to sandwich him to the wall in an unbelievably dangerous way. It's true the T-way is banned to bikes, but at 5am when there are hardly any buses, you can understand a cyclist reinterpreting this blanket rule. But to be “taught a lesson” in such a malicious way was completely unnecessary.

I can't condone the cyclist's behaviour any more than the bus driver's, but you can see what it takes for such an issue to get into the news. Had the bus driver's dangerous 'lesson' actually killed the cyclist it would have barely rated a mention. Imagine the story: “A cyclist riding illegally on the T-way was killed by a bus” – and you can be sure it would be 'a bus', not 'a murderous vigilante bus-driver'.

Never before had I realised that the gulf between Sydney and Melbourne on cycling ran so deep. That in Sydney the bicycle has never been recognised as a valid form of transport, whereas in Melbourne, thousands opt to cycle to work every day. That even NSW's most 'cycling-friendly' roads minister only every considered cycling something for mums, dads and kids on weekends. I'm glad now I've never moved to Sydney – it's a crazy, topsy-turvy place.

]]> By: Matthew Coller http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2009/10/riding-in-the-bus-lane/comment-page-1/#comment-6988 Matthew Coller Sat, 14 Nov 2009 09:57:39 +0000 http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/?p=7070#comment-6988 From the footage you can clearly see that the bus driver had all the room in the world to get around the cyclist, but deliberately tried to sandwich him to the wall in an unbelievably dangerous way. It's true the T-way is banned to bikes, but at 5am when there are hardly any buses, you can understand a cyclist reinterpreting this blanket rule. But to be "taught a lesson" in such a malicious way was completely unnecessary. <br><br>I can't condone the cyclist's behaviour any more than the bus driver's, but you can see what it takes for such an issue to get into the news. Had the bus driver's dangerous 'lesson' actually killed the cyclist it would have barely rated a mention. Imagine the story: "A cyclist riding illegally on the T-way was killed by a bus" - and you can be sure it would be 'a bus', not 'a murderous vigilante bus-driver'.<br><br>Never before had I realised that the gulf between Sydney and Melbourne on cycling ran so deep. That in Sydney the bicycle has never been recognised as a valid form of transport, whereas in Melbourne, thousands opt to cycle to work every day. That even NSW's most 'cycling-friendly' roads minister only every considered cycling something for mums, dads and kids on weekends. I'm glad now I've never moved to Sydney - it's a crazy, topsy-turvy place. From the footage you can clearly see that the bus driver had all the room in the world to get around the cyclist, but deliberately tried to sandwich him to the wall in an unbelievably dangerous way. It's true the T-way is banned to bikes, but at 5am when there are hardly any buses, you can understand a cyclist reinterpreting this blanket rule. But to be “taught a lesson” in such a malicious way was completely unnecessary.

I can't condone the cyclist's behaviour any more than the bus driver's, but you can see what it takes for such an issue to get into the news. Had the bus driver's dangerous 'lesson' actually killed the cyclist it would have barely rated a mention. Imagine the story: “A cyclist riding illegally on the T-way was killed by a bus” – and you can be sure it would be 'a bus', not 'a murderous vigilante bus-driver'.

Never before had I realised that the gulf between Sydney and Melbourne on cycling ran so deep. That in Sydney the bicycle has never been recognised as a valid form of transport, whereas in Melbourne, thousands opt to cycle to work every day. That even NSW's most 'cycling-friendly' roads minister only every considered cycling something for mums, dads and kids on weekends. I'm glad now I've never moved to Sydney – it's a crazy, topsy-turvy place.

]]> By: Can we share the road in London? http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2009/10/riding-in-the-bus-lane/comment-page-1/#comment-6506 Can we share the road in London? Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:07:22 +0000 http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/?p=7070#comment-6506 [...] There has been various cases of road rage including recently in Australia where a bus driver was punched by a cyclist. [...] [...] There has been various cases of road rage including recently in Australia where a bus driver was punched by a cyclist. [...]

]]> By: JD http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2009/10/riding-in-the-bus-lane/comment-page-1/#comment-6496 JD Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:54:13 +0000 http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/?p=7070#comment-6496 /Sarcasm <br><br>More bad behaviour by cyclists! The sooner menaces like this are stopped, the safer society will be:<br><br><a href="http://www.theage.com.au/national/elderly-woman-attacked-by-gang-20091102-hs20.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.theage.com.au/national/elderly-woman...</a> /Sarcasm

More bad behaviour by cyclists! The sooner menaces like this are stopped, the safer society will be:

http://www.theage.com.au/national/elderly-woman...

]]> By: JD http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2009/10/riding-in-the-bus-lane/comment-page-1/#comment-6495 JD Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:52:22 +0000 http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/?p=7070#comment-6495 /Sarcasm <br><br>More bad behaviour by cyclists! The sooner menaces like this are stopped, the safer society will be:<br><br><a href="http://www.theage.com.au/national/elderly-woman-attacked-by-gang-20091102-hs20.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.theage.com.au/national/elderly-woman...</a> /Sarcasm

More bad behaviour by cyclists! The sooner menaces like this are stopped, the safer society will be:

http://www.theage.com.au/national/elderly-woman...

]]> By: Michael in Sydney http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2009/10/riding-in-the-bus-lane/comment-page-1/#comment-6458 Michael in Sydney Sat, 31 Oct 2009 10:05:09 +0000 http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/?p=7070#comment-6458 CT another great post for the debate. I find it heartening that so many readers start from the premise that the cyclist should not have been there in the first place. His behaviour was all counts illegal and damaging to all cyclist. It also let people like Ms Devine to have a spray. As I commented before on your cycliquette blog if we all knew the road rules as they apply to cyclist and applied them we would make more progress. In NSW the opening statement from the RTA is that a bicycle is a vehicle. If that rider knew that, understood it and obeyed the rules there would be no story. CT another great post for the debate. I find it heartening that so many readers start from the premise that the cyclist should not have been there in the first place. His behaviour was all counts illegal and damaging to all cyclist. It also let people like Ms Devine to have a spray. As I commented before on your cycliquette blog if we all knew the road rules as they apply to cyclist and applied them we would make more progress. In NSW the opening statement from the RTA is that a bicycle is a vehicle. If that rider knew that, understood it and obeyed the rules there would be no story.

]]> By: hadagutfull http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2009/10/riding-in-the-bus-lane/comment-page-1/#comment-6456 hadagutfull Sat, 31 Oct 2009 07:25:49 +0000 http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/?p=7070#comment-6456 ""I’ve never been stuck in gridlock traffic before because of a bike rider.""..is that the theme from the Twilight Zone I hear? Riding two abreast means that traffic has to cross the centre line to pass the two- and in most cases more- riders in front of it, which means considerable delay even on country roads. Why ride two abreast? Is conversation not possible when one rider follows another...? ...perhaps it might easier on the risk factor of the riders and the blood pressure of the drivers who have to get to work, or catch a train, or whatever, to ride in single file..? That's at least a start toward turing around negative attitudes- after all, there have been cycleists sharing the roads with cars and trucks for at least 90 years. The cars and trucks have remained the same in terms of road usage, the riders with an attitude problem and a chip on their lycra-clad shoulder are a new factor. The time for self-regulation is obvously long past- an ID plate on bikes above a certain figure is long overdue. “”I’ve never been stuck in gridlock traffic before because of a bike rider.”"..is that the theme from the Twilight Zone I hear?
Riding two abreast means that traffic has to cross the centre line to pass the two- and in most cases more- riders in front of it, which means considerable delay even on country roads.
Why ride two abreast? Is conversation not possible when one rider follows another…?
…perhaps it might easier on the risk factor of the riders and the blood pressure of the drivers who have to get to work, or catch a train, or whatever, to ride in single file..?
That’s at least a start toward turing around negative attitudes- after all, there have been cycleists sharing the roads with cars and trucks for at least 90 years. The cars and trucks have remained the same in terms of road usage, the riders with an attitude problem and a chip on their lycra-clad shoulder are a new factor.
The time for self-regulation is obvously long past- an ID plate on bikes above a certain figure is long overdue.

]]> By: cyclingtips http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2009/10/riding-in-the-bus-lane/comment-page-1/#comment-6450 cyclingtips Fri, 30 Oct 2009 23:11:34 +0000 http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/?p=7070#comment-6450 Wow...very cool. Good article by her. I couldn't agree more with her on most points. Wow…very cool.

Good article by her. I couldn’t agree more with her on most points.

]]> By: Justin C http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2009/10/riding-in-the-bus-lane/comment-page-1/#comment-6449 Justin C Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:20:47 +0000 http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/?p=7070#comment-6449 Hey CT Miranda Devine has given you a big SHOUT OUT in her Saturday am column http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/going-berko-over-a-bisycho-20091030-hpph.html It appears that she has made some ground towards restoring some balance to her previous argument too. Hey CT

Miranda Devine has given you a big SHOUT OUT in her Saturday am column

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/going-berko-over-a-bisycho-20091030-hpph.html

It appears that she has made some ground towards restoring some balance to her previous argument too.

]]> By: vectorbug http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2009/10/riding-in-the-bus-lane/comment-page-1/#comment-6443 vectorbug Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:16:12 +0000 http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/?p=7070#comment-6443 Like I say to all the people that heckle me while they're driving/I'm riding. I'll get my people to stop running stop signs and flipping jerks off when they stop speeding and driving drunk. Like I say to all the people that heckle me while they’re driving/I’m riding. I’ll get my people to stop running stop signs and flipping jerks off when they stop speeding and driving drunk.

]]> By: Chris http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2009/10/riding-in-the-bus-lane/comment-page-1/#comment-6420 Chris Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:04:34 +0000 http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/?p=7070#comment-6420 Two (or even three) wrongs don't make a right. The video shows the bus driver had opportunity to move across further within the lane (and potentially the next lane briefly while overtaking the cyclist?). He didn't, and squeezed the cyclist in ("teaching" him not to use the T-Way?). Whether the cyclist had a right to use the lane or not doesn't excuse the bus driver deliberately threatening the cyclist's life using the bus. Two (or even three) wrongs don’t make a right.

The video shows the bus driver had opportunity to move across further within the lane (and potentially the next lane briefly while overtaking the cyclist?). He didn’t, and squeezed the cyclist in (“teaching” him not to use the T-Way?). Whether the cyclist had a right to use the lane or not doesn’t excuse the bus driver deliberately threatening the cyclist’s life using the bus.

]]> By: Lee http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2009/10/riding-in-the-bus-lane/comment-page-1/#comment-6400 Lee Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:22:37 +0000 http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/?p=7070#comment-6400 This is the problem as I see it. http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2009/04/weekdaymadness/ How can the 'good cycling' message be spread to incorporate all of these groups? Seems a bit unfair when the perpetrators have nothing to do with our form of cycling... This is the problem as I see it.

http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2009/04/weekdaymadness/

How can the ‘good cycling’ message be spread to incorporate all of these groups? Seems a bit unfair when the perpetrators have nothing to do with our form of cycling…

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